Dartford 3-0 Great Wakering Rovers - We should have punished them by more, admits Burman

Tuesday 16th October 2007

DARTFORD 3-0 GREAT WAKERING ROVERS
Ryman League Division One North
Tuesday 16^th October 2007
Stephen McCartney reports from Princes Park

Dartford eased their way into the top five of the Ryman League Division One North table after eight games, after punishing some woeful first half defending from Essex side Great Wakering Rovers.

Eddie McClements, who played just behind striker Brendon Cass, due to Jay May starting his three-match ban, opened the scoring after fourteen minutes, before Cass took his tally for the season to eleven goals, with a brace.

The Darts were also without striker Tom Bradbrook, who returns from his trip to America on Saturday evening, but new signing, Yohance Lewis made a nine minute cameo towards the end of tonight’s comfortable win.

Debutant Lewis, whose previous clubs include Charlton Athletic, Dagenham & Redbride, Chelmsford City, St Albans City and Redbridge, arrives from divisional rivals, Maldon Town.

“He doesn’t want to be called yo-yo, he just wants to be called Yo,” Darts boss Tony Burman told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“He’s a lad who I spoke to in the summer, he played for Maldon. He’s come away from Maldon for certain reasons and he’s come in.

“We’ll have a look at him, he’s signed for us but I’ll need to have a look at him a lot more.

“He can play in midfield or out wide left. He looks good in training, he passes the ball around.”

Great Wakering Rovers, a side that’s only scored four goals on their travels this season, created the first chance of the game inside the opening five minutes, but a right-footed drive from skipper Sam Clarke from thirty-yards sailed over.

But Dartford, a side that’s unbeaten at home, broke the deadlock after 13 minutes and 8 seconds.

Alex O’Brien did what he’s good at, breaking up opposing attacks and hooked the ball to McClements, who then hooked the ball to Cass.

Cass played the ball to winger Ryan Hayes, who burst towards the penalty area, and with his lethal left-foot, floated a cross from the edge of the penalty area.

And McClements’ bullet header from 12-yards out bounced once before finding the bottom right-hand corner.

Visiting goalkeeper, Louis Green, who signed from Kent club Chatham Town in August 2006, made a smart low save to deny Cass, after the striker exchanged passes with Mark Green down the left-hand side.

Another chance fell the Darts way after 25 minutes.

Steve Norman cut a corner back to Hayes and his cross was flicked away by the visiting goalkeeper, who recovered to block Jamie Coyle’s right-footed eight-yard drive at his near-post.

And then after cutting inside Mark Cartlidge and Joel Etienne-Clarke, Hayes unleashed a left-footed curler, which the peroxide blonde goalkeeper saved comfortably.

Dartford goalkeeper, Tony Kessell, who had a relatively quiet night, made a comfortable save from a glancing header from Great Wakering striker, James Foy after 27 minutes.

Dartford’s goalkeeping coach, John Macrea was quick to point out that Kessell, the former Folkestone Invicta goalkeeper, has also saved five of the seven penalties that he’s faced already this season, as well as keeping seven clean-sheets.

Kessell’s opposite number, Green, meanwhile, was called into action by tipping a back-header from defender, Nikki Beale, following a floated cross from Hayes, over his own crossbar, and from Norman’s resulting corner, Adam Flanagan powered his header across goal and past the far post.

But Dartford doubled their lead after 32 minutes, with Cass punishing slack defending from the Essex side.

A left-footed cross from Mark Green on the left found Cass in acres of space and the in-form striker brought the ball under control with his chest, before cracking a right-footed volley over the goalkeeper from fourteen-yards.

The visitors’ could have pulled a goal back but Steve Butterworth glanced his towering header past the post.

But more poor defending allowed the Darts to score their third goal in the last minute of the half - ending the game as a contest and spectacle for the lowest ever crowd to watch the Darts at Princes Park.

Once again it was Green who was the provider, whipping in a cross and Cass was left unmarked and from seven-yards his bullet header flew into the net.

The Princes Park faithful expected more goals during the second half, but this didn’t materialise, upsetting Burman.

