MATCH REPORT | DARTFORD 4 WHITEHAWK 1
Dartford’s impressive form continued, as they put four goals past a spirited Whitehawk side at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park to jump up to third in the Isthmian Premier League table.
The 879 supporters who braved the freezing cold temperatures were treated to an entertaining game in Kent. However, it was the visitors who came agonisingly close in the 15th minute, when the lively Emmanuel Mensah robbed the ball from Michael Olarewaju before chipping Jacob Marsden, only to see the ball clip the top of the crossbar.
However, the deadlock was finally broken by Dartford skipper Josh Hill, who struck a sublime effort from 35-yards to score a certain contender for goal of the season (23).
Callum Jones then forced goalkeeper James Batt into an excellent save in the 41st minute, before going on to double Dartford’s lead with a fine strike straight after the restart (46).
The Hawks rallied in a bid to get back into the game, as a little complacency set in for the hosts during stages of the second-half. Jeremiah Pinder put in an excellent challenge to block a goal-bound strike (62), before substitute Joshua Nathndra pounced to pull a goal back in the 74th minute.
The goalscorer had only entered the field of play four minutes previous, having come on to replace Luke Robinson in what was the Hawks’ second change in personnel. The first had taken place on 58 minutes, when Adison Garnett was replaced by Imran Kayani. They would be followed by Emmanuel Mensah making way for Charlie Lambert with five minutes of the ninety remaining.
Ady Pennock meanwhile, swapped Michael Olarewaju with Samuel Okoye at the start of the second-half, before going on to swap Olly Box and Louis Dunne with Eddie Dsane and Samir Carruthers respectively (69). Tyler Christian-Law then came on to replace Jeremiah Pinder in the 79th minute.
Returning to the action, any hopes of a Whitehawk comeback were dashed when Samir Carruthers was brought down inside the Hawks’ box. The referee Mr Fabio Roque pointed to the spot, and Carruthers duly fired home (90+5).
The victory was completed when the in-form Eddie Dsane raced clear to fire in a fourth goal for the Darts (90+7) to complete a sixth consecutive win for Ady Pennock’s side, in a run of fifteen league games unbeaten since mid-October.
Josh Hill’s performance earned him a deserved Man of The Match award. However, perhaps this game will always be remembered for the moment when the Skipper took a deep breath before pulling the trigger on THAT goal!
TEAMS
DARTFORD: Jacob Marsden, Sam Odaudu, Michael Olarewaju, Luther Williams, Josh Hill (c), George Whitefield, Hayden Bullas, Jeremiah Pinder, Louis Dunne, Olly Box, Callum Jones.
SUBSTITUTES: Samir Carruthers, Duane Ofori-Acheampong, Samuel Okoye, Tyler Christian-Law, Eddie Dsane.
WHITEHAWK: James Batt, Steffen Wright, Oscar Borg, Andrew Briggs (c), Adison Garnett, Will Seager, Emmanuel Mensah, Robert O’Toole, Harry Bridle, Kai Jennings, Luke Robinson.
SUBSTITUTES: Charlie Lambert, Charlie Walker, Charlie Bennett, Imran Kayani, Joshua Nathndra.
Chris Palmer
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