Dartford FC Captains Notes. Season 2011-2012
Welcome to a new season at Princes Park and our first home game of the year against Eastbourne Borough.
Saturday's result and performance was fantastic after a long trip down to Weston. The first game of any season is really tricky as the league is so much different to pre-season games. Everyone is desperate to get off to a good start and usually not much pretty football is played. But, I think we showed how much we have improved as a team after one season together in this league. We were solid at the back and looked dangerous going forward and scoring four goals will give us confidence going into the next game. It was great to see Charlie carry on from where he left off last year as well with two great goals, and each and every player put in a shift which is really encouraging.
The 4-0 result was a great start, but at the moment that is all it is. There is a long long way to go and another 40 odd big games left this season, and we will need to bring the same energy and determination to all of them to be successful. Eastbourne are going to be a strong side and will be looking to bounce straight back after being relegated last year. We now know that any team we play this year have the potential to beat you, so we will need to be at our best again to get anything out of tonight's game.
I hope you enjoy the season. We all have high hopes, and as ever we will need your support to get us through.
Bradders.
Weston-super-Mare v Dartford Sat 13 Aug 2011 FT 0-4 Att 480
Dartford v Eastbourne Borough Tue 16 Aug 2011 FT 2-1 Att 1140
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Hampton & Richmond Borough:
Welcome to today’s game against Hampton & Richmond.
The first week of the new season has gone pretty perfectly so far and to have come out with maximum points from our opening two games is fantastic. We all know how important it can be to get on a winning run so early in the season, especially considering we have two very tough away games coming up against Dover and Chelmsford next week. I thought the performance against Eastbourne on Tuesday night was excellent. We played some very nice football at times and with a little bit more drive or composure in front of goal we could have had four or five. The goal we conceded at the end was disappointing but I think we were comfortable winners and I can’t remember Eastbourne causing us many problems at all at the back.
Hampton will be another tough side, which we know all too well after losing both games to them last season. Today is a chance to put things right. The boys have worked extremely hard this week, but it will count for nothing if we do not deliver another good performance today. There will be some tired bodies and minds out there today, but we have a great squad of players, we are full of confidence and we all know what is expected.
The crowd and atmosphere was great on Tuesday, so thank you to all those that turned out. Hopefully you can replicate the same today and we can come out with another three points to cap off a great week.
Bradders.
Dartford v Hampton & Richmond Sat 20 Aug 2011 FT 2-1 Att 937
Dover v Dartford Tue 23 Aug 2011FT 2-2 Att 1455
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Bromley:
Welcome to today’s game against Bromley.
I am writing this immediately following the 2-2 draw with Dover last night, and before our trip to Chelmsford on Saturday so I am hoping that we manage to put in another decent performance and come away with a result. If so, then we would have done pretty well against two teams that are highly likely to be in contention for promotion this season.
Reflecting on the Dover game last night, I think we were very unfortunate to only come away with a point, which is a testament to how far this club has come over the past few years. We completely dominated them for long periods of the game and had several chances to score more goals than we did. Unfortunately it was not to be, but we can be pleased with the performance as I thought we were the better team throughout. Despite the disappointment, taking a point away from the Crabble should definitely be seen as a point gained even though it feels a little bit like two points dropped.
Thanks to those supporters who travelled down to Dover on Tuesday. You created a great atmosphere and it honestly felt like we were the home side at times.
Today will be another tough game. Bromley will be strong and looking to get back at us after our win in the Kent Cup final last year, but hopefully we can get another three points under our belt and keep this good run going.
Bradders.
Chelmsford v Dartford Sat 27 Aug 2011 FT 0-0 Att 1013
Dartford v Bromley Mon 29 Aug 2011 FT 3-1 Att 1550
Basingstoke v Dartford Sat 3 Sept 2011 FT 3-2 Att 493
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Eastleigh:
Welcome to today’s game against Eastleigh.
