MATCH REPORT | DARTFORD 7 HASHTAG UNITED 0
The Tags started the game well in the cold and windy conditions, as they forced a few early corners. However, an excellent Dartford counter-attack was finished off by Pinder’s close-range strike after Dan Smith’s initial effort had been saved by Jack Giddens (8).
Another Hashtag corner saw another counter-attack by the hosts, as Dan Carter raced along the right flank. He then found Pinder, who punished the visitors with a low strike (28).
A mistake by the Hashtag defence was then punished by Dan Smith (31), who scored his third goal in two games to put himself just one shy of double figures.
The visitors pressed the self-destruct button soon afterwards, as a handball inside the area awarded Dartford a spot-kick, which Olly Box cooly converted to score his fifteenth goal of the season (40).
The Tags’ first-half misery was completed two minutes later, when a free-kick was awarded to the hosts after Giddens picked up a back-pass. Jeremiah Pinder scored from the set-piece to complete his hat-trick and give the hosts a 5-0 lead at the break.
The restart saw Ady Pennock make a triple substitution, as new signing (and former Tag) Evans Kouassi, Eddie Dsane, and Rohan Vaughan came on to replace Callum Jones, Olly Box, and Dan Smith respectively (46). The Dartford boss would use all his available substitutes this afternoon, and went on to swap Sam Odaudu with Luther Williams (56), before Joe Tennent entered the pitch to replace skipper Michael Olarewaju (68).
As we return to the start of the second forty-five, Dan Carter forced a corner with a low strike (47), before Jack Giddens pulled off a good save to prevent Denzelle Olopade from adding to Dartford’s scoreline (50).
Eddie Dsane came close to adding a sixth goal following excellent work by Evans Kouassi (59), before Rohan Vaughan came close with a fierce strike which found the side-netting (62).
Five did indeed become six after Michael Olarewaju got on the end of a delightful Luther Williams cross to send a powerful header beyond the hapless Giddens (65).
Denzelle Olopade then finished the rout when he reached Evans Kouassi’s deflected effort first to tap home Dartford’s seventh goal of the afternoon (70).
Luther Williams came close following excellent work by Kouassi (80), before George Whitefield sent a header narrowly wide of the upright after reaching Dan Carter’s corner first (83).
As for the visitors, who applied for relegation from the Isthmian Premier League during the week, well… they rarely threatened Jonny Henly who collected his tenth clean sheet of the season. The Tags’ only real effort came late in the second-half, which was blazed over the Dartford crossbar.
Hat-trick hero, Jeremiah Pinder, was awarded a deserved Man of The Match award for his efforts, as the Darts closed to within four points of the playoff places.
DARTFORD: Jonny Henly, Sam Odaudu, Michael Olarewaju (c), George Whitefield, Samuel Okoye, Denzelle Olopade, Dan Carter, Jeremiah Pinder, Olly Box, Callum Jones, Dan Smith.
SUBSTITUTES: Eddie Dsane, Joe Tennent, Luther Williams, Rohan Vaughan, Evans Kouassi.
HASHTAG UNITED: Jack Giddens, Jason Ring, Nathan Smith, Romel Royal, Max Cornhill (c), Sam Park, Joshua Rusoke, Chaynie Burgin, Ben Wells, Nathan Wilson, Matthew Wooldridge.
SUBSTITUTES: Bilal Sayoud, Jaxon Brown, Nelson Eze, Jermaine Anderson, Praise Ogbebor.
Chris Palmer