Tonbridge Angels v Dartford Sat 15 Apr 2023

[Park Life]

Sub:-
Chin for Coulson

[Park Life]

FT 0-1

COYD

[rambo]

Yessss well done all

[MickW]

Those last few minutes seemed never ending. Well done lads.

[Taunton Dart]

Told you we'd be OK as I wasn't there. Best decision of the season by Tom Bonner on Thursday to ban me from the remaining matches.

Well done the Darts

[Taunton Dart]

Told you we'd be OK as I wasn't there. Best decision of the season by Tom Bonner on Thursday to ban me from the remaining matches.

Well done the Darts

[Mark Sweet]

Absolutely massive win! Sat at home listening nervously having all those dropped away points in the back of my head. We didn't get lucky with other results going our way so was even more important we held on.

Hopefully it was a good performance for those that were there, look forward to the reports.

3 more games. COYD!!!

[rick]

Attendance: 1,484 according to:
https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/matc ... ord/415532

[M1 South]

Classic 1.0 win ugly by the sounds of it! But we’ll take that all day!!

[Dave T]

Sounds like we dug deep to get over the line! Well done Darts!

According to my calculations, we are now guaranteed at least fourth place, and 5 points from our last 3 games guarantees 2nd place.

With our inconsistent form, that defies belief, but we are still in with a shout!

[Taunton Dart]

Sounds like we dug deep to get over the line! Well done Darts!

According to my calculations, we are now guaranteed at least fourth place, and 5 points from our last 3 games guarantees 2nd place.

With our inconsistent form, that defies belief, but we are still in with a shout!

Not only are we still in with a shout- we are still in the driving seat

[rick]

[KSTDART]

After Thursday night I thought getting a point would be a good result basically down to tiredness so to come away with the win is amazing. It was definitely a smash and grab and apart from Napa’s well taken goal we never troubled their keeper , thats not a criticism , it’s because the guys were all running on empty. That said they all battled and gave everything they had to hang on to the lead . Tonbridge must of had 70% possession in the 2nd half but the guys held strong against the 12 men of Tonbridge. That was not a typo btw , yet again the ref was incompetent at best . He barely gave us anything and gave free kicks to Tonbridge like Jimmy Savile gave out sweets . At least I can not be accused of sour grapes!!! MOTM , create a new category and give it to the whole team

Enjoy the goal

[rick]

[Grassbank]

Great result by the team today. They played two matches more than Tonbridge over the Easter break and would have been running on empty before the end of this match. Add to that the results from our main rivals and a win was a necessity today. This was the hardest match on paper and no doubt on the pitch and our team performed.

We may have the fitness advantage on Thursday as Concord host Dover on Tuesday evening. No doubt we will be watching how they perform against our Kent rivals. Chelmsford are also in action on Tuesday, away to Cheshunt.

Hopefully, we will be in an even stronger position before next Saturday.

Well done Dartford!

[Park Life]

As M1 said it was a classic away performance and a real team effort, we were well organised and solid defensively all game and when we scored the game might as well have stopped then.

First half was pretty even and although Tonbridge had more possession second half, apart from a couple of regulation saves from Ben they didn't have a worthwhile effort on goal.

Dowse said in his post match interview that after playing Thursday it was a game we couldn't chase and after 4 games in 8 days there was a chance that we might tire towards the end, but we didn't and ran out worthy winners.

Good all round team performance and just what we needed, MOTM for me between Kieran, Sam and Luke.A. Will have a think on that as all three played very well.

Like KSTDART said we won so we can't be accused of sour grapes but the ref today was probably the worst we have had this season. Really poor performance from him with lots of baffling decisions and inconsistency all game.

COYD

[rick]

Match Report by Chris Palmer

Malachi Napa’s first-half strike proved to be enough, as Dartford returned to winning ways with a victory over Kent rivals Tonbridge Angels at Longmead Stadium.

Despite what the recent form guide suggested, the Darts came into this fixture unbeaten in Kent Derbies this season. And, having completed doubles over Ebbsfleet United and Dover Athletic, as well as taking four points from Welling United, Alan Dowson’s side were determined to add today’s opponents to the list of doubles… and, that’s exactly what Tom Bonner and Co did!

The Skipper and his team won’t be concerned with the fact that the Angels enjoyed a lot of the ball this afternoon. For this afternoon saw a positive response from his teammates, and a superb defensive display ensured that the single goal was enough and, if fortune was more favourable, could have even been added to.

The afternoon started brightly for the Darts, as Luke Allen came close to opening the scoring as early as the second minute, only to see his strike fly just wide of Jonathan Henly’s upright.

