It was derby day delight for Ady Pennock, as his Dartford side came from behind to beat Chatham Town in a thrilling encounter at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park.
On a gorgeous Bank Holiday Monday, 1,408 supporters made for a lively atmosphere throughout a competitive and exhilarating afternoon of football.
It all began from the kick-off, as both sides went straight for the jugular in an attempt to open the scoring. And it was The Chats who came close within two minutes, after Bailey Akehurst found Bradley Sach inside the Dartford box with a long throw, only for the latter fail to test Matt Kerbey from close range.
The hosts responded via the excellent Eddie Dsane, who’s good work was rewarded with a free-kick. The ball eventually fell to Tyler Christian-Law, who’s delicious strike was deflected narrowly over the top of Bradley House’s crossbar (9).
Not only was Dsane making a nuisance of himself, Sam Odaudu was putting in another superb performance too. And it was his dangerous cross in the 11th minute that prompted House to pull off an excellent save to intercept the ball from reaching Dsane.
In fact, the entire Dartford team was putting in an excellent performance this afternoon, as they pressed Chatham Town just as much as the visitors did to them, if not more.
Yet, it was The Chats that took their opportunity when it mattered when Jamie Yila shrugged off a defender’s advances to fire home the opener in the 32nd minute.
Olly Box had an opportunity to pull the Darts level in the 41st minute. But he wasn’t quite able to find the target with his ambitions chip, before Yila saw another good effort excellently saved by Matt Kerbey before the break (45).
The second-half saw the hosts shift up the gears, as they dominated for large portions of the game. And they were level within three minutes of the restart when Sam Odaudu received Eddie Dsane’s pass and pulled the trigger on a long-range pyledriver, which left House with no chance (48)!
The game turned into a battle from then on, as Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, and Tyler Christian-Law dominated the midfield which frustrated the visitors. And manager Kevin Hake was first to react by throwing on Rowan Liburd and Kofi Anokye-Boadi for Bradley Sach and Kyle Da Costa in the 57th minute.
Chatham’s boss was then booked by referee, Mr Will Briers, shortly afterwards as things in his dugout began to boil over. The Chats would then go on to swap Jordan Robins with Frederick Sears (71) and Samuel Sene-Richardson with Jabari Christmas (74).
Ady Pennock, meanwhile, would introduce Samir Carruthers for Tyler Christian-Law in the 76th minute, before swapping Olly Box with Dean Nayler (90+1) and Eddie Dsane with Ben Allen (90+5).
As we return to the action, the hosts were pinning Chatham further back inside their own half, as they searched to take the lead. And they came close following a free-kick, where the ball fell kindly for Jeremiah Pinder, but his strike sailed just over Bradley House’s crossbar (81).
Then three minutes later saw the Darts complete the comeback and turn the game on its head. As they flooded The Chats’ box, Josh Hill’s header fell into the path of Callum Jones, who pounced quickly to smash in his second goal of the season (84).
The visitors responded via former Dart, Maxwell Statham (who had recently arrived at Chatham on loan from Hemel Hempstead Town), when his long-range effort flew narrowly wide of Matt Kerbey’s far post (90).
But the Darts weren’t going to be denied this afternoon, when Samir Carruthers’ delightful flick released Eddie Dsane. The striker raced into the box, but was brought down by the defender whereby Mr Briers pointed to the spot. And, Dsane stepped up to fire into the top corner to seal the victory for the hosts (90+3).
With so many good performances out on the pitch this afternoon, the vote for Man of The Match must have been a rather difficult one…! But, the superb Sam Odaudu received the deserved plaudits for the third consecutive game in front of the Dartford faithful with yet another brilliant performance, as well as another contender for goal of the season.
TEAMS
DARTFORD: Matt Kerbey, Sam Odaudu, Luther Williams, Josh Hill (c), Samuel Okoye, Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, Tyler Christian-Law, Olly Box, Callum Jones, Eddie Dsane.
SUBSTITUTES: Jacob Marsden, Samir Carruthers, Ben Allen, Dean Nayler, Mert Apat.
CHATHAM TOWN: Bradley House, Maxwell Statham, Bailey Akehurst, Jordan Robins, Jack Evans (c), Bradley Sach, Kyle Da Costa, Jamie Yila, Samuel Sene-Richardson, Simon Cooper, Charlie Naylor.
SUBSTITUTES: Jabari Christmas, Rowan Liburd, Frederick Sears, Kofi Anokye-Boadi, Gijah Anthony.
Chris Palmer
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