Dartford visit league leaders Folkestone Invicta in a Kent derby this Saturday.
The Darts will be hoping to become just the third side to come away from Cheriton Road with maximum points this season. Although Adrian Pennock’s side are unlikely to break into the playoff places this weekend, a win could take them level with at least one of the top five.
Invicta are flying this campaign under Jay Saunders and have a staggering 12 point lead at the summit. Folkestone Invicta are favourites to take the Isthmian Premier title with eight games to go and are unbeaten in their last five at home.
Super Sub Eddie
Dartford closed the gap on fifth place to three points by taking full advantage of their game in hand on Tuesday night. Eddie Dsane scored the only goal of the game against Cheshunt to earn the Darts a vital win.
Adrian Pennock made four changes to the side that fell to a 3-1 defeat at Wingate and Finchley three days earlier. In came George Whitefield for the suspended Joe Tennent at the back. Jez Pinder returned to the midfield with Olly Box and Callum Jones starting up front.
Deadlocked at 0-0 in the second-half, Dsane was introduced to the action and within two minutes the striker smashed home his 13th goal of the season, his fifth after coming on as a substitute.
Playoffs in Reach
Dartford are grinding out results at this stage of their campaign. In their last four fixtures they have won three of them 1-0. The only blip came on the weekend at Wingate and Finchley. Those three clean sheets is as many as they had kept in the previous 12 games and up against the league leaders on Saturday the defence will need to be on top of their game once more.
After taking on Folkestone Invicta, the Darts only have one more game against a team in the current top half and that is against Chatham Town on Easter Monday. If Pennock’s side can take something positive home with them on the weekend, then that could set a good foundation for the remainder of their campaign.
The Darts are currently three points shy of a top five place behind Billericay Town and the Chats. However, both sides have a far better goal difference than Dartford. Just behind are Burgess Hill Town, two points further back.
Ade Returns Triumphant
Folkestone Invicta were leading the way in the division ahead of the reverse fixture back in December. Adrian Pennock went for a back five to try and contain Invicta, but the plan didn’t work.
The visitors became only the second side to claim a win at Princes Park in the league this season. Joe Pigott managed to open the scoring from a tight angle. Former Dartford forward Ade Yussuf doubled Folkestone’s lead. Carruthers scored a superb free-kick with two minutes remaining, but it proved to be no more than a consolation goal.
Highlights courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Narrow Win
In Dartford’s last visit to Cheriton Road they came away with a 1-0 victory. Tough conditions made for a tight clash in the Kent derby that was decided by Callum Jones, who scored past Jonny Henly in the Folkestone Invicta goal. Now with the Darts, Henly was with Invicta last season. Another current Dart on loan at Welling United, Sam Smith was also part of Invicta’s team trying to keep Pennock’s side at bay. In the summer, Dartford also took striker Dan Smith from this weekend’s opponents.
Highlights courtesy of Invicta TV
Former Darts
As well as the aforementioned Ade Yussuf, midfield pair Adam Lovatt and Alex Woodyard also featured for Dartford in the career. Lovatt played five games for the Darts on loan from Sutton United in 2022 and Woodyard made 41 appearances back in the 2013/2014 season. Jack Jebb, currently on loan at Croydon Athletic played 67 times for Dartford between 2019 and 2022 scoring nine goals.
Flying Folkestone
Invicta started the season on a ten game unbeaten run, lost to Hashtag United then bounced back with an incredible 12 match winning streak in the Isthmian Premier. Jay Saunders’ side have been pretty much unstoppable and have a commanding lead at the top.
January was their least productive period going four games without a win, but since then Invicta have won six of their last seven including Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Potters Bar Town. The Scholars had the cheek to take the lead ten minutes into the second half through Nana Kyei, but the thought of a shock victory was short lived. Jake Hutchinson netted twice in six minutes to bring up a century of goals for Folkestone Invicta in all competitions this term.
If the Darts need any hope, three of the four defeats Invicta have suffered this season have come against sides in the top five. On the other side of the coin, the league leaders have taken an incredible 38 points from 42 at home versus teams outside the top four.
Manager’s View
Adrian Pennock welcomed Tuesday’s win, he spoke to Dartford FC TV and said: “It was a cracking win, honestly a very good win, a great performance”. The Dartford boss felt his team were braver with the ball and could see the improvement made after defeat three days earlier, he commented: “Especially after the performance and disappointment of Saturday, we regrouped and I thought we played some really nice football in good areas and it was a very good three points”.
Interview courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Team News
Joe Tennent returns from suspension after missing the win at Cheshunt. Jacob Bland (broken nose) has been unavailable since defeat at Potters Bar Town and Samir Carruthers and Dean Nayler are out for the rest of the season with injury.
Current League Form
| Dartford (LDWWLW) | Folkestone Invicta (LDWWWW) | ||||
| Cheshunt | A | 1-0 | Potters Bar Town | H | 2-1 |
| Wingate & Finchley | A | 1-3 | Billericay Town | A | 0-1 |
| Ramsgate | H | 1-0 | Hashtag United | H | 1-0 |
| Welling United | A | 1-0 | Dulwich Hamlet | A | 2-0 |
| Cray Wanderers | H | 1-1 | Lewes | A | 5-0 |
| Potters Bar Town | A | 0-1 | Welling United | H | 2-0 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 8 / Folkestone Invicta wins: 11 / Draws: 5
Previous Meetings
Dartford 1 – 2 Folkestone Invicta (13/12/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 2 – 2 Folkestone Invicta (05/04/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Folkestone Invicta 0 – 1 Dartford (21/12/2024 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 6 – 2 Folkestone Invicta (17/05/2022 – Kent Senior Cup Final)*
Dartford 4 – 0 Folkestone Invicta (25/02/2020 – Kent Senior Cup)
Folkestone Invicta 1 – 4 Dartford (07/12/2011 – Kent Senior Cup)
Statistics
- Dartford’s defeat to Folkestone Invicta in December ended a run of six games unbeaten against their opponents in all competitions (W4, D2)
- The Darts have won their last two visits to Folkestone Invicta having lost four away games in a row versus Invicta between 1998 and 2004
- There have been 29 goals (20 for the Darts) in the last seven matches between Dartford and Folkestone Invicta at an average of 4.14 goals per game
On This Day
Dartford played their last game before Covid interrupted the 2019/2020 season on this day. In front of 1486 supporters, the Darts beat Chelmsford City 3-0 at Princes Park with goals from Josh Hill, Elliott Romain and Noor Husin. It wouldn’t be for another four months until Dartford played again in the National South playoffs.
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