Looking back over the first month of the season, I think everyone should be pleased with how we stand. We have outplayed, outworked and outscored most of the teams we have faced, which include a few sides you would expect to be challenging for promotion come the end of the year. Having said that, last weekend’s game against Basingstoke shows just how quickly things can change. All of the good things we had been doing over the previous six games went completely out of the window. Individually we were poor and for the first time this season the other team wanted the result more than us on the day which is disappointing and unacceptable. It was a really lacklustre performance from everyone and I have no complaints about the result at all.
What is important now is that we bounce back with a result today. Eastleigh have had an indifferent start to the season and this is exactly this sort of team we tend to struggle against. If we plan to be in contention come the end of the season we have to carry on picking up points on a consistent basis. If you look at the fixtures we have coming up over the next six or seven weeks, this is going to be a very important period for us so we need to get on track quickly.
We are the home side and a massive reaction is needed to put things right. Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Eastleigh Sat 10 Sept 2011 FT 3-0 Att 1079
Farnborough v Dartford Sat 17 Sept 2011 FT 1-2 Att 679
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Staines:
Welcome to tonight's game against Staines.
We come into tonight's game on the back of another really good week. Taking six points from games against two full-time sides is a great achievement, and the manner in which each game was won was excellent. Eastleigh were physical and happy to sit back and defend so it was a good test for us to try and keep the ball and break them down. Farnborough posed a different threat as they were full of enthusiastic young pros tyring to prove a point, and I was really pleased with how we dominated the first half and then stuck together and defended solidly in the second. Two very different types of oppostion, but we were worthy winners in both games.
Staines will be a hard test for us but it is another opportunity to put three more points in the bank, and that is exactly what we will be looking to do. The league positions are starting to take shape now and we must continue to win our home games in order to keep the pace with the league leaders. Our attitude has been great so far this season and it will need to be spot on again tonight if we are to win. I am sure it will be.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Staines Town Tue 20 Sept 2011 FT 2-1 Att 1002
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Tonbridge Angels:
Welcome to today’s game against Tonbridge Angels.
It was very pleasing to come away from Tuesday night with another three points, especially coming from a goal behind at half time. Staines are always a difficult team to play against and they made it difficult for us at times through disrupting the game with a lot of fouls and long balls. Having said that, I think we showed great character in the second half and I am not sure I have been part of a more one sided game in a long while. We must have created about 15 clear cut chances, had the ball cleared off the line a few times and had a couple ruled out for offside......plus Charlie decided to show us his best Joe Bruce impression from the penalty spot. Youngy also made some excellent saves to keep us in it, so it was good team performance all-round.
I expect today’s game to be very similar to Tuesday night, with Tonbridge new to the league and looking to turn us over. They have had a decent start to the season and we certainly will not be taking the game lightly. We know Tonbridge will be dangerous going forward but it is important we stick together and keep winning our home games. Derby games tend to be more about attitude than anything else and our attitude has been spot on all year. Today will be no different.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Tonbridge Sat 24 Sept 2011 FT 3-1 Att 1385
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Harrow Borough:
Welcome to today’s FA Cup tie with Harrow Borough.
We have now played 11 league games and are sitting pretty as joint leaders in the Blue Square South. However, none of that really matters today as we turn our attentions to cup football. We all love being part of the FA Cup, and many of us have great memories of last year’s run when we came so close to causing an upset and beating Port Vale at home. But, then again we have probably all experienced losing early on in the competition as well and going home disappointed. That is exactly why we will not be taking this game lightly as we desperately want make more memories and progress further in the competition than we have done before.
Harrow will be a tough side as many of us remember from our days in the Ryman Premier League. I have always found them to be a difficult side to play against, but we know we have the quality to win if we play to our potential. The old saying that the FA Cup is “a leveller” is certainly true, which means that our attitude and desire to win has got be spot on today from the very start. This is a competition we all love being involved in, and I can’t wait to get going and see how we do this year.
