Bromley's going to be a tough task, but hopefully we can show our true colours, says Tony Burman

DARTFORD manager Tony Burman says he wants his side to show their true colours when they lock horns with Bromley in The FA Carlsberg Trophy tomorrow.



The two Kent sides meet clash at Princes Park Stadium with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Dartford go into the game as favourites because they go into the game sitting in eighth-place in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier table with 38 points from 27 games – having recently slipped out of the play-off zone.

Bromley are in eleventh-place in the division below, the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South and have won four of their last five games.

The two sides met each other in The FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round last season with Bromley coming away from Princes Park with a 2-1 victory, before going down to a 3-0 defeat away to League One side Leyton Orient in the First Round.

“It’s a Cup game where you can progress into the last eight, so it’s something to play for and something to look forward to,” said Burman, on the eve of the big game.

“We keep getting drawn against each other in Cup games and we’ve had some league battles over the last few years.

“On the Cup games Bromley beat us in The FA Cup and we’ve got to try and get our own back.”

When asked whether that meeting will play a part in tomorrow’s game, Burman replied, “No, not really, because I think that’s in the past to a certain extent. We got beat on that day and they went on to have a tie against Leyton Orient.

“We’ve moved on. We’ve progressed into a higher league and we’re looking forward to trying to get through to the next round and Bromley are standing in our way.

“I’ve been saying to the players there’s two teams that always get to Wembley at the end of the season in The FA Trophy and we’re in the last sixteen. We want to get into the last eight and progress through there.

“Bromley’s going to be a tough task. We’ll show them a lot of respect. Yes, it’s a potential banana skin, like it was in the last round against Tonbridge, but we showed our true colours against Tonbridge (in a 3-0 home win) and showed the gap between the leagues.

“Hopefully we can do that again on Saturday.”

When asked what he is expecting against Mark Goldberg’s Bromley, a club that have never played at this stage of the competition before, Burman said: “I’m expecting a tough game but the players have had two good training sessions this week.

“We’ve got a couple of players back in the squad who have been injured and will be added to the squad.

“I’m looking forward to it. It takes a little bit of pressure off the league and you don’t have to play for points.

“It’s a Cup competition and hopefully we can progress into the next round.”

When asked about personnel, Burman revealed: “Lee Noble, Danny Harris and Tom Bonner are available for selection, who were missing from last week.

“We lost Jacob Erskine after ten minutes last week (a 3-2 defeat at Alfreton Town) but he’s responded very well to treatment and Elliot Bradbrook is probably the worst one out of the lot, who is struggling.”

But Burman will hand Dominic Green, 23, his Dartford debut after signing him on a one-month loan from League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge.

The Darts boss, who has secured three promotions in six years, said: “Dominic’s a good player. He’s a tricky, very, very skilful player. He can play wide on the left or wide on the right or midfield and I think he’s a player the supporters can enjoy watching him and if we can get him on the ball he can cause problems to opposing teams.”

Visit Dartford’s websites: www.dartfordfconline.com & www.dartfordfootballclub.co.uk

Dartford  v  Bromley
The FA Carlsberg Trophy Third Round
Saturday 12^th January 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Princes Park Stadium, Grassbanks, Darenth Road, Dartford, Kent DA1 1RT