Dartford welcome league leaders Woking to Princes Park this weekend and could record their first ever league double over their opponents.
The Darts took a well earned scalp against the Cards just over a fortnight ago with a last gasp winner at the Kingfield Stadium. Ronnie Vint’s header in the 97th minute secured Dartford their maiden win at Woking’s home in a hard fought clash. The Cards, who had Ben Gerring and Armani Little sent off missed out on putting pressure on Torquay United at the top of the National South, however the Surrey side have bounced back winning their last three fixtures to return to the summit.
Dartford followed up the 1-0 triumph over Woking with an entertaining 3-0 win in their last home game versus playoff chasers Bath City. Lee Noble opened the scoring with a cracking curling effort on sixteen minutes, the midfielder’s third goal this term. Charlie Sheringham made it 2-0 ten minutes later nodding in Ryan Hayes’s cross at the back post and the points were wrapped up in the second half when Phil Roberts bent the ball into the far corner from long range.
The unbeaten run continued to four with an away draw at Slough Town. The Darts found themselves behind before a minute was even on the clock, Ben Harris firing the ball beyond Bailey Vose. Dartford turned the game around when new loan signing Darren McQueen set up Ben Greenhalgh to equalise. Then the provider turned to goalscorer with McQueen following up Phil Roberts parried effort to make it 2-1. The hosts levelled the game soon after, Sean Fraser making it 2-2 to share the points with the Darts.
It was a decent start for McQueen who made his debut, grabbing an assist and netting a goal. The 23-year-old has came in from National League side Sutton United after he signed for the U’s from Ebbsfleet United. At the Fleet, the striker scored 20 times in the National South including the winner in the Playoff Final. McQueen admits that his season has been more ‘stop than start’ this term but believes in his own ability: “If I don’t get called back to Sutton, I’ll stay here and keep banging in goals and see where it takes me”, he told www.kentonline.co.uk.
Whilst joint boss, Adam Flanagan added: “I’m a big fan of Darren and have been for some time. When he was made available by Ebbsfleet, we would like to have got him but we can’t offer full-time football at the moment and Sutton can so he went there. It was just about being patient. A circular went out this week and we got onto Paul Doswell over there and managed to agree something”. He continued: “He gives us a different dimension and I thought he was very good on Saturday considering he hasn’t started for a long time”.
After the draw at Arbour Park, Adam Flanagan spoke to www.kentonline.co.uk and said: “I guess the overall feeling is that we’ve not played to the levels we’ve been recently – and I put that down to Slough. The effort was there from our players but Slough were very good at keeping the ball, they moved the ball very well, put lots of crosses into the box, which we defended better in the second half than we did in the first”.
Woking have responded well to consecutive defeats inflicted on them by Wealdstone then Dartford. The Cards returned to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 win over league strugglers East Thurrock United to move them within a points of Torquay United at the top. Dave Tarpey opened his Woking account, Greg Luer doubled the lead and in the final minute Jake Hyde sealed the three points. Last weekend Woking beat Weston-super-Mare, another relegation threatened side. Tarpey finding the net again as well as new signing Reisse Allasanni, who was signed on loan from Coventry City. Allasanni started his career at Crystal Palace before standing out at Dulwich Hamlet, the 23-year-old winger attracted the attention of Coventry City where he signed a two year deal, more recently he has a spell with Dartford’s local rivals Ebbsfleet United. The Cards returned to the top of the National South on Tuesday night beating Hemel Hempstead Town 3-1. The Surrey side are now two points ahead of Torquay United and moved to the summit thanks to goals from Paul Hodges, Tarpey and Harry Bradbury.
In team news, Charlie Sheringham was out injured for Dartford last weekend, whilst striker Andy Pugh is back training. Woking saw the return of Ben Gerring from suspension in mid-week, whilst Armani Little will serve his final game of his ban after his red card against the Darts. Michael Kamara has signed for the Cards on a non-contract basis from Hampton and Richmond Borough.
