Boys’ Academy Season Hots Up!
It’s crunch time for the boys’ academy teams and the Whites and Yellows in particular, are flying.
The Whites are now unbeaten in 10 games, winning eight and drawing two, with the Yellows having now won six in a row. The whites sit third in the table, two points off the top with the title in their sights!
Two matches ago, the Whites beat then top-of-the-table Southend, 3-2.
Darts went 1-0 down at half time, but came out with a new game-plan and scored two in five minutes through Richie Atkins and Gurp Benning. In the 88th minute, Southend scored an equaliser, but the Darts went straight back down the other end to get a dramatic winner, with Jeev Benning on the scoresheet.
Eastleigh were next up, last Wednesday. The Darts wasted no time in putting their mark on the match going 3-0 up in seven minutes! It finished 8-1 in the end, with Jeev Benning (2), Dan Atta (2), Elliot Oviawe, Gurp Benning, Richie Atkins and Seun Konu on the scoresheet.
Academy manager Ben Greenhalgh said: “Southend had been leading the league most of the season. It was a really good performance and the team were buzzing for the week after. It has given them the belief that they can fight for this title.
“We took that performance into the match against Eastleigh. There has always been a good rivalry between the two teams, as we’ve often been the two fighting for the title in the past. This season, there’s a lot of good teams in this division. But we have never gone to Eastleigh and won while I have been here.
“We came out of the blocks firing considering the torrential rain and conditions and put away three early goals. This helped everyone relax and grow into the game, but most importantly we could continue to rotate the squad and make some earlier changes within the game.
“It was a brilliant performance. It’s one of the closest groups we’ve had. They love playing for the football club. Some may be out on loan but when they come back to us, they want to play and win for Dartford.”
The Whites play Maidstone this Wednesday with it all to play for in the exciting title race.