I've found a club where I can settle down, says much-travelled striker Jacob Erskine

HAT-TRICK hero Jacob Erskine says he has finally settled at Dartford following a nomadic footballing career.


The striker, who turned 23 on Friday, netted three goals as the Darts booked their place in the last sixteen of The FA Carlsberg Trophy with an enthralling 4-2 victory over Boston United at Princes Park yesterday.

Erskine started the scoring with a flicked finish inside the opening four minutes, stabbed home his second  eight minutes into the second half and completed the scoring in the 90^th minute to take his goalscoring tally for Dartford to nine goals in ten starts, as Tony Burman’s side reached the last sixteen for the second successive season.

“I loved it today, just really about work-rate to be honest,” Erskine said yesterday.

“When you start working hard then things start paying off for you and today I got a hat-trick so I’m impressed for myself.”

Erskine has had more clubs than the likes of Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

He has worn the colours of Croydon Athletic, Dagenham & Redbridge, Tooting & Mitcham United (loan), Maidstone United (loan), Dorchester Town (loan), Margate (loan), Gillingham, Bromley (loan), Bishop’s Stortford (loan), Concord Rangers, Forest Green Rovers, Swindon Supermarine (loan), Ebbsfleet United, Hampton & Richmond Borough and now Dartford.

And he says he feels settled under Burman’s guidance.

“It’s a wicked club, it’s got a great fan-base here,” said Erskine.

“Before, I was always on loan, here, there and everywhere, meeting new players and I had to keep changing the way the manager wanted me to play, so it’s good that I’ve found a club that I know how the manager wants to play so I can just settle and can get my head down and graft away.

“When you’re doing well all the fans’ will come up to you and tell you ‘you’re doing well’, and that’s another good confidence boost.  Hopefully we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.

A hat-trick in his FIRST ever FA Trophy tie, coming a day after his birthday, made it an excellent weekend for the much-travelled striker.

He said: “It was my birthday (on Friday) and I just went out for a meal with my girlfriend and I turned up and scored three goals so it’s a very good birthday to be honest.”

But he added: “To be fair, it’s not just a one man show.  It was a team effort.  I won’t score goals unless the team’s playing well and putting good crosses in the box.  All praise to everyone today.”

The Darts reached the last sixteen of The FA Carlsberg Trophy last season, going out of the competition up at Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier side Gateshead.

Erskine said: “It’s a dream to play at Wembley.  It’s my first ever game playing in the FA Trophy.  Usually when I go out to previous club’s it’s always a loan here there and everywhere but I’m at Dartford now.  I’m going to keep myself on the ground and hopefully progress with Dartford.”

Erskine and his Dartford team-mates will now focus on next Saturday’s trip to Hampton & Richmond Borough.

The Beavers will join the Darts in the Third Round draw tomorrow after they came away from Ryman Premier League side East Thurrock United with a 1-1 draw yesterday and will replay in midweek.

They sit in the bottom four in the Blue Square Bet South table with 22 points from 24 games, just one point and place above Bromley, who remain in the relegation zone despite their brave 3-2 defeat away to league leaders Woking yesterday.

Mark Goldberg’s side fought back from 2-0 down, courtesy of a Danny Waldren’s ninth goal of the season, from the penalty spot, and Orlando Smith’s equaliser, but Woking grabbed a last-gasp winner.

Bromley have now stretched their winless run to fifteen games, having last tasted success at Dartford in the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round on 29 October.

Erskine, meanwhile, is looking forward to facing his former club and feels Hampton & Richmond Borough shouldn’t be struggling.

He said: “I can’t wait to play them actually.  I don’t think they should be in the position that they’re in.   They play good football.  They just haven’t got the results that they should’ve been getting. 

“They’ve got players being picked up by Championship clubs, Premier League clubs have looked at them so it shows that they’re a good team.  They just need to get results.”

Looking further ahead, the Darts also travel to second-from-bottom side Staines Town (Tuesday 24 January) and welcome basement side Thurrock to Princes Park on 28 January.

“I think we’ve got the three hardest games coming up of the season as far as I’m concerned,” added Burman.

“It’s important that we focus on what we’ve got to do.  Those teams are the teams you want points against and we have to get ourselves right, try and go and win those games.

“The points you drop against teams below you and the teams in and around relegation are fighting for their lives and you can’t go in these games thinking it’s going to be easy.

“I think they’re going to be the hardest games for us.  The next three games are massive for us.”

Dartford remained in fourth place in the table with 45 points from 23 games as Sutton United failed to take advantage as they had to rely on a late equaliser to prevent Thurrock from picking up their fourth win of the season, at Gander Green Lane yesterday.

The Darts are now seventeen points behind leaders Woking.

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

Hampton & Richmond Borough  v  Dartford
Blue Square Bet South
Saturday 21^st January 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Beveree Stadium, Beaver Close, off Station Road, Hampton, Middlesex TW12 2BX