MATCH PREVIEW – Dartford v Chichester City
Isthmian Premier League leaders Dartford aim to create history when they host Chichester City on Tuesday night.
An eleventh win in row will set a club record for one season for the Darts and in the process will extend their unbeaten run to an incredible 20 league games. Adrian Pennock’s side recorded a tenth consecutive victory on the weekend beating Hashtag United. Chichester City are second in the form table behind Dartford. Over the last nine fixtures, the two sides have claimed a combined 52 points out of 54 available.
An eleventh win in row will set a club record for one season for the Darts and in the process will extend their unbeaten run to an incredible 20 league games. Adrian Pennock’s side recorded a tenth consecutive victory on the weekend beating Hashtag United. Chichester City are second in the form table behind Dartford. Over the last nine fixtures, the two sides have claimed a combined 52 points out of 54 available.
Highlights courtesy of Dartford FC TV
A fourth consecutive victory at Princes Park means the Darts have gone nine without defeat at home. A consecutive home clean sheet for goalkeeper Jacob Marsden also means Dartford now have the second best defence in the division. Five points now separate the top five, so the Darts will need to make home advantage count considering they host five of the current top nine between now and the end of the season.
Pennock welcomed ‘a big three points’ on the weekend and is looking forward to the mid-week fixture, he spoke to Dartford FC TV and said: “We go again on Tuesday against another good team. We drew 2-2 at their place and they have got some very good footballers. We’re going in the right direction…but it’s another big game for us on Tuesday”. The Dartford boss thanked the fans and urged them to continue their excellent support for the remainder of the season.
Interview courtesy of Dartford FC TV
Dartford let slip a two goal lead in November’s reverse fixture at Oaklands Park. Despite holding the advantage and only coming away with a point, Pennock felt a draw at the time was a good result. Box scored for a third game in a row to put Dartford ahead, then an own goal from Ben Pashley doubled their lead. In the second half the hosts fought back to earn a 2-2 draw. First, Ethan Prichard pulled one back, then Isaac Bello equalised leaving the spoils shared.
In the context of this season, Dartford had just come out of a period of seven without a league win and had begun to put an unbeaten run together. The stalemate in Sussex stretched the sequence to six matches without defeat, a sequence the Darts keep extending. Chichester City lost three in a row after that comeback, but since then they have climbed the table and are aiming for the playoff places.
Highlights courtesy of Chichester City FC
The Lillywhites are currently unbeaten in nine league outings and have won the last seven. On the road the Sussex club have won four in a row. On the weekend their game against Folkestone Invicta was postponed, so now they have games in hand over teams above them. Chichester City will want to make those fixtures count as they are currently nine points adrift of the final playoff place.
The Sussex side will approach Tuesday night’s match having had extra rest. Chichester City’s last outing ended in a successive 2-1 victory. The Lillywhites beat Wingate and Finchley at home with all the goals coming in the fist half. Top scorer, Jimmy Wild added his 21st league goal of the season with the opener. The visitors hit back a few minutes later through Ogo Obi, but a penalty in first half injury time by Curtis Da Costa turned out to be the decider. A week earlier, Lloyd Rowlatt netted a 97th winner at Dulwich Hamlet.
Over the last nine games only Whitehawk have managed to take points from Chichester City. On the way to recording seven straight victories, the Lillywhites have also beaten Hendon, Carshalton Athletic, Bognor Regis Town, Chatham Town and Bowers and Pitsea. The last side to defeat the Sussex club was Cray Wanderers back in early December.
| Hashtag United | H | 2-0 | Wingate & Finchley | H | 2-1 |
| Bowers and Pitsea | A | 3-1 | Dulwich Hamlet | A | 2-1 |
| Billericay Town | H | 4-0 | Bowers and Pitsea | H | 1-0 |
| Wingate & Finchley | A | 2-1 | Chatham Town | H | 2-0 |
| Whitehawk | H | 4-1 | Bognor Regis Town | A | 4-1 |
| Chatham Town | A | 2-0 | Carshalton Athletic | A | 2-1 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 0 / Chichester City wins: 0 / Draws: 1
Previous Meetings
Chichester City 2 – 2 Dartford (26/11/2024 – Isthmian Premier)
Statistics
- Dartford are unbeaten in 19 league games. Another two unbeaten matches will equal the 21 without defeat during the 2007/2008 Isthmian Division One North title winning season.
- The Darts could keep a third consecutive home clean sheet in the league for the first time in two years
- Dartford have scored in 18 straight league games, their best run in a season since the start of the 2022/2023 campaign
On This Day
On this day Gosport Borough striker, Rowan Vine ended up in goal for seventy minutes as Dartford cruised to a 4-0 victory in Hampshire. Mark Childs was making his Borough debut before getting injured. The experienced Vine, who made plenty of Championship appearances in his playing days donned the gloves as there was no goalkeeper named on the bench. The Darts took full advantage with goals from Andy Pugh, Luke Wanadio, Keaton Wood and Kaka Dembele helping Dartford to their 2017 National South title charge. Two years ago the Darts beat Chippenham Town 2-0 with goals from midfield pair Jack Smith and Luke Allen. Dartford have won five of their last seven on this day, drawing one and losing the other.
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