Dartford were punished by Welling United last night as they lost on penalties in the Quarter Finals of the Kent Senior Cup away at Park View Road.
Tony Burman had changed his side up once again bringing in Bailey Vose as goalkeeper and dropping Deren Ibrahim to the bench for the match; however an administration error with the registration paperwork for Vose meant Burman had to readjust his chosen starting eleven with Ibrahim moving in to start and academy player Tony Coxall was named on the bench.
Burman also handed starts to Kaka Dembele, Ellis Brown and Ben Francis, with the bench being made up of Danny Harris, Andy Pugh, Alex Brown and Tom Gardiner.
Captain Elliot Bradbrook and Duane Ofori-Acheampong were absent from the fixture and were being rested ahead of our trip to Weston-Super-Mare this coming Saturday.
Welling went into the match with a strongly fielded side, and started well with an early effort from Sam Hatton blocked by Ibrahim, and shortly after Pierre Joseph-Dubois’ header towards goal went over the bar.
Luke Wanadio was the first to step up with a chance which he powered low towards the goal however it ended up going wide and out for a Welling goalkick.
It wasn’t long before Welling took the lead after Hatton curled in a free kick towards Harry Crawford who flicked the ball into the back of the net.
Dartford seemingly upped the tempo from then on and went immediately back on the attack and two great attempts from E Brown and Lee Noble were both saved by Welling loanee goalkeeper Harry Girling.
Midway through the first half Welling conceded a penalty after Matt Fish clipped Ryan Hayes in the area; who moments later stepped up to slot home the equaliser for The Darts.
The second blow of the evening occurred after a freekick awarded to Rickie Hayles was saved low by Ibrahim who was then knocked down and had to be stretchered off and out of the game. A bit of pushing and shoving had happened prior to Ibrahim going off, and Hayles and Tom Bonner were both shown the yellow for their part in the fracas. Academy player Tony Coxall stepped up the plate and made his senior debut for Dartford taking his place in goal for the remainder of the game.
Dartford started the second half a lot better than the first, with Keaton Wood converting a Hayes freekick on the 48th minute for The Darts to take the lead. The remainder of the game was scrappy at best, with Burman substituting Francis and Noble for Andy Pugh and Alex Brown.
Welling managed a late equaliser on the 86th minute when Matt Fish hit an ambitious shot that took a deflection and looped up to beat Coxall and hit the back of the net. But it wasn’t over; Welling scraped back a last minute penalty in stoppage time after Tom Wynter caught Christian Nanetti in the area. Hatton stepped up to take, only to blast the ball right over the back of the net and into the stands.
The match finished 2-2 and ironically meant the winner was now to be determined by penalties.
| WELLING UNITED – 4 | DARTFORD – 1 |
| Sam Hatton – SCORED | Ryan Hayes – SAVED |
| Matt Fish – SCORED | Andy Pugh – SCORED |
| George Oakley – SCORED | Alex Brown – SAVED |
| Christian Nanetti – SCORED |
Welling United won the match 4-1 on penalties, and they go through to the next round of the Kent Senior Cup.
Welling United: Harry Girling, Matt Fish, Jordan Brown, Ali Fuseini, Rickie Hayles, Rian Bray, Pierre Joseph-Dubois, Sam Hatton, Christian Nanetti, Harry Crawford, Dan Walker
Subs: Danny Waldren, Paul Agu, Archie Johnson, George Oakley, Josh Jackson
Dartford: Deren Ibrahim, Kaka Dembele, Tom Wynter, Tom Bonner, Ronnie Vint, Keaton Wood, Ryan Hayes, Lee Noble, Ben Francis, Ellis Brown, Luke Wanadio
Subs: Danny Harris, Andy Pugh, Alex Brown, Tom Gardiner, Tony Coxall
Attendance: 252