As always, thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Harrow Borough Sat 1st Oct 2011 FT 5-0 Att 803
Borehamwood v Dartford Sat 8 Oct 2011 FT 3-1 Att 441 (League)
FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying - Winners receive £7,500
Cray Wanderers v Dartford Sat 15 Oct 2011 FT 1-2 Att 690
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Truro City:
Welcome to today’s game against Truro City.
Our last league outing ended in a very poor defeat to Boreham Wood, so today provides a great opportunity to put a few things right and collect three points. The performance at Boreham Wood was not up to the high standard we have set ourselves since January, so I am hoping for a big reaction today so we can keep pace at the top of the league. We all know how easy it is to lose three of four games on the spin in this league, so it is important to get back to winning ways immediately.
The performance last weekend in the FA Cup against Cray was not exactly the best either. Having said that, I was really pleased with our attitude to get back into the game after going a goal behind and turning it around to come away with a win. A home draw against Bromley in the final qualifier is about as good as we could hope for, so we have a great chance of getting back to the first round proper. It will be a tough game, but a great chance nonetheless.
Truro have had some mixed results this year after coming in as one of the fancied teams. We all know our record against these sort of teams has not been great over the past few years, so a big performance is needed today to put us back on track.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Truro City Sat 22 Oct 2011 FT 1-2 Att 1238
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Bromley – FA Cup:
Welcome to today’s FA Cup tie against Bromley.
Today presents a great opportunity for us to get into the first round proper for a second consecutive year. I am sure everyone remembers our games against Port Vale last year, where we came so close to pulling off a big upset at home, and it would be fantastic to maybe go one step further this season. The FA Cup is a competition that we all love to be involved in, and with publicity and prize money at stake, this is a massive game for both teams.
Cup ties are usually quite tasty affairs, but with the added “local derby” factor, this looks set to be a fantastic game. Although we have beaten Bromley already this year, they have been doing well recently and it is going to take a strong performance to beat them again. The result at Thurrock in mid-week has really given everybody a lift after a tough couple of weeks, so we are coming in full of confidence. Hopefully the attitude will be right and we can get ourselves back into that hat, and who knows where we could go in the next round. But before we can think of that, we need to take care of business today.
Let’s make the atmosphere a special one, and really put them under pressure from the start.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Bromley Sat 29 Oct 2011 FT 1-2 Att 1567
Thurrock v Dartford Tue 25 Oct 2011 FT 0-3 Att 642
Salisbury City v Dartford Sat 5 Nov 2011 FT 1-2 Att 769
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Weston Super Mare:
Welcome to today’s game against Weston Super Mare.
Last weekend’s win at Salisbury was a fantastic achievement for everyone involved. Salisbury is a very difficult place to go as they do not lose many points at home, so to collect all three was very pleasing. They were big and strong and made it difficult for us in the early stages with long balls into our box, but I felt we dealt with it well. We grew into the game and could have scored three or four in the second half, so I think we were well worth the win. The fans behind the goal were excellent as well, so thanks go to all those that made the trip to support us.
Today will be another tough test. Teams come to Princes Park and really raise their game, and this is something we have to get used to. Weston are a good side and they will certainly be looking for a reaction with us having beaten them three times in a row. I think we caught them cold on the opening day of the season as they have been doing well since, so today will be a completely different kind of game. Let’s hope for another good performance and another three points.
I would lastly like to mention and give thanks to Andy Young, who left us last week. Youngy was a fantastic servant for the club and saved us on countless occasions over the past few years. He came in for some unfair criticism from certain people during his time, but I personally believe he was our best player last season and one of the main reasons for the club’s recent success. We have a lot to thank him for and we wish him all the best.
Bradders.
Dartford v Weston super Mare Sat 12 Nov 2011 FT 1-1 Att 1149
Eastleigh v Dartford Sat 19 Nov 2011 FT 2-2 Att 604
FA Trophy Eastbourne v Dartford Sat 26 Nov 2011 FT 0-0 Att 508
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Eastbourne Borough (FA Trophy):
Welcome to tonight’s game against Eastbourne Borough.
After a hard fought battle on Saturday, we face another tough test tonight to try and get through to the next round of the Trophy. We all look forward to being part of these cup competitions and we had a great time last season finishing with a game up at Gateshead, so we will be trying our best to get a win tonight. I personally thought we were the better side on Saturday but we didn’t manage to nick a goal to open the game up. We created a few chances but nothing really too clear cut, so a draw was probably fair. On the plus side, I don’t think Eastbourne caused us many problems at all and we looked a lot more solid defensively than we have done recently.
This is the start of an important week for us, and with a big game coming up against Dover on Saturday it would be great to get a win tonight to raise our confidence levels going into that. Hopefully with home advantage we can book our place in the next round and I know we can rely on your support to see us through.
Thanks to those who travelled down to Eastbourne on Saturday, and hopefully we can finish the job tonight.
Bradders.
Dartford v Eastbourne Tue 29 Nov 2011 FT 2-1 Att 611
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Dover:
Welcome to today’s game against Dover.
It was nice to get back to winning ways on Tuesday night with a win against Eastbourne in the Trophy. We have found it hard to break teams down in recent weeks with the likes of Truro, Weston and Bromley coming to Princes Park with the sole intention of defending with 10 men behind the ball and catching us out on the break or from set pieces. That being said, it was very pleasing to see the boys match Eastbourne on the defensive side of things on Tuesday and then open the game up with some good play in the second half. Again, I thought we controlled the game and took our chances when it mattered, with Tom Champion scoring a goal that I can only describe as “rich and compelling”.
We welcome Dover to Princes Park today. It is a massive game for both clubs as we both try and keep pace with the league leaders, as well as for the local bragging rights between supporters. We have had some decent performances against Dover over the past couple of years, but they are a dangerous side with some good players so this will be a very tough game. I think we deserved a lot more than a draw when we visited them earlier in the season so hopefully we can put the record straight with three points today. They will be keen for a bit of revenge as well, so everything is set up nicely.
Thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy the game.
Bradders.
Dartford v Dover Sat 3 Dec 2011 FT 3-1 Att 1558
FA Trophy First Round Proper
Brackley Town v Dartford Sat 10 Dec 2011 FT 0-3 Att 291
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Dartford v Woking Tue 13 Dec 2011 FT 2-3 Att 1230
Welcome to tonight’s game against Woking.
There is no doubt about it - Woking have been far and away the best and most consistent team in the league so far this season. They sit 12 points ahead of us at the moment and rightly so. We have dropped too many cheap points this year and you can’t expect to win leagues if you don’t turn in consistent performances week after week.
Having said that, there is a long long way to go yet and absolutely anything can happen. I know that, on our day, we are one of the best teams in this league and we have the ability to beat anyone. Our form has picked up massively in the last couple of weeks, and the boys are full of confidence going into this one. I firmly believe that we are a match for Woking and it's our responsibility to prove it tonight.
I know everyone has been looking forward to this game for a while. It's a great opportunity for both teams to make a bit of a statement and I personally can’t wait. Three points tonight would give us a great chance to gain some ground on Woking going into the Christmas period, and with games in hand we could be right on their tails soon. So it's a big game for both clubs.
Thanks once again for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Woking Tue 13 Dec 2011 FT 2-3 Att 1230
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Dorchester:
Welcome to today’s game against Dorchester.
After a disappointing result in midweek, we really need to get back to winning ways immediately with three points today. The last time we lost a game it took us a couple of weeks to realise that the world hadn’t ended and that there was a long way still to go. But by that time we had dropped even more points and we can’t let that happen again.
