Dartford host new opposition in the Kent Senior Cup on Tuesday night after being drawn against Sevenoaks Town.
The two sides meet for the first time in a competitive fixture with a place in the semi-final up for grabs. Tony Burman takes charge of his first county cup tie since September 2017, having previously led the Darts to victory in the competition in 2011 and 2016.
After almost three weeks without a game and the departure of Alan Dowson, the Darts were in league action on the weekend. Burman’s first team selection since returning to the dugout saw Brandon Barzey back in the starting eleven as well as Alex Wall. Dartford fell to a second defeat in a row losing 1-0 to Weymouth to leave them seven points above the drop zone.
The interim manager has plenty to repair, but was pleased with the endeavour his players showed. Burman spoke to Dartford FC TV after the loss and said: “I wanted effort from the payers and I think i got the effort”.
Barzey who was recalled from his loan spell from Hemel Hempstead Town was given an opportunity to show his capabilities. The winger’s early injury against the Terras was a setback, Burman commented: “We started of the game really well, obviously it changed things when Brandon got injured, we ended losing a little bit of pace”, he continued: “We’d been working on getting the ball to him during the week so he can go forward and take the full back on”.
Although the Darts were in the game during the first half, the second forty-five was more than a struggle, the Dartford boss put it down to fitness and a lack of creativity, he explained: “Second half we looked a little bit tired halfway through. Overall I don’t think we deserved to lose the game. However, I’ve watched the team for a long time and we’ve got to start creating some chances. We showed it in the first half, but didn’t do it enough in the second half”.
Barzey now joins Luke Allen and Matty MacArthur on the injury list as the squad gets thinner. After the departure of Harvey Bradbury to Farnborough another striker, Lewis Manor has left to join AFC Hornchurch. Charlie Sheringham is currently on compassionate leave, so Burman is now left with on loan George Alexander and Alex Wall as his only options up front at the time of writing. Taylor Maloney was signed from Farnborough last week and he came on for his debut replacing Barzey. Tommy Block was named on the bench and is likely to feature against Sevenoaks Town after getting back to fitness.
After Saturday’s match Burman commented: “The squad is reasonably small we know that. We will be playing some of the other lads who haven’t played today. There will be some guys who have played today, as they have had two weeks off matchplay. We will have to see what we can do and hopefully they will play and get some minutes”.
In the previous round Dartford breezed past a young Bromley side with a 5-1 victory. It was all level at the break, but the Darts turned it on in the second-half to run out 5-1 winners. Charlie Sheringham scored from the spot before Kido Taylor-Hart equalised from the spot. Luke Allen put the hosts ahead soon after the break. Sheringham added another and Barzey wrapped things up with a brace.
Sevenoaks Town have negotiated two rounds in this season’s Kent Senior Cup which included mauling Welling United 7-1. But first they had to get past Herne Bay back in October and they did so with a 3-0 victory. The Oaks took the lead when a defensive clearance rebounded off Daniel Bennett and into the net. Palace Francis intercepted a poor pass to play Fumnaya Shomotun through on goal for the second. The tie was wrapped up when Ricardo Thompson reacted quickest to make the game safe.
A former Wing haunted his former club with a hat-trick in the next round. Daniel Carr scored two in four minutes to get the goals flowing. Then a minute before the break Shomotun added a third. Welling United halved the deficit in the second-half before Sevenoaks pulled away. Jaiden Drake-Thomas and Tyrese Osbourne netted within two minutes of each other, Kieron Cadogan made it six and finally Carr completed his hat-trick.
This season the Oaks are tenth in the Isthmian Division One South East and seven points from the playoff places. Since thrashing Welling United they have won just once in their last nine in the league, but picked up a point on the weekend. The 0-0 draw at home to Hythe Town followed a 2-2 stalemate at Beckenham Town, a game that featured former Dart, Rowan Liburd. The striker made three appearances during a loan spell four years ago.
Current Form
| Dartford (LWDDLL) | Sevenoaks Town (WLLLDD) | ||||
| Weymouth | H | 0-1 | Hythe Town | H | 0-0 |
| Maidstone United | A | 1-2 | Beckenham Town | A | 2-2 |
| Weston-super-Mare | A | 2-2 | Herne Bay | H | 1-2 |
| Welling United | H | 1-1 | Cray Valley Paper Mills | H | 0-1 |
| Welling United | A | 1-0 | Ramsgate | A | 0-1 |
| St Albans City | H | 0-3 | East Grinstead Town | A | 3-0 |
Statistics
- Dartford have won 14 of their last 19 Kent Senior Cup ties in normal tie
- At home the Darts have won eight of their last nine in the competition
- Dartford have won their last five home matches in the Kent Senior Cup with an aggregate score of 22-4.
On This Day
Dartford’s last win on this day was back in 1971 against Bath City. The Darts defeated the Romans 1-0 in the Southern Premier League. Since then they have been winless in five, however Dartford did draw in their last outing on 30 January. In a F.A Trophy quarter-final tie with FC Halifax Town, Danny Harris scored in a 1-1 draw at the Shay. Dartford went on to win the replay before bowing out to Grimsby Town in the semi-final. The Darts have only played two Kent Senior cup ties on this day and lost them both. Maidstone United won a second round clash 3-2 in 1991. Margate knocked out the Darts in a replay winning 3-1 way back in 1930.