Kentish Football 
Dartford 2-1 Staines Town - There's a good feeling about the team, says Dartford boss Tony Burman
Tuesday 20th September 2011
DARTFORD 2-1 STAINES TOWNBlue Square Bet South
Tuesday 20th September 2011
Mike Green reports from Princes Park Stadium
DARTFORD were forced to come from behind as they extended their 100% home record and went second in the Blue Square Bet South table after a hard fought victory over Staines Town in which Tom Champion went from villan to hero, as the defender header what proved to be the winner seventeen minutes from time.
Champion, playing alongside Tom Bonner at the heart of the Darts defence in the absence of Paul Goodacre, brought down Richard Butler for the 18th minute penalty that gave the visitors the lead, before he got on the end of a corner to power home a header that secured Dartford's seventh win of the season already and the fourth in the last five games for Tony Burman's side, who also had the luxury of see Charlie Sheringham clip the bar with the Darts own first half penalty.
After the game, Burman admitted, "We created enough chances and got the ball in the net a couple of time which was disallowed for offside. First half we felt as though we didn't get tight enough to the Staines players and so we asked the players to do that. and I thought that in the second half it was an intelligent display from us, and I thought we started to play well in respect of wanting to go and win the game coming from a goal down and we've done that in the second half with a little bit of style.
“We thought we were knocking some good balls into the box in the first half, but it just wasn’t happening. They've had one good shot that Youngie's saved very well, and they they've had the penalty - we got caught and there's no complaints - it was a penalty - we've come back and shown a bit of character and we controlled the game.
“I'm really pleased with the second half performance as the players came out and believed that they can win. When we're creating chances there’s a good feeling about the team and I thought the performance in the second half was all about intelligence and we had that in bundles in the second half."
Burman went on, "The delivery from our crosses and corners tonight was excellent and I believe that we should be scoring more from our corners. We have good movement on our set pieces at the moment and fair play to Tom for getting on the end of it and getting back into it, but I cant talk highly enough of our team performance tonight."
In fairness to Burman's early season pacesetters, even though there was a short period in the first half when they didn’t seem to be at the races, they never looked like they were going to be beaten by a Staines side who seemed to run out of ideas in the final third despite the efforts of the hard working Richard Butler.
The Darts started well and had a goal disallowed on nine minutes when Ryan Hayes crossed from the left and as the Staines defence miserably failed to clear the ball, it found its way through to Sheringham who headed home only for the assistants flag to deny him his 11th goal of the season.
Staines took the lead with their first attack of the game, as Butler sprinted clear of Champion who hauled back the striker as he entered the area leaving referee Ian Cooper with no choice but to point to the spot, and Adam Everitt coolly rolled the ball beyond the dive of Andrew Young and into the net.
It was so nearly two six minutes later when the impressive Butler made room for himself driving into the box down the left, only for Young to pull off a fine low save to his right.
The Darts had another goal ruled out on 32 minutes when Champion was denied as the ball was ruled to be out of play as a hanging cross eluded the flapping Staines keeper Louis Wells and was knocked home from 10 yards.
Sixty seconds later Lee Noble got on the end of a super Hayes pass before being clumsily stopped in full stride by Richard Orlu, and the game had its second penalty.
Unlike his counterpart however, Sheringham's spot kick disappeared into the crowd via the top of the bar.
The second half began with the Darts again in the ascendancy, as Richard Graham's header forced Wells into a back pedalling claw out from under the bar.
However, on 52 minutes the home side were level. Hayes charged into the box was ended crudely by Pete Smith (who was booked for the foul), and it was Hayes himself who drilled the ball beyond Smiths dive and into the net from the spot.
Yet after striving so hard to get level, the Darts goal enjoyed a stroke of good luck two minutes later. The ball fell to Butler who's shot was pushed up in the air by Young and after what seemed an age, the ball looped up and bounced off of the top of the bar and away to safety.
Darts skipper Elliot Bradbrook then saw a header cleared off the line as the visitors defence struggled to deal with anything aerial, and then following a Danny Harris charge down the left wing, his centre caused mayhem with Hayes somehow being denied as the ball flew across the box, before a Hayes free kick brought a flying save from Wells high away to his left.
Harris after his introduction for Noble produced a two pronged front line that really did test the Staines defence, and as Burman said later, "Its nice to have the options, and the squad is full of quality players, and we've got some good players on the bench at the minute as well as having Paul Goodacre and Jon Wallis out injured, it was asking the question for the first time possibly for the players who have come in.
“We had one of the younger lads on the bench, but we changed it because we had the players to do it by having the players in the locker which is nice."
The winner was as simple as it was brilliant - a driven corner from the left was met by the late arriving Champion who's header flew into the net despite Smith's efforts on the post.
The Darts almost found the net for a third time as Lee Burns did brilliantly breaking down the left, and as he pulled the ball back young sub Jack Pallen's first time shot flew inches past the left post with Wells looking on in admiration.
Dartford: Andrew Young, Matt Jones, Adam Green, Tom Champion, Tom Bonner, Lee Burns, Ryan Hayes (Jack Pallen 84), Lee Noble (Danny Harris 55), Charlie Sheringham, Elliot Bradbrook, Richard Graham (James Rogers 67).
Subs: Ryan Cooper, Deren Ibrahim
Goals - Ryan Hayes 52 (pen) Tom Champion 73
Booked: Tom Champion 18, Charlie Sheringham 90
Staines Town: Louis Wells, Simon Jackson, Pete Smith, Danny Gordon (Andre Scarlett 80), Richard Orlu, Gareth Risbridger, Adam Newton, Adam Everitt, Richard Butler (Scott Taylor 80), Marc Charles Smith (Mark Nwokeji 68), David Wheeler.
Subs: James Tyrrell, Shaun Allaway
Goal: Adam Everitt 18 (pen)
Booked: Marc Charles Smith 32, Richard Orlu 34, Pete Smith 52
Attendance: 1,002
Referee: Mr Ian Cooper (Rochester)
Assistants: Mr Mike Smith (Basildon, Essex) & Mr Lee Marshallsay (Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd