Dartford v Tonbridge Angels Sat 23 Sep 2023

[Park Life]

Sub:-
Allen for Bradbury

[Park Life]

Sorry missed earlier sub:-
Woods for Barzey

[Park Life]

Sub:
Golding for Odaudu

[Sleightly Deceptive]

Cheers Clare, the Commentator has a lisp though?
Lots of R’s in our team too!!

Welease Miller-Wodney, Wooney and Bwadbwury!

[Park Life]

FT 1-0

[Lennylenny]

I’m sorry let’s not sugar coat this , two teams who will struggle under thier current managers. First half we played football, ( against the worst team I’ve seen this year admittedly) and the crowd were happy we went 1/0 up and couldn’t wait for second half , then dowse must have decided to settle for 1/0 and second half was back to the same old dross. Five in midfield at home, pulling a striker into midfield? Time wasting in the corner from our corner? We were at home to relegation contenders but were left hanging on. 3 points and a win , but again left feeling flat when at halftime it looked like we had some kind of idea that it is a entertainment buisness. Plus side what wonderful work the players did with the youngsters at the end , well done who organised all that

[KentC]

I’m sorry let’s not sugar coat this , two teams who will struggle under thier current managers. First half we played football, ( against the worst team I’ve seen this year admittedly) and the crowd were happy we went 1/0 up and couldn’t wait for second half , then dowse must have decided to settle for 1/0 and second half was back to the same old dross. Five in midfield at home, pulling a striker into midfield? Time wasting in the corner from our corner? We were at home to relegation contenders but were left hanging on. 3 points and a win , but again left feeling flat when at halftime it looked like we had some kind of idea that it is a entertainment buisness. Plus side what wonderful work the players did with the youngsters at the end , well done who organised all that

Not too far off my thoughts, they got behind us quite a few times in the second half and if they had any quality then it would have been a problem.

I guess you can only play who’s in front of you as they say.

[Mark Sweet]

We won a must win game which was the important thing.

First half was probably the best we've played all season. We mostly played it on the ground and got into dangerous areas, and when we did need to go long ball/direct we did so effectively, finding Lewis/Harvey who brought others into play with their fantastic hold up play. My only criticism is there was a few times where we had nobody around them to win second balls but luckily Tonbridge were poor in the midfield we ended up getting it back.

Second half we weren't as good as the first half and fell back into most of what we have seen this season where Tonbridge had the majority of possession and we got trapped into doing long balls however this time we weren't finding our target men which resulted in more pressure for our defence to deal with. Our lack of attacking options of the bench didn't help and when Dowse did have to change things, he had to change the system to go to 1 up top and bring more defensive players on, which caused us to concede even more pressure.

What I also want to give credit for is there looked like there was more desire/energy around the pitch today with players wanting to be the first to the ball and win it back if there was a turnover of possession, something we have been missing this season. If players are working hard and playing for the badge on their shirt, I'll have very little complaints.

My MOTM was between a few options. Miller-Rodney in the middle of the park was fantastic today, showed great energy both on and off the ball. Lewis was superb up top, holding the ball up and was very unlucky not to have a goal and an assist to his name in the 2nd half. But my vote is going to Baris. I thought defensively was outstanding today with very little getting past him. He also contributed attacking wise, getting into dangerous areas with his overlapping runs and delivering dangerous balls into the box. He's taken to that full back position wonderfully and full credit to him today.

Tonbridge weren't great, but we did our jobs and gives us something to build on. We have the joint 2nd best defensive record in the league with only 10 goals conceded, we just need to start scoring more of our chances and relieve ourselves of the nervy endings!

COYD!!!

[rambo]

I missed the game as I turned back because of a fire in the blackwall , north and south closed
I missed the delight of a win but very glad of the three points so well done to all concerned

[KSTDART]

I think that was our best performance of the season, we actually got the ball down and played some nice football.We used both flanks instead of everything being played down the middle .
And to top it off a clean sheet , I thought there was more chance of a clean sheet in a nursing home after curry night than us having one but hey it’s happened.
Beeny still worries me , he made 3 errors today which could of cost us in-spite of not having a shot to save.

