The Dart(s) Board

Not the official showcase heading but it summarises the significance of this game nevertheless.
Dorking are a tough nut to crack and know where the net is.
In otherwords, anyone performing even a fraction less than their normal high standards could see us in trouble. Wanderers recently lost to Saltdean by the odd goal in three down on the south coast and Saltdean still have the reverse fixture to fulfill the weekend after they play us. Basically, it's not beyond the Surrey outfit to have a massive say on who finishes the season with the League Trophy in their cabinet this month.
So roll on Sunday. And fasten your seat belts.

Follow the Darts on the road tomorrow afternoon, as we head to the Meadowbank Stadium to face Dorking Wanderers FC Women.

@dwfcwomen
03.05.2026
3:30PM KO
Meadowbank Stadium, Mill Lane, Dorking, RH4 1DX






See you all there . COYD

After winning the Kent Women's Cup, Double Congratulations to our DFC Women who beat Dorking Away 2-0 today and are now promoted, as one of the two best 2nd placed, to Step 4. If they win at Saltdean next Sunday, they'll finish Top!
Aiming for Step 1, Super League

Ring of fire wrote: Sun May 03, 2026 10:06 pm After winning the Kent Women's Cup, Double Congratulations to our DFC Women who beat Dorking Away 2-0 today and are now promoted, as one of the two best 2nd placed, to Step 4. If they win at Saltdean next Sunday, they'll finish Top!
Aiming for Step 1, Super League

Back with more questions!
Is that because of the trickle down from the WSL expansion? I was looking up how it would balance out at step 4 but couldn’t find anything!

I had seen that some WSL clubs might have b teams in the national league so assumed that would be the case instead of additional promotions from step 5

Anyway, I’m looking forward to there being some more away games up my way next season!

I thought that it was just the champions that would be promoted and that the match next week would be critical.

Research shows me that there are four leagues in National League Division 1 (tier 4). Beneath that, there are eight leagues in Regional Football League (tier 5), including London & South-East. The FA rules appear to state that: 'the Clubs finishing in second place in each of the eight divisions at Tier 5 shall be ranked by points per-game (League matches only), and the two Clubs with the highest points-per-game shall be promoted to Tier 4. Where two or more Clubs have the same points-per-game, those Clubs shall be ranked according to the outcome of a Tiebreaker'.

The league table appear to currently show:

North-West: Finished, Mancunian Unity P20 Pts 44 Average 2.2pts
North-East: Finished, Thornaby Women P20 Pts 55 Average 2.75pts
East Midlands: Finished, Loughborough Foxes P16 Pts 38 Average 2.375pts
West Midlands: still playing Redditch Borough or Shifnall (Max) P22 Pts 54 Average 2.454pts
Eastern: Finished, Royston Town P22 Pts 46 Average 2.091pts
London & S-E: playing Dartford (worst possible) P22 Pts 56 Average 2,545pts
South-West: still playing Torquay or Forest Green (Max) P18 Pts 45 Average 2.5pts
Southern: still playing Winchester (Max) P20 Pts 44 Average 2.2pts

This suggests that if we lose at Saltdean next week, we will be the second best second placed team by just one point from either Torquay or Forest Green.

None of the above is official, it is merely what I have managed to discover this morning. However, if correct, it is great news for our ladies team. The club would appear to have the promotion that will make ladies football even stronger at Dartford. The ladies now have the chance to be the champions that they so richly deserve to be and they can play to win whilst having no fear of losing. Saltdean need at least one point from their final two matches to secure promotion. If they lose to us, they will have to raise themselves to take at least a point from their final match away at Dorking. The pressure is mounting on Saltdean. It should be a great match next weekend.

Thank you GB, for the ably - researched reasons as to how our DFC Women would go up.
Add to this, the 3 walkover points / goals v Benfica, still not shown.
Here's a thought, if confirmed...
How would our DFC Board, finance director, supporters, sceptics and club staff embrace and adapt to this fast developing situation and to our DFC Women progression, up the leagues? Indeed, there'd be financial implications.
Correctly, we can't compare football standards and history. However, it'd be like our DFC Women in league 2, with our men still 3 non - league steps down.
Would it also help our Boys' Academy stay in the National League, after our DFC Men failure to go up, over the last 2 required years?

As you say GB, finding information on this has seemed rather elusive but I came across the following published on Brentford FC's excellent forum - "Griffin Park Grapevine"

This is the latest table I found yesterday - published on 14 March 2026

[attachment]ZZ - 2nd place promotion 24-3-2026.png[/attachment]

The teams in yellow are the teams in the 1st place position and will be promoted automatically.
Two additional clubs from across the country will be promoted. Those will be the two 2nd place teams with the best Pts/game record.
The teams in green are the two sides that currently fill that criteria.
Next season, it will return to just the champions who get promoted. this is a one off adjustment due to restructure of leagues.