MATCH REPORT | CRAY VALLEY PM 1 DARTFORD 2
Denzelle Olopade’s superb second-half strike secured the points, as Dartford beat a stubborn Cray Valley PM at The Artic Stadium to get their Isthmian Premier League season underway with a win.
As a new chapter begins, Ady Pennock’s rebuilt side saw no fewer than eight players making their First Team debut on a glorious afternoon in front of 784 supporters in Eltham.
Dartford settled down quicker than their hosts this afternoon as The Millers, who were making their debut at Step 3, struggled to deal with the visitors’ press and pacey attack.
Callum Jones perhaps should have opened the scoring as early as the first minute, when a string of quick passes ripped open Cray Valley’s defence to see the debutante through. Unfortunately, he could only watch as his low strike flew narrowly wide of Max Ovenden’s far post.
Jones almost became the provider seven minutes later when, upon receiving Josh Hill’s neat pass, he was quick to send a delightful cross into the box, only to see Olly Box’s header fly narrowly wide of Ovenden’s other post (8)!
Three minutes later then saw Ovenden pull off a terrific save to prevent a Jones strike from flying into the bottom corner (11), before Hassan Ibrahiym became the first player to be booked by referee Mr Kane Dempster, after a late challenge on Samuel Okoye (18). The Miller would come to regret his decision making as the game progressed.
The hosts began to put some passes together too, as they slowly grew into the game after this point. And, they created their first meaningful opportunity in the 27th minute, when Tom Chambers released Freddie Parker, only for Matt Kerbey rush out to thwart the striker.
Barely a minute later, however, saw the Darts take a deserved lead with an excellent attacking move. Olly Box found space to place the ball into the path of Callum Jones, who couldn’t miss from close range (28).
The Millers responded via Denzel Gayle, who saw his shot blocked by the Dartford defence (30), before a Tom Chambers free-kick flew high and wide of Kerbey’s near post (34).
Jeremiah Pinder came close to doubling the Darts’ lead with a drive from just inside Cray Valley’s box, which flashed narrowly wide of Ovenden’s far post (40), before a mistake at the back almost allowed the hosts to equalise, only for George Whitefield save his teammate’s blushes with a superb block (42).
Whatever manager Steve McKimm said to his players at the break had an effect, as The Millers began the second forty-five in a more positive mood. However, it wasn’t long before they went down to ten men…
Hassan Ibrahiym was the guilty party once again, as he flew in two-footed on Luther Williams and, as result was shown a second yellow card together with his marching orders (49).
Yet, despite being at a disadvantage, the hosts grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and Freddie Parker intercepted a pass before racing forward. As he avoided the challenge of George Whitefield to get into a good position, only the alertness of Luther Williams prevented him from troubling Matt Kerbey (53).
Undeterred, the hosts continued to press forward and ex-Dart Andre Coker’s excellent strike forced Kerbey into making a superb save to prevent the ball from flying into the top corner (58)!
Four minutes later saw the hosts equalise in rather controversial circumstances. As a corner was sent into the Dartford box, Parker was blatantly impeding Kerbey and Chambers was able to fire home the leveller (62)!
The Darts protested, which saw Sam Odaudu receive a yellow card from the uninterested Mr Dempster.
Despite the circumstances, Cray Valley were good value for their goal after having grown into the game despite being a man down. Yet, nobody would have predicted what happened next…
With the visitors spurred into action in order to get their lead back, a string of passes during a neat attacking move saw Denzelle Olopade receive the ball approximately 25-yards out. The midfielder then marked his debut with a wonderful pyledriver, which left Max Ovenden with no chance, as it flew into the top corner (70)!
After 73 minutes, Ady Pennock moved to make his first substitution of the afternoon. Olly Box was the player to depart to be replaced by Ben Allen. Eight minutes later saw the boss then swap Samuel Okoye with Dean Nayler (81l, as the Darts continued to defend from their hosts.
And, Cray Valley came close to equalising for a second time when another ex-Dartford player Lyle Della-Verde saw his strike saved by the alert Matt Kerbey in the 82nd minute.
But, the Darts almost had the last laugh when a quickly taken free-kick released Tyler Christian-Law into the box, only for him to see his strike fly into the side-netting (90+1).
Yet, the young Darts had done enough to get over the line and start the new season with a victory. They had to work hard for it, but a win’s a win and with more games played, the more the players will gel as a unit.
TEAMS
CRAY VALLEY PM: Max Ovenden, Barney Williams, Tom Chambers, Arthur Lee (c), Kiki Oshilaja, Denzel Gayle, Freddie Parker, Andre Coker, Matty Vigor, Danny Waldren, Hassan Ibrahiym.
SUBSTITUTES: Cem Tumkaya, Michael Ademiluyi, Marcel Barrington, Clem Asiedu, Lyle Della-Verde.
DARTFORD: Matt Kerbey, Sam Odaudu, Josh Hill (c), George Whitefield, Callum Jones, Denzelle Olopade, Olly Box, Samuel Okoye, Luther Williams, Tyler Christian-Law, Jeremiah Pinder.
SUBSTITUTES: Ben Allen, Dean Nayler, Mert Apat, Josh Atkinson, Gabe Campbell.
Chris Palmer
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