Any way its nice to have that winning feeling, Up the darts



Rooney scores Dartford’s winner v Tonbridge Angels

[Park Life]

First half we played well for the first 30-35 mins with some good football and pressed Tonbridge high up which caused them a few problems.
Other than the last 10 minutes when they had a bit of possession Tonbridge weren't really in it.

Second half was a bit disappointing as imo we were a bit too cautious, i thought if we had pushed up more we were capable of getting the second goal and could have finished them off early in the half. However i can understand why as it was really important to get the win today and regardless of how good you think Tonbridge were, it was an improved performance and all about the result so credit to Dowse and the players as it was a deserved win.

There will be tougher games ahead for sure but if we can keep improving, hopefully it will be the start of a good run of results and we can start to climb the table

MOTM for me between Nembhard & Miller-Rodney, gave it to Miller-Rodney as i thought he had a good 90 mins.

[Dicky Dart]

The most important thing is was we were fighting for the shirt, there was a desire to win and plenty of tackling. Win, lose or draw that is what we expect. From the back to the front we were working hard, although you could argue we ran out of a bit o steam 2nd half. Would have taken off Manor rather than Bradbury as I felt he was struggling. The only criticism would be the failure to kill them off. I expect Dowse to look at that, but as a fan it was 3 f*ckin points!

Defensively we were excellent (apart from that one bit of miscommunication that let Greenidge in). My men of the match were runner-up Miller-Rodney, and winner Odaudu. Both superb, although Sam probably superb and a bit.

Up the Darts.

[Park Life]

[Lars Resort]

This wasn't a great performance but we got a win. Had we been playing a top half team we probably wouldn't have got anywhere near a win.
Should have had 2/3 goals second half but still let a very poor Tonbridge back into the game. Tonbridge couldn't score in a month of Sunday's but we somehow got lucky when Greenidge won the 50/50 with Beeney. Luckily Diarra was there to help out.
In all I feel we should have won overall but it was a game between two struggling teams. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we won and hopefully this was a Kickstarter.
But as I say anyone in the top half and it would have been different.
Barzey and Rodney were good and Sammy saved the day with some timely interceptions. Just hope his injury isn't too bad.
MOTM for me was Barzey.

[KentC]

Also a bit fortunate with Beeneys yellow, very close to the box.

[rick]

Match report by Chris Palmer

https://www.dartfordfc.com/match-report ... nbridge-0/

Paul Rooney’s first-half strike proved to be enough, as Dartford returned to winning ways at the expense of Tonbridge Angels in the Kent derby.

With both sides struggling for form, the opening exchanges of this game was a cagey affair, as 1,122 supporters enjoyed the sunshine on a cool afternoon at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park.

The hosts appeared to settle first, as they pushed the Angels back for long periods of time. The first real opportunity arrived in the eighteenth minute, when Baris Altintop found Lewis Manor with a delightful cross. Manor’s effort ricocheted towards Paul Rooney, but his strike was somehow cleared off the line!

Two minutes later saw a case of deja-vu, as Altintop’s cross caused havoc once again, but Manor’s bullet header flew narrowly wide of Jonathan Henly’s upright (20).

The Darts kept coming forward though, as the visitors just couldn’t cope with the state of play during this period. And in the 32nd minute, the hosts were rewarded for their efforts.

Luke Coulson was the creator, as he got the better of former teammate Jernade Meade, raced into the box, and pulled the trigger. However, his effort was blocked by the Tonbridge defence, fell into the path of Paul Rooney, who sent a terrific shot into the back of the net.

The script for Tonbridge had now changed, and they had to venture forward if they had any ambitions of salvaging something from the game. The result? A nice, relatively open game.

However, it would take until the 40th minute for the visitors to register any real effort on Dartford’s goal. That came via the hard-working Joseph Turner, who struck straight a Mitchell Beeney from distance.

The visitors, who had lost Jeremy Santos early in the game due to injury (replaced by Lewis Gard on five minutes), were enjoying a good spell as the half ended. Jordan Higgs saw his rather tame effort easily saved by Mitchell Beeney (44), before Turner fired over the crossbar seconds later.