Woking were a good strong side, but if we are honest, we were our own worst enemy at times. All three goals conceded were down to our own mistakes (myself included) and you just can’t give a team as good as them a leg up. Having said that, I don’t think anyone could disagree that we completely bossed the second half and barely gave the team that are now 15 points clear a kick. We played some of our best football of the season in that half and could have easily nicked a point in the end.
So we will take the positives from that and try and address some of the negatives. Today is another big game as three points will put us nicely back on track going into two massive games against Welling over the Christmas/New Year period. There are plenty of points left to play for and we need to take as many as we can.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Dorchester Sat 17 Dec 2011 FT 1-1 Att 924
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Welling United:
Welcome to today’s game against Welling United.
I hope everyone had a really nice Christmas and New Year. 2011 turned out to be a pretty successful year for the club after finishing last season in our highest league position for some time, and with decent cup runs including winning the Kent Senior Cup. We are sitting nicely in the league at the moment too, so hopefully 2012 will turn out to be an equally memorable year as we look to gain promotion.
I am writing this just after the draw to Dorchester on Saturday. I was personally really disappointed with the result, as I felt we didn’t play well at all and only just managed to nick a point in the end. Dorchester were a decent side, and on the back of good run of form, but if we want to get promoted they are the sort of team we need to be beating. A few of the sides around us also dropped points, which meant we missed out on a great opportunity to make up some ground.
We now go in to two massive games against Welling, who sit just above us in the league at the moment. These are always tough games, but we have come a long way from last year and I hope we can make a little bit of a statement here. Local derbies are never easy games, but I strongly believe that if we play at our best we can beat anyone in this league, no matter who they are.
Thanks for all your support in 2011 and I can only ask for the same again in 2012.
Bradders.
Welling v Dartford Mon 26 Dec 2011 FT 1-1 Att 1815
Dartford v Welling Mon 2 Jan 2012 FT 1-0 Att 2559
Havant & Waterlooville v Dartford Sat 7 Jan 2012 FT 1-4 Att 802
Hampton & Richmond v Dartford Sat 21 Jan 2012 FT 1-3 Att 656
Staines Town v Dartford Tue 24 Jan 2012 FT 1-4 Att 378
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Thurrock:
Welcome to today's game against Thurrock.
This is our third game against a team struggling at the bottom of the table in a week. We have managed two fantastic results against both Hampton and Staines so far to move into second place in the league, so it vitally important we don't let anything slip today. Having said that, Thurrock will be another tough test. They have a new manager and a virtually new team since we played them earlier in the season so we are going to need to put in another decent performance to get anything today. We will be taking nothing for granted.
We are starting to get into the business end of the season and each point dropped or gained can change things completely. People were saying that Woking had pretty much won the league by Christmas, but all of a sudden after a couple of bad results things look a little bit tighter. We need to keep focusing on what's important - to keep performing and picking up points. If we do that the race for promotion could become very interesting over the next couple of months. Let's keep concentrating on the things we can control and that starts today with Thurrock.
I would lastly like to mention Connor Essam who has rejoined Gillingham from today. He was absolutely fantastic for us and provided great cover at the back since Paul Goodacre's injury. We thank him and wish him well. I'm sure he's got a very bright future ahead of him.
Thanks for your support, particularly those who travelled to Hampton and Staines last week as the support was brilliant.
Bradders.
Dartford v Thurrock Sat 28 Jan 2012FT 6-0 Att 1206
KSC QF Tonbridge A v Dartford Tue 31 Jan 2012 FT 2-4 (AET) Att 380
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Wealdstone:
Welcome to today’s FA Trophy tie against Wealdstone.
We have been on a fantastic run of form since the turn of the year and today provides yet another great opportunity to keep that winning run going. The FA Trophy is a brilliant competition and to reach the quarter final stage would be a great achievement for the club, not to mention moving one step closer to a possible trip to Wembley. So I don’t think any more motivation is needed for this one!!!