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 5 / Woking wins: 5 / Draws: 2
Current League Form
| Dartford (DWWDLW) | Woking (?WWLLD) | ||||
| Slough Town | A | 2-2 | Hemel Hempstead Town | H | ?-? |
| Bath City | H | 3-0 | Weston-super-Mare | H | 2-1 |
| Woking | A | 1-0 | East Thurrock United | A | 3-0 |
| Concord Rangers | H | 1-1 | Dartford | A | 0-1 |
| Chelmsford City | A | 1-2 | Wealdstone | H | 0-2 |
| St Albans City | H | 3-2 | St Albans City | H | 1-1 |
Previous Meetings
| 05.02.2019 | Woking | 0 | Dartford | 1 |
| 03.03.2015 | Dartford | 1 | Woking | 3 |
| 12.08.2014 | Woking | 1 | Dartford | 1 |
| 18.02.2014 | Dartford | 5 | Woking | 1 |
| 12.11.2013 | Woking | 3 | Dartford | 0 |
| 01.04.2013 | Dartford | 4 | Woking | 1 |
Stats
The 1-0 Dartford win over a fortnight ago was the first time the Darts kept a clean sheet against Woking.
Out of the top six sides, only Torquay United have visited Princes Park and won. The Darts have won their other three games at home against top six sides versus Bath City, Welling United and Chelmsford City.
The Darts have lost one of their last nine games and have scored in each of those matches.
On This Day
Dartford won at Gosport Borough on this day three years ago. Borough’s Dan Wooden put the hosts ahead, but after the break the match swung Dartford’s way. On the hour Elliot Bradbrook took advantage of a rebound from Ryan Hayes’ cross to level the score. The Darts skipper doubled his tally for the night with a breakaway goal, calmly taking it round the Borough goalkeeper. Moments later Andy Pugh scored to make it 3-1. Already 3-0 down from the first leg of their F.A Trophy semi-final, Dartford’s Wembley dream officially ended on 23 February 2013 with a spirited 0-0 draw against Grimsby Town. In 2008, two goals from Brendon Cass and one each for John Guest, Jamie Coyle and Junior Kadi secured a 5-0 victory versus Waltham Abbey in the Isthmian Division One North.
DATE: Saturday 23rd February 2019
VENUE: Princes Park, Grassbanks, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1RT
KICK OFF: 15:00 pm
TURNSTILES: Open from 12:30pm
ADMISSION:
Adults: £14
Concessions: £9
Youth (13-17) : £5
Children ( u12) £2
SEATING: Seating is available on a first come first served basis in certain areas of the stadium.
FACILITIES: Bar and food open from 12:30pm
PARKING: Parking is free of charge in the clubs car park but is a first come first served basis.
MATCH UPDATES: Full Coverage will on twitter @dartfordfc
MATCH SPONSOR: Fairfield Leisure Centre – Places for People
At Places for People Leisure we’re extremely passionate about helping local communities stay physically active and emotionally engaged in fitness, sport and well-being.
This means we care about being completely relevant to their everyday lives.
Our mission is to put our heart and soul into ‘creating active places and healthy people’. This is because:
- 1 in 6 UK deaths are attributed to basic inactivity
- 1 in 3 people in the UK are currently physically inactive (rising to 1 in 2 by 2050)
- 80% of women don’t exercise enough to maintain good health
- The least-fit child at primary school in 1998 would be among the fittest today
- Sport England’s Active People survey reveals that only 2% of the population have been encouraged to take up sport since 2005
We’ve divided our physical activities into three simple areas; Fitness, Sport and Health.
Fitness
Going to the gym, doing a class or swimming some laps is the chosen form of activity for many. It allows them to become fit, get fitter or train for competition.
Our gym, class and pool workouts develop stamina, strength, power, core stability and flexibility through a series of carefully designed programmes, designated zones and qualified instructors.
Sport
Of course, the gym, a class or laps in a pool are not for everyone; for many being active is about playing or learning to play sport. Developing physical literacy in young people or a life skill such as being able to swim are also significant and ongoing commitments. Especially since a physically active child is much more likely to become an active adult.
We work hard with the National Governing Bodies of a number of sports to fill our facilities with ideas that are fun and engaging.
Health
With a third of the population physically inactive and 1 in 6 deaths in the UK attributed to inactivity, there are many people in our communities who need something more appropriate than our mainstream fitness and sport activities.
To make a real difference we’re simply driven to excite our communities and ignite their enthusiasm for increased physical activity and good health; whatever place they’re into.