Lewis Manor had a glorious opportunity to double his side’s lead deep into stoppage time, only to see Jamie Fielding clear the incoming danger in the nick of time.

The second forty-five saw Tonbridge create more opportunities, as they continued to chase the game. Ex-Dart Jordan Greenidge saw his strike blocked after being released by Joseph Turner (53), before fortune favoured the brave…

Seeing that Greenidge had been released once again, Mitch Beeney rushed off his line, only to miss-time his challenge. Thankfully, the Dartford shot-stopper received only a yellow card for his trouble, whilst Tonbridge were rewarded a free-kick in a dangerous position (55).

Jernade Meade took the set-piece, but fired high and over Beeney’s crossbar (56)… before the hosts began attacking themselves and were extremely unfortunate to not stretch their lead once again.

Brandon Barzey was the instigator this time, as his wonderful run and skill got him into the right side of Tonbridge’s box. He duly sent a fierce strike towards goal, which Henly somehow managed to parry… straight back into Dartford’s possession. The ball eventually found Lewis Manor, who saw yet another effort saved (60), before getting a second bite of the cherry two minutes later only to fire narrowly wide of the post (62).

Tonbridge were clearly on the ropes at the back, and a foul by Benjamin Swift gave the hosts a free-kick in a dangerous position in the 65th minute. Harvey Bradbury took the kick, only to see Henly make a superb save to tip the ball over his crossbar!

The resulting corner was then cleared off the line by Jordan Greenidge, who was then the centre of attention at the other end two minutes later. A long ball saw him get the better of the rushing out Mitchell Beeney, only for Moussa Diarra to intercept and keep Dartford’s lead intact.

Alan Dowson made his first substitution in the 78th minute, as Archie Woods replaced Brandon Barzey. That was followed by Harvey Bradbury making way for Luke Allen (83), before James Golding came on for Sam Odaudu (88).

Having already lost Jeremy Santos early in the game, Tonbridge’s two remaining substitutions saw Joseph Boachie come on for Lewis Gard (69) and Gianni Crichlow replace Tariq Hinds (84).

Returning to the action, Dartford virtually controlled the remainder of the game, leaving Tonbridge to grasp at straws with a couple of shots from distance. The closest of which saw a Jordan Higgs strike blocked well, before Gianni Crichlow fired a low drive straight into the arms of Mitchell Beeney (88).

Joash Nembhard’s performance earned him the Man of The Match award, as the Darts earned a third clean sheet of the season and ended a four-game winless run. The result also sees the hosts leapfrog today’s opponents and climb up to 15th place in the National League South table.

TEAMS

DARTFORD: Mitchell Beeney, Sam Odaudu, Tyrell Miller-Rodney, Baris Altintop, Luke Coulson (c), Paul Rooney, Lewis Manor, Brandon Barzey, Joash Nembhard, Harvey Bradbury, Moussa Diarra.

SUBSTITUTES: Jordan Wynter, Luke Allen, Tom Wray, Archie Woods, James Golding.

TONBRIDGE ANGELS: Jonathan Henly, Jamie Fielding, Kodi Lyons-Foster, Benjamin Swift, Jordan Higgs, Tariq Hinds, Jeremy Santos, Joseph Turner, Jordan Greenidge, Jernade Meade, Scott Wagstaff (c).

SUBSTITUTES: Thomas Parkinson, Gianni Crichlow, Lewis Gard, Nathan Wood, Joseph Boachie.

Chris Palmer

[Mark Sweet]

Also a bit fortunate with Beeneys yellow, very close to the box.

Agreed, from where I was I was sure the ref was going to red card him.

I'm still not convinced by Beeney, he seems to react very slowly to things and is not quick or decisive enough when coming off his line for me.

[rick]

[Tall Dart]

3pts was what we needed! Plus a Douse interview post win too!! COYDs

[Lars Resort]

Discipline was a major factor for Dowse at the beginning of the season. I don't know how many were picked up by the lads yesterday but we had two in the last 5 minutes. Needless.
I get that he was 'just relieved ' we got the win. But I would worry about the manner in which we achieved it.