Dartford FC Previews

Tag: Pre-season

Dartford v Ebbsfleet United

August 2, 2025 / / 0 Comments

The Darts play their final pre-season friendly at Princes Park this weekend against local rivals Ebbsfleet United.

Adrian Pennock has already watched his squad take on higher league opposition losing to Charlton Athletic and Gillingham, but beating Eastbourne Borough. The Darts boss has also prepared his side with further matches versus Herne Bay and Faversham Town picking up draws in both away games.

Ebbsfleet United are preparing for life back in the National South and have so far picked up wins against a West Ham United under 21 side and Gillingham. The Fleet drew with Aveley and King’s Lynn Town and have been beaten by Punjab United and Leyton Orient. On Wednesday they visited St Albans City and were beaten by the Hertfordshire side.

Suprisingly, since Princes Park opened this will be just the third friendly between the two rivals. On both previous occasions the match has ended in a 1-1 draw in 2013, then six years later. In competitive action there has been plenty of history in with this fixture being played over 150 times.

In recent times Dartford enjoyed a festive double over the Fleet winning 4-1 at Stonebridge Road on Boxing Day in 2022. The Darts began the following year even better with an impressive 4-0 triumph at Princes Park. Although Dartford claimed the local bragging rights, Ebbsfleet United went on to win the National South title. Since then both sides have suffered relegation, Dartford the following season and Ebbsfleet United almost four months.

The Darts begin their Isthmian Premier campaign next weekend away at Dulwich Hamlet. On the same day, Ebbsfleet United start their National South season at fellow relegated side Dagenham and Redbridge.

Faversham Town v Dartford

July 29, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Dartford visit Southern Counties East champions Faversham Town on Tuesday night in their last away friendly ahead of the new campaign.

The Darts have prepared for the new Isthmian Premier season with a win against Eastbourne Borough, a draw at Herne Bay and defeat versus higher league opponents Charlton Athletic and Gillingham.

However, results are not important for Adrian Pennock and his staff. Focus remains on increasing the squad’s fitness levels ahead of the season opener on 9 August.

So far most Dartford players have been involved in each pre-season friendly. Sam Okoye has not been ready to participate yet and Dean Nayler picked up an injury against Eastbourne Borough. In addition to the players available , Pennock is still looking at triallists which include former Dartford players Ronnie Vint and Nathan Green.

Under the guidance of Tommy Warrilow, Faversham Town are getting ready for their return to the Isthmian Division One South East after a couple of years away. Warrilow who played six games for the Darts in the 1997/1998 season organised a tough schedule for his current team this summer. The Kent side have taken on Dover Athletic, Folkestone Invicta, Chatham Town and Billericay Town as well as Greenwich Borough and Punjab United.

Dartford have an almost perfect record against Faversham Town since the Lillywhites reformed in 1947. The Darts recorded an 11-1 victory in the Kent Senior Cup first round almost 60 years ago. Dartford went on to win a further six in the eight meetings since and drawn twice.

The most recent game between the two sides was in the county cup back in 2012. A Nathan Collier brace was enough to secure a 2-1 triumph for the Darts. In the early to mid-nineties Dartford and Faversham Town faced each other in the Kent League and over the three seasons the Darts were unbeaten winning four out of six.

Faversham Town approach the new campaign off the back of a sensational title winning season. The Lillywhites only tasted defeat twice in the league, recorded the most wins, the most goals and also conceded the fewest.

The Lilywhites begin their season in the F.A Cup Extra Preliminary round this weekend against Balham.

Dartford v Gillingham

July 25, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Dartford’s penultimate home friendly will bring familiarity to warming up for competitive football when they host Gillingham this weekend.

With the Isthmian Premier season a fortnight away manager Ady Pennock will continue to prepare the Darts, this time against his former club. The Dartford boss made almost 200 appearances between 1996 and 2003 for the Gills and managed the club in 2017.

The Darts have spread the minutes around the squad over the three friendlies so far. Twice they have played higher league opposition losing 3-2 against Charlton Athletic, then beating Eastbourne Borough 1-0. On Tuesday night the Darts travelled to Herne Bay and drew 2-2. Striker Dan Smith scored for the first time in a Dartford shirt and Olly Box netted a penalty.

Gillingham are getting ready for their League Two season opener at Accrington Stanley next weekend. So the Darts should expect a tough test as the Gills fine tune themselves.