He said: “I was well pleased first half, obviously to get the three goals and felt if we had carried on playing, keep it simple, instead of getting a bit flamboyant, which I felt we did.

“I’m a little bit disappointed second half I must admit but having said that, we’ve won the game and that’s what we’ve got to do.

“Sometimes it can be difficult after being in cup runs and things lie that and doing ever so well Saturday (losing 1-0 in the FA Cup third qualifying round at Bromley).

“It could have been after the Lord Mayor’s Show but we could have got punished, but we didn’t and the lads did go out with the right attitude.

“But being 3-0 up at half-time in a way didn’t help us but I think we should have got more goals but we didn’t so I was a little bit disappointed with that.”

He added: “It was nice to bounce back and whatever the first half or second half was, people are going to pick up the paper tomorrow and see that we’ve won
3-0!”

Early in the second half, Louis Green made a comfortable low save to deny Hayes from scoring with a left-footed drive from 25-yards after the Darts broke away after Clarke, outside Dartford’s penalty box, miss-kicked the ball.

And Cass should have netted his hat-trick within a minute, after skipping past Kevin Cole, but he rifled his shot straight into the goalkeeper’s arms from sixteen-yards.

Another well-worked Dartford corner carved open another chance with 55 minutes on the clock.

Norman cut his corner back to Junior Kadi, who had a quiet game, and his cross was met by a towering header from right-back Coyle, but he headed the ball across goal, sailing past the far post.

After cutting in from the right, Hayes’ left-footed shot brought another smart save from Green, who pounced on the loose ball before Cass did.

But after the hour, Dartford took their foot of the gas, and as the rain started falling from the skies above, the game ended as a spectacle.

Great Wakering Rovers were forced to shoot from distance as the door was shut in front of them, with substitute David Hawes, Cole and Elliott Gresham, all seeing their long-range efforts sail over as the Essex side didn’t have the quality to force themselves back into the game.

McClements, via a ricochet off Cole, and Cass, who latched onto a through ball, had chances to add to the score late on, but they had already done the damage earlier in the game.

Four players at the back, Kessell, John Guest, Flanagan and Norman, have all played many games together, especially for Folkestone Invicta, and Burman admitted Dartford are paying dividends with that continuity.

He said: “That’s our seventh clean sheet in all the games so far, out of fourteen, which is good.

“That’s a big improvement on last year and I think the signings was maybe criticised a little bit for, will come through.

“The people we signed are 42 game a season players and they will win many people over here. The fans are appreciating the signings that I’ve made.”

But Dartford, the giants of their division, should be winning games like this as they bid towards winning the title this season.

On Princes Park, Burman said: “It’s a lovely place and we’ll get used to it, and we are getting used to it.

“It’s becoming our home and it’s right now for the things that we’ve got to do.

“The expectation is high and we want to move the club forward and the team into a higher league and that is what the aim is.

“And we’re going to do our best to match this magnificent stadium that we’ve got.

“We want it to be a fortress if you like and we want to (have) people to come here and say “yes, it’s nice!” but our aim is to know they’re in a game and wish they never come in!”

Dartford: Tony Kessell, Jamie Coyle, Steve Norman, Adam Flanagan, John Guest (Richard Avery 89), Alex O’Brien, Ryan Hayes (Yohance Lewis 81), Junior Kadi, Brendon Cass, Eddie McClements, Mark Green (Dave Moore 72)
Subs: Brad Potter, Tommy Youle.

Goals: Eddie McClements 14, Brendon Cass 32, 44

Booked: Eddie McClements 75

Great Wakering Rovers: Louis Green, Danny Pitts, Mark Cartlidge, Kevin Cole (Keith Wilson 89), Nikki Beale, Elliott Gresham, Steve Butterworth, Sam Clarke, James Foy (David Hawes 57), Neil Richmond, Joel Etienne-Clarke.
Subs: Iain O’Connell, Gary Henty, Dean Pearson, Keith Wilson.

Booked: Kevin Cole 82

Attendance: 675
Referee: Mr Wade Norcott (Harlow, Essex)
Assistants: Mr Steve Rowden (Rochester) & Mr Sean Harding (Walderslade)