Dartford hope to get back to winning ways against Wingate and Finchley at Princes Park this weekend.
After an excellent run of seven wins in a row, the Darts came crashing down to earth with a shock F.A Cup exit and a Kent derby loss. Tuesday night’s reverse has seen Ben Greenhalgh’s side slip to third in the Isthmian Premier.
Wingate and Finchley will be pleased to get back to league action after almost a month in cup competitions. The Blues bowed out of the F.A Cup in midweek, but will now be focusing on climbing the standings.
Ex-Darts Hit Back
It was a night for former Dartford players and one in particular on Tuesday evening. Callum Jones came back to haunt his former club with the match winning goal that condemned the Darts to a third league defeat this season.
Greenhalgh made three changes to the side that suffered the F.A Cup shock against Tadley Calleva. Emmanuel Oke was back after nursing an injury, Tyler Ibe and Ikechukwu Orji also returned to the lineup. Featuring on the bench was new dual registration signing Vladimir Paternoster from National South side Braintree Town. The 20-year-old defender moved to the Essex club from Luton Town under 21’s.
The evening started well for the Darts, Oke cleverly flicked in the opener after just five minutes. By half time the Rams were in front, the first coming whilst Dan Smith was off the pitch having treatment to an injury. Ramsgate took advantage of having an extra player and Billy Munday equalised. A minute before the break Jones came back to haunt his former side with an acrobatic finish.
Highlights courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Home Blues
Dartford have lost two of the last three matches against Wingate and Finchley including the previous two at Princes Park. The Blues were the first visiting side to beat the Darts last season. An injury time strike ended Dartford’s 11 game unbeaten league run at the time.
A tight first half saw the score level at the break, but the deadlock was finally broken by the hosts on 69 minutes. Wingate and Finchley failed to clear a free kick and when Jacob Bland anticipated Eddie Dsane’s scuffed shot he tapped home his first for the club.
The visitors levelled when Caoilan McGettigan squared for an unmarked Logic Hernandez who slotted the ball through Jonny Henley’s legs. Wingate and Finchley grabbed a winner through Romeo Akinola’s curling shot from just outside the box in second half stoppage time.
Highlights courtesy of Dartford FC TV
In March, Wingate and Finchley completed a double over the Darts. First half goals from Mackye Townsend-West and Camilo Restrepo and an early third in the second half by Ryan Lowe left Dartford with too much to do. Dan Smith scored a consolation in the 3-1 loss.
Turning Point
During the 2024/2025 season, a second half fightback became one of the turning points in Dartford’s campaign. The Darts found themselves three down at home after just 21 minutes. Andronicos Georgiou scored a brace and Ben Frempah added a third. In the second half Olly Box and Ade Yussuf pulled goals back for the hosts. After that game Dartford went on a club equalling 21 match unbeaten run in the league. Frempah went on to play for the Darts last season making 11 appearances before rejoining Wingate and Finchley.
Cup Distractions
It’s been almost a month since Wingate and Finchley played a league fixture. That was an entertaining 4-3 away victory against Aveley. Both Scott Kashket and David Oupoh scored a brace. The Blues let a 3-1 lead slip before Oupah netted an injury time winner.
Since then Ahmet Rifat’s side have played six matches across three cup competitions. In the F.A Cup second qualifying round they knocked out National South side Hemel Hempstead Town in a replay, drawing 1-1 in Hertfordshire before winning 2-1 at home.
Two clean sheets followed on the road at Real Bedford in the F.A Trophy third qualifying round, then at Cockfosters in the London Senior Cup. The Blues progressed in each competition beating Real Bedford 3-0 and Cockfosters 1-0.
Giantkilling Denied
On the weekend, the Blues came close to causing their own cup upset against National North side Bedford Town. Anointed Chukwu gave Wingate and Finchley the lead twice, but two George Moncur penalties made sure the tie would go to a replay.
