WALKING WITH THE DARTS

by Chris Palmer

Hello again, welcome to another edition of Walking

With The Darts, a monthly update on all things related to Dartford FC, courtesy of Dartford Living Magazine.

By the time you read these words, the season will be over and done with and we’ll know whether we’ll be playing National League football or remaining in the insanely competitive National League South. It truly does boggle the mind how fast time flies, especially when the football season is in full flow! It seems like only last month I was writing about the club’s hopes and dreams for the upcoming campaign, yet that was ten months ago!

As you can imagine, things have been rather hectic for those within the Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park family. Games have been arriving thick and fast and, as soon as one has been dealt with, we’re preparing for the next! At the time of writing this piece, we are preparing to travel to Concord Rangers on Thursday evening, before entertaining St Albans City forty-eight hours later! Then it’s off to Hampton & Richmond Borough for the final game of the normal campaign, before we tackle the play-offs. And, provided we secure that important second position, we’ll have home advantage.

So, what’s been going on at Dartford FC since I last wrote in these pages? Well, like I said, it’s been hectic. In order to help with the injuries and amount of games left to play, manager Alan Dowson dipped into the transfer market before deadline day to bolster the squad. Emmanuel Adebowale, Richard Chin, and Bobby Dunn arrived and have been ready to help get us over the line.

Unfortunately, our recent form has been a little inconsistent during the last month with three wins (Dulwich Hamlet, Dover Athletic, and Tonbridge Angels) and three defeats (Chelmsford City, Eastbourne Borough, and Taunton Town). However, we are still ahead of the chasing pack and second position is in our own hands. Plus, we have remained unbeaten in all Kent derbies this season, doing the league double over Dover Athletic, Ebbsfleet United, and Tonbridge Angels, whilst getting four points out of Welling United.

Meanwhile, Connor Dymond’s Dartford FC Women side have been away from action for a welldeserved Easter break. They returned to the pitch recently with a 1-1 draw at Saltdean United FC, whereby a last-minute screamer from Shauni Griffiths earned them a point.

Lizzie Adams and Co hope to knuckle down and finish the season unbeaten, after having endured an inconsistent campaign themselves. However, despite their league form suffering a little, the ladies have experienced a superb, record-breaking campaign this term. They reached the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and have defended last season’s success in the League Cup brilliantly, having reached the Cup Final once again! They will face Worthing at Sutton United’s stadium on the 30th of April, so be sure to get there and show them your support.

As always, thank you for your continued support and thanks for reading.