Eastbourne Replay - 27/11/18

[silverado]

Never at the races. Outplayed across the park in all departments (except maybe GK - I can't remember their GK having a save to make). Eastbourne clearly wanted to win much more than we did and never gave us a chance to settle on the ball, with their tackling, their speed and their passing ability. By far the better team won on the night, but it was gutting, after scoring twice between the 90th and 92nd minutes to raise the prospect of extra time, to concede the loser in the 93rd minute. Oh well...

[Matt]

What a shocking turn out! 414! very disappointing. Where were all of the regulars from the halfway line that I notice week in, week out?
All in all I think Eastbourne were the better side - they attacked down our right wing for about 15 minutes continuously in the first half! Onyemah must have been given paracetamol at half time as he nutted the ball clear about 30 times before the break. Bradbrook didn't have one of his better games at centre half: the last time I saw Bradbrook playing that role I would have given him man of the match (I wish I could remember which fixture it was - around 3 or 4 seasons ago). I thought skipper Lee Noble did well as did Coker when he came off the bench.

Having clawed it back it was poor marking which let us down in the last minute. We could have definitely beaten Southern League Dorchester Town at home in the next round - however, for the first time ever I'm not massively disappointed we are knocked out of a cup as our squad is so threadbare. Despite our recent good run we desperately need more players in.

[spike]

We were diabolical in the first half and poor in the second. Bailey didn't do a lot wrong and is therefore the only possible contender for MOTM. The two subs at half-time was a bold move and something we are not used to seeing at Princes Park. For 10 minutes or so, it looked like it was working, but then we fizzled out and slipped back into our first half coma. I'm still not sure how we somehow pulled the game back to 2-2, the goals just came out of the blue. Our first was an excellent run and finish from Coker and then young Taylor Fisher had his moment. To be fair to Eastbourne, we didn't deserve the draw and, gutting as it was, they fully deserved their last ditch winner. Coming after Saturday's spirited efforts, this was a bitterly disappointing performance. The one saving grace was seeing Taylor Fisher score his goal. He finished with such composure you'd think he'd been playing at this level for 10 years. This lad has no fear and he has certainly made a spectacular impact in these last two games.

[spike]

What a shocking turn out! 414!

It's quite possible that a fair few didn't even know the game was on. As I said before the game, maybe if it was advertised on the board outside the ground it would help. Take a look at the official website … even now it's still showing Woking away as our next match and that's been cancelled for ages. This is why people don't use it, it's often out of date and you can't rely on the info. Our club absolutely sucks at marketing.

[Matt]

What a shocking turn out! 414!

Our club absolutely sucks at marketing.

I'm afraid your right Spike. Another example of this: how many people on the forum know that Millwall Lionesses groundshare at Princes Park (playing in the second tier of ladies football)? I guess in defence - it's not up to Dartford to promote this team. However, don't Dartford benefit in revenue from the catering on sale at Lionesses matches?

[Tungsten Dart]

I had not previously given my MOTM vote to a substitute (on the old forum), but I thought Taylor Fisher deserved it. It is always a bit special when one of the academy graduates joins the squad and makes an impact. Clearly, his goal meant the world to him and his obvious delight was the heartwarming highlight of an otherwise forgettable evening.

The Darts looked a little indifferent tonight – it seemed that Eastbourne wanted to progress in the competition much more and they deserved the victory, so good luck to them in the next round. As Spike mentioned, it is not ideal that the club did not seem to promote the match, other than in a cursory tweet after the final whistle on Saturday. I don't think the club has filled the big shoes that Lauren left on that front, with no disrespect at all intended to the volunteers who put so much effort into the club. There was no urgency about the match – even if one argued that the FA Trophy is secondary to chasing the play-offs, there was no reason not to attack to the maximum tonight with no league match at the weekend. It feels like a missed opportunity.

Onwards and upwards! COYD!

[DA Mikey]

Not a sausage like the game at their gaff. We looked like a team who had played four games in two days, not the other way around. Don’t want to take too much away from Eastbourne, as it seemed like they were playing some slick stuff but we were straight up awful. Was nearly highway robbery as Taylor-Fisher slotted in the equaliser and how good it would have been to forget the 90 minutes of dross we had served up beforehand, but thanks to the extra mile of ineptitude at the very death, we’ll have to remember that turgid display for a while. Woeful performance, truly shocking.

[ken_shabby]

I disagree that this match was unimportant. It was a chance to liven up the season with another important competition, with a winable home draw next round, plus the chance to bring in some more money, which is always welcome. We should really be able to cover the early rounds of the trophy with a push for a play off place, and to be frank, promotion still looks a bit unlikely given our lack of players in the last two games. In other seasons we have managed it.
As I said immediately post match, the feeling from the twitter feed was that we were being run off the park. which has been confirmed by those who went. Then there was the finale. When all seemed done and dusted, we score two goals in injury time to set up a classic smash and grab raid in extra time, only for Eastbourne to grab a deserved winner before we even got there. Devastating to concede just when we had clawed our way back into the match, but if you don't defend a last minute corner, it happens.
Finally, what a terrible attendance. Really put the cap on a bad night. Maybe the stay aways knew what was about to happen on the pitch.

[Dartford Knight]

It really was disappointing ryan , ben , charlie and jamie offered nothing up front so the ball just kept coming back and when we did get the ball back it was hoofed long and lost almost straight away. Why play like that ?

[babylon]

Due to family obligations I did not see the game but the early rounds of the trophy are sometimes poorly attended.
Add to that the inclement weather and some season ticket holders who don't do cup games it all adds up.
If the club did not advertise the game as suggested then I can see
Why only circa 400 turned up.