Wealdstone have always been a difficult team to play against, as we can remember from our Ryman League days, and today will certainly be no different. They will be a big strong side and more than capable of turning us over if our attitude isn’t spot on and we do not perform. However, confidence is sky high right now and I can only hope that our fitness and quality will shine through and we can move on to the next round.
Looking back over the past couple of weeks, the performances have been great. We faced three teams at the wrong end of the table last week and to come out with nine points and having scored 13 goals was excellent. The character shown to come from behind against both Hampton and Staines was really encouraging, and last night’s result against Tonbridge in the Kent Senior Cup was also a big boost with a nice tie against Charlton the reward. I am really proud of how we have gone about things in the past month and it’s given us a great chance to seal at least a play-off spot, which was the goal at the beginning of the year. Hopefully with more hard work we can keep the good run going in both the league and cups and really push on in the last few months of the season.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Wealdstone Sat 4 Feb 2012 POSTPONED
Dartford v Wealdstone Wed 8 Feb 2012 POSTPONED
Dartford v Wealdstone Tue 14 Feb 2012 FT 2-2 Att 770
Woking v Dartford Sat 18 Feb 2012 FT 1-0 Att 2528
Wealdstone v Dartford Tue 21 Feb 2012 FT 1-0 Att 670
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These notes were written on 8.2.2012.
Sutton United:
The weather has been an absolute nightmare over the past week, which means our FA Trophy game against Wealdstone has already been postponed three times, and with the forecast not looking great for the coming week it doesn’t seem likely that we will be playing Sutton on Saturday either. My fingers are crossed but I am not very hopeful. Let’s see what happens.
Seeing as though there is no football to speak of, I might as well offer a cheeky little insight into the DFC dressing room. May I start by congratulating Ryan Hayes on reaching 300 appearances for the club. This is a great achievement and one he should be very proud of. I would also like to be the first to congratulate him on his upcoming 700th appearance as an unused sub which will inevitably come whenever we next play away from home....or when the weather is a bit too cold....or when the pitch is a bit too muddy. In recognition of this great achievement, he got sent a lovely letter of congratulations from the local council, along with a £15,000 bill for seven year’s worth of broken windows caused by balls that have sailed out of Princes Park off his shin.
In other news, Adam Green has been taking extra lessons on how to use his arms when jumping for headers (a skill that was obviously not covered in the “Chris Coleman Guide to Left Backs” manual), Matt Jones has finally caught up on his sleep and police continue to question Lee Noble following a break-in at the Champion residence last month. Deren Ibrahim is also in the frame considering he has stolen pretty much everything else the club has to offer this season.
On the injury front, Paul Goodacre continues his recovery from a slight knee bruise that has kept him out for six months. We haven’t dropped a point since he was stretchered off on that fateful night......so we wish him a speedy recovery and can’t wait to have him back in the side!!! Elsewhere, I haven’t seen John Wallis in three weeks as he is still looking for his front tooth out on the practice pitch which is apparently going to cost him £2,500 to fix. I personally feel we should hold a bucket collection to raise the cash......or we could just laugh at him. Finally, Danny Harris continues to suffer with tight hamstrings caused by the fact that he has to cart his wallet around with him all day. We all sympathise!!
Bradders.
Dartford v Sutton Utd Tue 20 Mar 2012 FT
6-1 Att 1022
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Salisbury and Basingstoke
Football is a funny old game - sometimes you get exactly what you deserve, and sometimes you don’t, and we certainly experienced that last week. The performance on Tuesday night against Wealdstone was admittedly one of the poorest in a long while and we were rightly beaten by the better side – no excuses. But anyone who saw the performance at Woking last Saturday will know that we deserved so much more and didn’t get it. But that’s football. We now have to move on quickly and put things right.
