Dartford will hope to gain momentum at Slough Town on Tuesday night and end the Rebels outstanding unbeaten home run in the National South.
The Darts earned a morale boosting victory on the weekend in their attempt to pull away from a relegation battle. Slough Town dropped points but still managed to preserve their recent run at home thanks to two late goals.
Dartford secured an important win in the Kent derby relegation six pointer versus Dover Athletic on Saturday. After a run of five straight league defeats, another against the division’s bottom side would have damaged the Darts morale even more. Instead Tony Burman’s held their nerve when it mattered and collected three potentially vital points.
Three changes were made to the starting lineup. Tommy Block and Sam Odaudu were out with injuries picked up in the loss at home to Chippenham Town. In came Tom Clifford to make his debut and Maxwell Statham. Meanwhile academy graduate Olly Box was preferred to the experience of Alex Wall, a decision that paid dividends. Tyrell Miller-Rodney was missing through suspension and Luke Allen has not been involved in a matchday squad since his injury against Welling United at the end of last year. Winger, Brandon Barzey is still recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in the defeat at home to Weymouth.
Dartford created the better chances in the opening exchanges and weren’t threatened by the hosts in the first half. Box crowned his ever first league start for the club with his first league goal. The youngster scored from the edge of the area.
The second-half was a different story as Dover Athletic searched for an equaliser. After hitting the Dartford crossbar, the Whites levelled when Destiny Oladipo finished past. An evenly poised contest was finally settled from the spot. A handball led to the Darts winning a penalty. Luke Coulson held his nerve to score the winner and complete a league double over the Whites for a second year running.
Burman spoke to Dartford FC TV after the game and was relieved his side bagged maximum points, he said: “I’m really pleased for the supporters. I’m pleased for the players as I think they have tried their hardest since I’ve been here. They’ve worked really hard and things just haven’t come off for them. I’m just pleased that for all their efforts over the last few games we’ve actually stopped the run that we were on”. The Dartford boss was also delighted at Box’s first league start, but confirmed he had to substitute the youngster to protect an ankle injury.
Dartford’s first league win in 2024 has provided an eight point cushion over the bottom four. This weekend the Darts face another relegation threatened side in Taunton Town, but first they must focus on getting a positive result against playoff hopefuls Slough Town.
A task made harder by the fact the Rebels went 17 home games unbeaten in all competitions on the weekend. Despite what manager Scott Davies called a poor performance his side came away with a 2-2 draw against Chippenham Town to maintain their incredible run on their own patch. It’s an incredible turnaround for a team that lost six of the opening seven league matches and were bottom with three points when they played the Darts in September.
A lacklustre performance last time against Slough Town left the Darts losing a lead. Baris Altintop scored his first and only goal in a Dartford shirt to put the hosts in front. However, the Rebels turned the game around when future Darts loanee George Alexander equalised in the twelfth minute. Tyrese Dyce scored the decisive goal which set the Berkshire club on their way to climbing the table. Since the loss to Davies’ side, the Rebels have moved up to tenth in the division and are now just three points away from a playoff place.
Last season the Darts completed a double over Slough Town which included a win at Arbour Park. The Rebels took the lead in the first-half through Josh Jackman and continued to be in front at the interval. In the second-half, Dowson tweaked the side with the introduction of Pierre Fonkeu and that proved pivotal later on. Charlie Sheringham scored to put Dartford on level terms, then Fonkeu won it for the Darts. That secured a fourth consecutive triumph at Arbour Park for Dartford to go with the 6-0 win in April 2022, the penalty shoot-out success in December 2020 and the 3-0 playoff victory in July 2020. At Princes Park just under a year ago, Keiran Murtagh made the difference with an early goal.
Slough Town have showed character to come back from a poor start to the season and on the weekend they had to dig in again. Finding themselves two down against Chippenham Town, the Rebels grabbed a draw after David Ogbonna and Nathan Minhas scored in the 84th and 87th minutes. In their previous outing they were involved in a seven goal thriller at Plainmoor where they beat Torquay United 4-3. Slough Town had to come from behind three times and could have settled for a draw when Dan Bayliss levelled with eight minutes to go. Instead, in injury time Leon Chambers-Parillon netted a winner. Both games featured former Dartford academy defender Temi Eweka, who made three appearances for the senior team. Eweka signed for Slough Town in August from Maidenhead United and was on loan with the Rebels last term.
Current League Form
| Dartford (LLLLLW) | Slough Town (DLLWWD) | ||||
| Dover Athletic | A | 2-1 | Chippenham Town | H | 2-2 |
| Chippenham Town | H | 0-1 | Torquay United | A | 4-3 |
| Bath City | A | 0-1 | Weston-super-Mare | H | 2-0 |
| Farnborough | A | 1-2 | Yeovil Town | A | 1-3 |
| Weymouth | H | 0-1 | Dover Athletic | A | 0-1 |
| Maidstone United | A | 1-2 | Worthing | A | 1-1 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 9 / Slough Town wins: 4 / Draws: 3
Last Six Meetings
Dartford 1 – 2 Slough Town (05/09/2023 – National South)
Slough Town 1 – 2 Dartford (25/10/2022 – National South)
Slough Town 0 – 6 Dartford (30/04/2022 – National South)
Dartford 3 – 0 Slough Town (21/08/2021 – National South)
Slough Town 2 – 2 Dartford (15/12/2020 – F.A Trophy)*
Dartford 2 – 0 Slough Town (21/11/2020 – National South)
* – Dartford won 6-5 on penalties
Statistics
- Dartford have lost just one in eight at Arbour Park (W5, D2)
- The Darts have won the last two at Slough Town with an aggregate score of 8-1.
- Slough Town’s 13 home games without defeat in the National South is the second longest streak currently in the division behind Yeovil Town’s 17 matches.
On This Day
Danny Harris made his 200th Dartford appearance and Andy Pugh scored against Eastbourne Borough on this day eight years ago. The Darts trailed when Nathaniel Pinney netted for the Sports, however Dartford responded at Priory Lane with Pugh’s strike. Tom Bradbrook was sent off leaving the Darts hanging on for a point, whilst Elliot Romain was featuring for the Sussex club. Dartford’s last win on this day was a hard thought 3-2 victory at Princes Park versus Ashford Town (Middlesex) in the Isthmian Premier League. An own goal set Dartford on their way, then Harris and Lee Burns added to the tally.
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