Dartford can go top of the Isthmian Premier when they host Whitehawk to close out September.
Unbeaten in eight games in all competitions and on a run of six consecutive wins, the Darts will reach pole position with just a point at Princes Park. The league has taken a backseat over the last fortnight with Ben Greenhalgh leading Dartford through to the next round in three cup competitions.
The Hawks have struggled since late February and their poor form spilled into this season. However, Jay Lovett will be hoping some green shoots are starting to emerge after consecutive victories ended a winless run of 21 matches.
Victory Road to Wembley
Dartford’s cup exploits will be interrupted on Tuesday night after making it through in the F.A Cup, Kent Senior Cup and more recently the F.A Trophy. The Darts eased into the third qualifying round of the trophy on the weekend with a 3-0 win at Southern Premier Central side Leiston.
Greenhalgh made nine changes to the side that beat Ramsgate 2-0 in the Kent Senior Cup a week ago. George Whitefield and Lorenzo Duncan remained in the starting eleven, Duncan the only difference from the 4-2 F.A Cup win over Hayes and Yeading United. Sam Odaudu made his 150th appearance for the club.
Duncan scored against Ramsgate and in his first league start he set up Max Fiddes to open the scoring. Dan Smith was unselfish in the build up to the second, the striker made it easy for player manager Greenhalgh to net his third in his last four games. On Jez Pinder’s 100th appearance for the Darts, the midfielder assisted Fiddes for his second of the afternoon and fourth goal in his previous two matches.
Seven Heaven
Dartford have won seven in a row against Whitehawk and the last four at Princes Park. Last season, Olly Box returned from suspension, grabbed a brace and set up the third in a 3-0 victory. The forward fired a shot in the top corner before curling another beyond the Whitehawk keeper. Box then set up Callum Jones to add further gloss to the scoreline.
Highlights courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Double Delights
The return fixture completed a third consecutive double over the Hawks. Once again Box scored twice, but this time in a 2-1 triumph. In the previous season, Josh Hill scored the goal of the season in the 4-1 victory at Princes Park and three months later it was Box once more who found the net in a 1-0 win. In the 2017/2018 National South campaign the Darts won 4-0 at the Enclosed Ground and 3-1 at Princes Park.
Returning to League Action
Since the Bank Holiday, the Darts have also been in good league form. Greenhalgh will be hoping they can extend their winning run in the Isthmian Premier to four matches.
In the previous three league outings Dartford have beaten full timers Chatham Town 1-0 in the last minute, defeated an in form Carshalton Athletic 3-0 and took all three points against leaders Enfield Town. In each of those games Dan Smith has netted from the penalty spot and Ryan Sandford has kept a clean sheet.
Hawks Fall
Seven months ago Whitehawk were in tenth place and four points shy of the playoffs. The Hawks had just enjoyed a derby day win over Lewes and things were looking up under Shaun Saunders. Little did the Sussex side know that was to be their last win until a fortnight ago.
Saunders stepped down in the summer and former Burgess Hill Town joint boss, Jay Lovett arrived at the Enclosed Ground. The new Whitehawk manager had to wait for his ninth game to claim a win, then two came along at once.
Ryan On Song
The Hawks will arrive at Princes Park having beaten two of the newly promoted sides, Three Bridges in the league and AFC Whyteleafe in the F.A Trophy. The star man in those games has been Kamarni Ryan. The forward scored all four against AFC Whyteleafe on Saturday and a brace in the 3-2 win over Three Bridges two weeks ago.
An away win at Princes Park coupled with a draw between AFC Whyteleafe and Brentwood Town on Wednesday night will see the Hawks climb out of the bottom four.
Manager’s View
After a long journey and an interrupted warm up the Darts knocked Leiston out of the F.A Trophy, Ben Greenhalgh was delighted with the outcome, he spoke to Dartford FC TV and said: “It was an absolute superb performance all round. We could have scored more at the end, we could have got loads of goals”.
Dartford now turn their focus back to the league and Greenhalgh wants to end the month on another high, he commented: “We’ve played six games in September with different teams every time. We’ve barely been able to get the same eleven that often. We’ve got four clean sheets in six games and won five out of six. It’s been incredible so far and we’ve got one more job to do on Tuesday to finish off a brilliant September”.
Interview courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Team News
A few players were struggling with minor injuries before the weekend. However, Emmanuel Oke, Adrian Gyamera, Ikechukwu Orji and Tyler Ibe were all able to feature in the F.A Trophy. Jordan Higgs came off at half-time with a dead leg, but Greenhalgh confirmed it is nothing major and the midfielder will need assessing for Tuesday. Ben Swift and Joe Tennent remain out with longer term injuries.
Current League Form
| DARTFORD (WLLWWW) | WHITEHAWK (LLLDLW) | ||||
| Enfield Town | A | 2-0 | Three Bridges | H | 3-2 |
| Carshalton Athletic | A | 3-0 | Maldon & Tiptree | A | 2-3 |
| Chatham Town | H | 1-0 | Burgess Hill Town | H | 1-1 |
| Burgess Hill Town | A | 1-2 | Enfield Town | A | 1-5 |
| Welling United | H | 0-3 | Chatham Town | H | 0-3 |
| Maldon & Tiptree | A | 2-1 | Aveley | A | 2-3 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 9 / Whitehawk wins: 3 / Draws: 0
Previous Meetings
Whitehawk 1 – 2 Dartford (25/11/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 3 – 0 Whitehawk (14/10/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Whitehawk 0 – 1 Dartford (12/04/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 4 – 1 Whitehawk (04/01/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 3 – 1 Whitehawk (27/01/2018 – National South)
Whitehawk 0 – 4 Dartford (05/09/2017 – National South)
Statistics
- Dartford have won their last seven games against Whitehawk and have completed a double in the last three campaigns, in which the two sides have been in the same division
- The Darts have won their last four home games against the Hawks
- Dartford have kept six clean sheets in their last eight games in all competitions.
On This Day
Ben Greenhalgh set up Lee Noble for the opening goal against Weston-super-Mare in 2018. Noble headed in at the far post, but the visitors levelled through Gethyn Hill. The Darts ran out 2-1 winners after Jamie Philpot netted the decisive goal.
Dartford have lost just one of their last ten on this day. A pair of 2-2 F.A Cup draws took place in 2001 and 2007. The Darts drew with Croydon Athletic 25 years ago and with Camberley Town six years later, Brendon Cass and John Guest both scoring. On each occasion Dartford went on to win the replay.
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