However, the hosts soon became the more comfortable looking of the two sides and Jordan Greenidge, in particular, was looking lively. The ex-Dartford loanee came close after eight minutes after being able to get on the end of Jeremy Santos-Hurado’s cross. But, his header was too soft and Ben Dudzinski made a comfortable save.

One of the regular things to occur in recent fixtures for Dartford has been the biased actions of the officials. And, the case was evident again this afternoon… Keiran Murtagh’s unlucky clip on Santos-Hurado in the 11th minute was “rewarded” with a yellow card from referee Mr Michael Robertson-Tant. A further four Dartford players would go into the referee’s book (Luke Coulson, Harvey Bradbury, Ben Dudzinski, and Maxwell Statham), while only two Angels were booked for similar offences.

As we return to the action, the hosts were just getting into a position of dominance, when the Darts hit them with a swift upper-cut. Ben Dudzinski sent the ball up field with a long clearance, which fell beyond Harvey Bradbury and straight into the path of Malachi Napa on the left-flank. The little winger was released straight through and made no mistake in giving the visitors a 24th minute lead.

Now a goal behind, Tonbridge continued to press forward in an attempt to equalise, but weren’t allowed any access because the defensive unit of Maxwell Statham, Connor Essam, Tom Bonner, and Sam Odaudu were playing a blinder to keep the backline rock solid. In fact, the visitors could have doubled their lead when Jack Smith came close only to see his effort blocked, before Luke Allen witnessed the same scenario with his immediate follow-up (37).

The second-half started in similar circumstances to the first and Bradbury came close within five minutes of the restart. Having been allowed enough space to shoot towards goal, the striker’s effort unluckily deflected off of a defender on its journey, which enabled Jonathan Henly to make a more comfortable save than expected (50).

That was virtually the last of Bradbury’s action this afternoon. Having been booked after an altercation with Ben Swift (who also got booked), the striker was the first of Alan Dowson’s substitutions and was replaced by Pierre Fonkeu in the 55th minute. He was followed by Marvin Herschel replacing Malachi Napa (69) and Richard Chin replacing Luke Coulson (83).

Meanwhile, the hosts went on to swap Lewis Gard with Devonte Aransibia (58), Jack Wood with Tommy Wood (68), and Joseph Turner with Tommie Fagg (77).

As we return to the action, the first real attempt on the Dartford goal arrived in the 67th minute via Jack Wood, who’s last piece of action this afternoon saw him force a save from goalkeeper Ben Dudzinski.

Both Lewis Fagg and Devonte Aransibia came close during the closing minutes… the former fired straight into the side-netting after making a terrific run into the Dartford box (87), before the latter shot straight at Dudzinski from the edge of the box (88)… but the Darts weren’t going to be denied the points this afternoon.

The result ensured that Dartford remain unbeaten in Kent Derbies this season, while also completing the double over the Angels. It also confirmed a first win on the road since January while, more importantly, keeping the target of second place in the National League South in the safe hands of Tom Bonner and Co.

TEAMS

TONBRIDGE ANGELS: Jonathan Henly, Jamie Fielding, Craig Braham-Barrett, Sonny Miles (c), Ben Swift, Lewis Gard, Jordan Greenidge, Jack Wood, Joseph Turner, Scott Wagstaff, Jeremy Santos-Hurado.

SUBSTITUTES: Tommy Wood, Tariq Hinds, Bailey Akehurst, Devonte Aransibia, Tommie Fagg.

DARTFORD: Ben Dudzinski, Connor Essam, Tom Bonner (c), Luke Coulson, Luke Allen, Keiran Murtagh, Maxwell Statham, Jack Smith, Harvey Bradbury, Sam Odaudu, Malachi Napa.

SUBSTITUTES: Richard Chin, Bobby Dunn, Emmanuel Adebowale, Pierre Fonkeu, Marvin Herschel.

By Chris Palmer

[ozymandias]

This was an excellent result for the lads. It's tough at Tonbridge and after Thursday's defeat we needed a win desperately. The team have taken a lot of flak lately and have responded with a vital three points and with the chasing pack all winning, very important indeed.
Long may it continue, Well done all that traveled to the game today.
COYD's

[ozymandias]

Also a well taken goal by Malachi.

[The Duke]

After thursdays game I was dreading todays but I was pleased as punch that the effort from the team today was very good , we deserved the win and neutralised the Tonbridge team although they had more possession mainly in their half , the referee was petty , lost control and even by this leagues standards was very poor

I thought the [ noisy] crowd support was very good today so a little disappointed that Luke Coulson never acknowledged [ didnt expect selfies !!!!] the round of applause he got when subbed !!!!

5 days rest for the squad before the Concord game so guess batteries will be recharged , will be interesting to see line up at Concorde bearing in mind that 41 hours later we kick of against St Albans who will be a real tough test ??????????

My motm for a great defensive display [ our leader] Tom Bonner