Bedford Town took a two goal lead on Tuesday night. First, Louie Kudiabor put the Eagles in front, then Moncur netted again a minute before the interval. Two minutes into first half stoppage time Ashley Nzala halved the deficit. Kudiabor added another ten minutes into the second half to end Wingate and Finchley’s F.A Cup progress.
Tough Schedule
In league action Wingate and Finchley have already come up against their fair share of in-form teams. After an opening day draw against Cray Wanderers they were beaten by Carshalton Athletic. They have also been defeated by both Enfield Town and Welling United. The Blues have also been involved in some high scoring games, winning 3-2 at Chatham Town and in their last league fixture they won 4-3 at Aveley.
Manager’s View
In recent games Tadley Calleva and now Ramsgate have benefitted from set pieces. Ben Greenhalgh acknowledges his side need to be more physical in those situations, he told Dartford FC TV: “You saw on Saturday, at the moment we’re probably not physical enough dealing with set pieces” and that’s been answered”. After falling behind before half time, the Darts found the second half frustrating and Greenhalgh was unhappy with the performance, he added: “I am disappointed and I have given a bit of criticism in the bravery from everyone. People have to step up in their moments and show a bit more quality”.
Greenhalgh is expecting plenty of hard work in training ahead of this weekend’s match and is determined to get the Darts back on track, he commented: “We will be there to bounce back. We need to show desire. I don’t want the fans coming to a game at home and not seeing that extra bit of effort that gets us over the line”, he continued: “It’s back-to-back losses, we’ve had that before this season and had a brilliant bounce back. So we need to put ourselves in a similar position”.
Interview courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Team News
Dartford are still without defenders Ben Swift and Joe Tennent, who continue their recovery from long term injury. Vladimir Paternoster awaits his debut after signing on dual registration.
Current League Form
| DARTFORD (LWWWWL) | WINGATE & FINCHLEY (DWWLLW) | ||||
| Ramsgate | H | 1-2 | Aveley | A | 4-3 |
| Whitehawk | H | 2-1 | Welling United | A | 1-4 |
| Enfield Town | A | 2-0 | Enfield Town | H | 1-4 |
| Carshalton Athletic | A | 3-0 | Chatham Town | A | 3-2 |
| Chatham Town | H | 1-0 | Dulwich Hamlet | H | 1-0 |
| Burgess Hill Town | A | 1-2 | AFC Whyteleafe | A | 2-2 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 4 / Wingate and Finchley wins: 5 / Draws: 2
Previous Meetings
Wingate and Finchley 3 – 1 Dartford (07/03/2026 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 1 – 2 Wingate and Finchley (08/11/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Wingate and Finchley 1 – 2 Dartford (18/01/2025 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 2 – 2 Wingate and Finchley (19/10/2024 – Isthmian Premier)
Dartford 1 – 0 Wingate and Finchley (26/04/2008 – Isthmian Division One North)
Wingate and Finchley 0 – 2 Dartford (03/11/2007 – Isthmian Division One North)
Statistics
- Dartford have lost three of the last four against Wingate and Finchley (W1)
- The Darts have lost their last two home games against the Blues, their only two home losses versus the North London side
- Both teams have scored in 9 of the 11 meetings. Dartford are the only team to have kept a clean sheet in this fixture, both games in the 2007/2008 Isthmian North title winning season.
On This Day
Dartford last won on this day in the pre Princes Park era. Almost a month before the Darts’ homecoming they beat Tonbridge Angels 3-1 in the Isthmian League Cup second round. Since then, Dartford were knocked out of the F.A Cup against Chelmsford City in 2009 after a 4-1 home defeat. During Covid, the Darts drew 0-0 away at Hampton and Richmond six years ago.
In 1891, Dartford hit double figures in a friendly against Stone with a 10-2 victory, The Darts have scored ten or more in 11 matches, eight of them before 1906. Only twice have they scored ten or more after World War Two (11-1 v Faversham Town in 1966 and 10-0 v Crawley Town in 1975).
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