Gareth Ainsworth’s side have won one of their pre-season fixtures and that was the first game against Dover Athletic. The Gills beat the National South side 1-0 with a goal from Robbie McKenzie.

Three friendlies followed against higher league opposition. Gillingham drew 0-0 with Reading, then tested their fitness on the south coast. Two matches behind closed doors versus Southampton were split into 60-minute games. Cameron Archer scored the only goal of the game in the first run out as the Saints won 1-0. In the following match Ross Stewart and Tyler Dibling netted for Will Still’s side to put Saints two up. The Gills pulled a goal back through a Jack Nolan penalty, but Kuryu Matsuki made it 3-1.

Most recently, the Gills played Ebbsfleet United and lost 2-1 to the Fleet. Gillingham’s Joe Gbode struck late on, but that was a consolation. Earlier, Lennon Peake opened the scoring from the spot and former Gillingham striker Dominic Samuel put Fleet two ahead.

Since the opening of Princes Park, Gillingham have visited DA1 eleven times in pre-season and have won the lot. In a more competitive environment Dartford did beat the Gills 2-1 in the Kent Senior Cup second round almost ten years ago. Last July, the Darts were beaten 4-0 by the Gills in a friendly and the previous year it was 5-0.

Gillingham finished last term in seventeenth place with only relegated Morecambe scoring fewer goals. However, defensively they were sound with only two teams in League Two conceding less than the Kent club.

The Gills had a bright start and topped the table after nine matches, but from October they began to slide. Mark Bonner was sacked in January to be replaced by the experienced John Coleman. However, Coleman didn’t last long and Gillingham made another change. With nine games remaining and without the threat of relegation or a chance of promotion, Ainsworth took over. The former Wycombe Wanderers boss used the rest of the campaign to assess his squad.

Herne Bay v Dartford

July 21, 2025 / / 0 Comments

A summer trip to the north Kent coast to play Herne Bay will continue preparations for Dartford on Tuesday night.

The Darts look forward to their first away fixture having played two at home so far. At Princes Park, Adrian Pennock oversaw a narrow defeat versus Charlton Athletic and a win against Eastbourne Borough on the weekend.

Dartford fielded a strong team on Saturday and made ten changes with an hour played. Samir Carruthers scored the only goal after 15 minutes, but manager Pennock isn’t too bothered about the results during pre-season. He spoke to Dartford FC TV and said: “It was a good run out, a lot of players had an hour. We’re just getting the minutes under our belt. I’m pleased with the fitness levels. I promise you now I’m not really worried about results”.

Herne Bay began their pre-season early starting on the first day of July. Tuesday night will be the Bay’s sixth friendly. Under new head coach Liam Friend, the Bay have won all but one of their friendlies. Kennington were beaten 3-1 before Hollands and Blair were defeated 5-0. Herne Bay lost their next fixture 2-0 against Phoenix Sports. Over the last week the Kent side recorded a 2-0 victory over Chipstead and a 7-2 win versus Hythe Town. The Darts should provide a tougher test as Bay’s opponents so far have all come from a lower division.

Tyler Christian-Law won’t have to wait too long to see his old teammates again. The midfielder has signed for Herne Bay after making 42 appearances for the Darts last season.

It was back in the nineties when Dartford came up against Herne Bay during the Kent League days. The Darts began their journey back up the footballing pyramid after reforming in the early part of that decade.

At the time of applying for promotion to the Southern League, Herne Bay won the Kent League in 1993/94. Despite becoming champions the Bay stayed in the division. It was during this period when the Darts faced Herne Bay six times in the league. Goals were at a premium though as half of those matches finished 0-0.

It took until Dartford’s promotion season to record a first league win over the coastal club. However, the Darts have won the last three meetings all in different competitions. The most recent victory was a Kent Senior Cup tie in February 2016.

Whilst for Herne Bay, after finishing runners up in consecutive seasons they finally won promotion via the playoffs in 2012. They had one campaign in the Isthmian Premier before returning to step four a couple of years ago.

The Bay spent the second part of last season hovering around where they finished in 16th spot. Although the Isthmian Division One South East side enjoyed some big wins towards the tail end of the season. One of those victories was a 9-1 mauling against last place Lancing.

Dartford v Eastbourne Borough

July 16, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Dartford continue their pre-season with another home friendly this weekend against National South side Eastbourne Borough.