I am sure that we will come in for a bit of criticism following the result at Wealdstone and rightly so, but I don’t think it should overshadow all the good things that this team has done so far this year, and I can assure you that nobody was as upset and disappointed at losing on Tuesday night (and Saturday) than the players were. I have heard a few shouts about needing new players, tactics and formations etc, but let’s not forget that we have barely dropped a point in the last few months and sit in a fantastic position in the league. The ultimate aim for this season was to get in the playoffs, and I have every confidence that we can achieve that and hopefully get promoted.
We now go into a massive few days with games against both Salisbury and Basingstoke, and we can’t afford to let all our hard work go to waste because of one bad week. Let’s have everyone getting behind the team and get back to winning ways.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Salisbury City Sat 25 Feb 2012 FT 2-0 Att 941
Dartford v Basingstoke Mon 27 Feb 2012 FT 4-1 Att 783
Tonbridge v Dartford Sat 3 Mar 2012 FT 0-1 Att 1139
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Farnborough:
Welcome to today’s game against Farnborough.
Since the disappointment of going out of the FA Trophy to Wealdstone a couple of weeks ago, I personally think the response from the players has been excellent. It easy to get disheartened after a performance and result like that (plus the added disappointment of the defeat at Woking on the Saturday before), but it shows something special to come back a record three big wins in the past week like we have done. I have heard a few criticisms of the performance at Tonbridge last weekend, which I really cannot understand – from my point of view that was a brilliant gritty performance that could potentially shape the rest of our season and is the mark of a good side. I would take that every day of the week, and much prefer it over the great performance we turned in at Woking but came away with nothing. If we are to be promoted at the end of the season, then its games like Tonbridge last week and Salisbury away earlier in the year that would have made it possible.
With Woking dropping points, we are certainly still in with a shout of winning the league. But then again the management and players have never doubted that Woking can be caught. However, let’s not get carried away, we still have 12 games left this season and if we take our foot off the pedal we will be lucky to sneak a play-off place let alone winning the league. The team’s attitude has been excellent all season and it will have to stay that way if we are to win anything. This league has a tendency to come back to bite you whenever you think you are ahead, and we don’t want that to happen to us.
Today we face a Farnborough team on a winning streak that are more than capable of turning us over if our attitude is not right. We are at the start of another massive week for the club with three big games, and that is all we are focused on right now. Hopefully we can keep winning games and move further away from the team in sixth, and you never know may happen in the next couple of months.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Farnborough Sat 10 Mar 2012 FT 3-0 Att 1374
Maidenhead v Dartford Tue 13 Mar 2012 FT 1-1 Att 355
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Havant & Waterlooville:
Welcome to today’s game against Havant & Waterlooville.
It has been a bit of a mixed week for us. We had a great result and performance against Farnborough last weekend, particularly seeing as though they had won their previous six games, but we followed that up with a disappointing draw at Maidenhead on Tuesday night. In the grand scheme of things, a point away from home on a bad pitch probably isn’t a bad result, but with the way the game went it was certainly two points dropped from our perspective. Having said that, we have been on an amazing run of league form since the turn of the year and its says a lot about us as a team when a draw feels just as bad as a loss.
With Woking winning in mid-week we have dropped a little bit further off the pace which is a shame. But, as we have always said, there is still a long way to go yet this season and all teams are bound to drop points along the way. The most important thing is that we pick ourselves up and get back to winning ways to keep the pressure on those around us. There are 10 games left to play this season and if we can continue playing like we have done, we will be right there in the mix at the end of April. Let’s take nothing for granted and really push on over the next six weeks.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Havant & Waterlooville Sat 17 Mar 2012 FT 3-1 Att 1087
KSC Semi Final Dartford v Charlton Tue 27 Mar 2012 FT 3-1 Att 1682
Dorchester v Dartford Sat 24 Mar 2012 FT 1-0 Att 534
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Maidenhead:
Welcome to today’s game against Maidenhead.
