Dartford begin their league campaign at Isthmian South East champions Three Bridges this Saturday.
Ben Greenhalgh takes charge of his first competitive match as player manager of the Darts. The midfielder has featured on the pitch in pre-season, a role he also took up at Margate last term.
Three Bridges are on a crest of a wave having won three pieces of silverware in four months. The Sussex side will be making their first appearance in the Isthmian Premier, so will be creating their own history.
Youth and Experience
Plenty of debuts are expected to be handed out by Greenhalgh after a busy summer putting his squad together. Emmanuel Oke, Brandon Davey and Louie Atkins were all part of the Dartford academy before leaving and coming back to the club. The trio join George Whitefield, Jez Pinder, Sam Odaudu and Richie Atkins who have been retained and have also progressed through the Darts youth system. As well as Greenhalgh, another to return to the club is goalkeeper Ryan Sandford. Bringing more experience to the team will be Scott Wagstaff and Jordan Higgs.
Fresh Faces
Ben Swift followed the Dartford manager from Margate in the summer and will be the new captain. Other new additions include Adrian Gyamera, Lorenzo Duncan and Luke Exal. Meanwhile up front, Gianluca Botti and Max Fiddes will work alongside the retained Dan Smith.
This week Tyler Ibe became the latest recruit from Larkfield and New Hythe. The winger scored 21 goals in the Southern Counties East last season.
Pre-Season
Although pre-season is not about the results, the Darts have had a strong and intense build up to the new campaign. Designed with fitness in mind, Greenhalgh spread out minutes to players over eight matches.
A single goal defeat to Championship side Charlton Athletic was followed up with a 2-1 win over local rivals Ebbsfleet United. The Darts then drew 0-0 with Isthmian Premier champions Folkestone Invicta.
Dartford beat Sutton Athletic, drew with Whitstable Town before losing to Billericay Town. The Darts triumphed over Faversham Town, had their game against Chelmsford City called off and rounded pre-season off with a 4-0 home win against Ashford United.
League Champions
Greenhalgh would have come across the Isthmian South East champions, Three Bridges last season at Margate. In fact, Dartford’s player manager scored against them in a 2-0 win at Hartsdown Park which also featured Oke and Davey. However, his last visit to the Jubilee Field ended in a 3-0 loss. Dartford’s vice-captain, Joe Tennent will also know a bit about this weekend’s opponents having played for them in the past.
The Sussex side won their league by 11 points last term and racked up an astonishing 124 league goals. Manager, Jamie Crellin had the reliability of Noel Leighton, Reece Hallard and Charlie Bennett who all netted over 20 goals in the league. The trio made the Isthmian South East team of the season along with defenders Dan Ferreira and Josh Hallard.
Cup Winners
To crown an already exceptional campaign, Three Bridges also claimed the Sussex Senior Cup. They beat Little Common in round two, smashed Wick 10-0 in round three before beating three teams in higher divisions. The Bridges won on penalties against Horsham, defeated Worthing in the semi-final and claimed the county honours with a penalty shootout win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
During pre-season Three Bridges added a third piece of silverware in the Sussex Community Shield. The county cup winners took on the Southern Combination League champions Steyning Town and won 3-2. Leighton scored his 100th competitive goal for the Bridges.
Bridge Prepares
Three Bridges had a mixed pre-season in preparation for the opening day, with three victories and three defeats. The Sussex club began with a win over Egham Town and they also beat Bromley prior to the aforementioned Community Shield triumph. Eastbourne Town and AFC Croydon Athletic put four past them and so did Gosport Borough in their final friendly.
Manager’s View
Ben Greenhalgh is pleased with his first pre-season as Dartford boss. After the Ashford United friendly he spoke to Dartford FC TV and said: “I’m really happy with how much we’ve managed to do in training and how much progression we’re seeing on the pitch at the moment”. He added: “We play six games in August against some tough opponents and it’s now time to step it up”.
Interview courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Team News
Emmanuel Oke and Scott Wagstaff have not had as many minutes as they would have liked over pre-season. The pair will be hoping to be in contention to play some part in Saturday’s opener. New signing Jordan Higgs picked up an injury in the friendly against Whitstable Town, but is optimistic he can be available.
Three players have taken the opportunity to get game time elsewhere. Goalkeeper, Carter Sullivan has gone out on loan to Punjab United, Kai Jeffrey is now on dual registration with Hollands and Blair, whilst Hugo Taylor will be at Sutton Athletic. Albie O’Mara-Knapp has left the Darts to join Margate.
Dean Nayler will be out for the majority of the season after a second successful operation on the injury he suffered a year ago.
Pre-Season Results
| Dartford (LWDWDLWW) | Three Bridges (WLLWWL) | ||||
| Ashford United | H | 4-0 | Gosport Borough | H | 1-4 |
| Faversham Town | A | 2-0 | Steyning Town | N | 3-2 |
| Billericay Town | H | 0-3 | Bromley | H | 2-0 |
| Whitstable Town | A | 1-1 | AFC Croydon Athletic | H | 2-4 |
| Sutton Athletic | A | 2-1 | Eastbourne Town | H | 1-4 |
| Folkestone Invicta | A | 0-0 | Egham Town | H | 2-1 |
| Ebbsfleet United | H | 2-1 | |||
| Charlton Athletic | H | 0-1 | |||
Statistics
- Three Bridges are one of three teams Dartford will play for the first time this season
- Dartford lost just one game against newly promoted sides last season (W2, D3
- The Darts won their last opening day fixture against a newly promoted team. Two years ago, Dartford earned a 2-1 victory over Cray Valley Paper Mills
- Dartford had won three away day openers in a row before last season’s 4-0 defeat at Dulwich Hamlet
- The Darts have lost one of their last six opening games (W4, D1)
On This Day
The Darts have only played twice on this day and have yet to win. In 2017, Dartford came from two down against Braintree Town to draw their second game of the season. Karl Oliyide and Billy Crook put the Irons in command, but Tom Murphy and Elliot Bradbrook earned the Darts a point.
Dartford lost on the opening day of the 2015/2016 season against Hemel Hempstead Town on 8 August. A goal from Oliver Hawkins settled the National South match at Vauxhall Road.