The Darts began preparations for the 2025/2026 campaign last Saturday in an entertaining game against a strong Charlton Athletic team. Although the Darts lost 3-2, Pennock changed each outfield player at half-time as the squad continued to build up their fitness levels.

New signings were given a chance to impress for the fist time. Ben Frempah was part of the defence having signed from Wingate and Finchley. Midfielder, Sammie McLeod started after his move from Sevenoaks Town. Goalkeeper, Jonny Henly was at Folkestone Invicta last term and he was replaced late in the second half.

At the break the scores were level with Dartford equalising twice. Last season’s Player of the Year and top scorer, Callum Jones put home a rebound from close range. Then Samir Carruthers calmly chipped in a penalty.

For the second half, Pennock gave supporters a glimpse at latest signing Ikechi Eze. Signed from Potters Bar Town, the midfielder is brother of Crystal Palace’s F.A Cup winner and England international, Eberechi. Dan Smith also came on, the striker top scored for Folkestone Invicta last season. After signing a new contract this summer Michael Olarewaju also featured. The defender could have a part to play against his old club this weekend.

Eastbourne Borough kickstarted their build up to the new season with an away trip to Farnham Town. Their opponents hosted the Sports after winning back to back titles to reach the Southern Premier South.

The Sports fielded former Dart, Kai Innocent who made eight appearances for Dartford in 2022. A goal down at the break, the Sussex side introduced George Alexander as one of many changes and he equalised. The striker is another former player and scored two goals in ten games for the Darts during the 2023/2024 campaign. However, Farnham Town went on to add two unanswered goals to win 3-1.

The footballing worlds of Dartford and Eastbourne Borough collided 14 years ago. Moving in the right direction, the Darts made their way up to the National South. Whilst the Sports dropped down a division, culminating in many meetings between the two sides.

Between August 2011 and November 2018, the Darts enjoyed an unbeaten run of 12 games in all competitions against the Sussex side. However, over the following dozen matches the spoils have been shared with five victories each. In that time both sides have claimed notable wins. The Sports won 6-0 in April 2019 and the Darts won 7-2 three years later.

Like the Darts, Borough took the league title to the final day last season, but were incredibly one of five teams to have missed out. In the end the Sports finished third on goal difference a point behind eventual winners Truro City. The Sussex club were beaten in their first playoff match losing to Maidstone United.

Still, it was a positive campaign for Eastbourne Borough who recorded their highest finish since relegation from the National League in 2011. Former manager, Adam Murray left this summer to move nearer his family in the Midlands. Now Matt Gray is at the helm. Four years ago he guided Sutton United to the National League title and into the Football League.

Dartford v Charlton Athletic

July 10, 2025 / / 0 Comments

League One playoff winners Charlton Athletic visit Princes Park this weekend for a fourth year in a row to begin Dartford’s preparations for the new season.

The Addicks have been a regular feature in Dartford’s pre-season recently with the two sides meeting six times in friendlies since Princes Park opened in 2006. The Darts have lost the lot and the previous two have ended with the London side winning 6-1.

In compeititve matches, the Darts have faced this weekend’s opponents in the Kent Senior Cup three times. Dartford have been victorious on each occasion, including the 2016 final.

Adrian Pennock has already seen his squad put in some hard yards during training sessions for the new campaign. The early stages of pre-season will continue the good work whilst giving new players time to gel with those retained over the summer.

New additions include striker Dan Smith and goalkeeper Jon Henly both from Folkstone Invicta. In defence, Ben Frempah has joined from Wingate and Finchley and in midfield Sammie McLeoad from Sevenoaks Town. Over the next few weeks Pennock will also get the chance to look at some of the academy team and triallists.

Charlton Athletic are also starting their pre-season fixtures and will be flying out to Slovenia for next weekend’s game against HNK Gorica. The Addicks will be getting ready for life back in the Championship after a five year absence.

Macaulay Gillesphey’s first-half free-kick was enough for the Addicks to beat Leyton Orient at Wembley in May’s playoff final to win promotion. Manager, Nathan Jones guided the London side to fourth place after a strong second half to last season. Striker, Matthew Godden top scored for the Addicks and he could return to Princes Park after a loan spell with the Darts in 2013, where he scored five goals in nine appearances.

Dartford begin their season on Saturday 9 August, fixtures to be announced next week. On the same day, Charlton Athletic commence their Championship campaign at home to Watford.

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