Today is a real chance to put things right again after we have missed out on a couple of opportunities to gain some ground on Woking in the last few weeks. In the scheme of things, the point we got at Maidenhead a couple of weeks ago was a decent one as they have proved to be a tough team to beat at times this season, but from our point of view it was a missed opportunity. That was followed by a couple of good wins, but again we stumbled at Dorchester last weekend. I was really gutted by that result, but with Woking also losing it just goes to show that anything can still happen in the coming seven games.
Tuesday night’s win against Charlton Athletic was really pleasing. It was nice to see some of the boys that haven’t been playing much lately put on a really good show in front of the big crowd, and against a pro outfit. That keeps our hopes alive of defending the Kent Senior Cup title, which probably hasn’t been done many times in the past. The only disappointing thing was the injury to Derren Ibrahim, and we all wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully we can lift the trophy again this year and it will mean that Derren would have won it for three years in a row...quite an achievement.
I expect today’s game to be another tough test. All we can do is keep trying to pick up three points and see where that takes us.
Thanks for your support.
Bradders.
Dartford v Maidenhead Sat 31 Mar 2012 FT 2-1 Att 1069
Eastbourne Borough v Dartford Tue 3 Apr 2012 FT 0-1 Att 853
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Chelmsford:
Welcome to today’s game against Chelmsford.
It has been another really pleasing week for us with two big results over teams that are struggling a bit down at the bottom. Those are always the hardest games to play in, so to manage to come out with six points was fantastic. We knew that the Eastbourne game carried a little bit of extra pressure with it being our game in hand over Woking, but I think our performance showed that we really mean business going into the final five games of the year. That win guaranteed us a play-off spot, which was our goal at the beginning of the season, so it is nice to have accomplished that, but it is also nice to still be in there with a chance of winning it if Woking slip up.
Today will be a different type of game than the last two, but perhaps even tougher with Chelmsford still fighting to get in the play-offs. It is getting tight for that fifth play-off spot so they need a win just as much as we do, which sets this up to be a great game. They have good players and our record has not been too great against them over the past couple of years, but this is a great opportunity to make another little statement and keep ourselves in with a shout of automatic promotion. I am sure this season has a few twists and turns left in it, so hopefully we can continue to take care of our own business and see what’s in store over the next few weeks.
Thanks for your support, especially to those that made the long trip down to Eastbourne on Tuesday night.
Bradders.
Dartford v Chelmsford Sat 7 Apr 2012 FT 0-0 Att 1660
Bromley v Dartford Mon 9 Apr 2012 FT 1-2 Att 676
Sutton Utd v Dartford Sat 14 Apr 2012 FT 0-1 Att 756
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Boreham Wood:
Welcome to today’s game against Boreham Wood.
Our place in the play-offs has now been confirmed and the win at Sutton last weekend ensured us of a second place finish. This is a fantastic achievement for the management, players, supporters and everyone associated with the club. It has been a long hard season, and to have achieved our goal of reaching the play-offs with two games to spare is something to be proud of. We can also take a lot of heart after pushing Woking so close, particularly when you look at how far we were behind them at the turn of the year. Unfortunately it was not to be, and they should be congratulated on an excellent season themselves. In any other year I think we would have done enough to win the league but, as expected, it has come down to just a few dropped points here and there.
But before we all start congratulating each other, we have to realise that we have a massive few weeks coming up. I think we deserve to be promoted after the season we have had, but as we all know, it is not often the team that deserves it the most that does. We need to continue winning games in order to build some momentum going into the play-offs and we have two big league games and a cup final in which to do that. We have had very little success over Boreham Wood in the past few years and that is something all the boys want to put right today in order to keep our winning run going. We owe them a big performance because we have let ourselves down against them too often in the past and that needs to change.
Thanks for your support over the course of this season, and I hope as many of you as possible can come out and support us in the coming weeks.
Bradders.
Dartford v Borehamwood Sat 21 Apr 2012
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