Kent FA chief Paul Dolan explains Dartford's Kent Senior Cup withdrawal

DARTFORD have withdrawn from the Kent Senior Cup due to fixture congestion caused by cancellations due to weather over December and January, additional games due to the success of their FA Trophy campaign and their league fixtures.



Margate v Dartford was originally drawn as a second round fixture with an original play-by date of 30 November 2012.

However, poor weather throughout December and January made scheduling the match difficult for both clubs and with rescheduled league fixtures and Dartford’s FA Trophy matches taking priority in February the match remained unplayed.

The Kent Senior Cup competition had meanwhile progressed to the semi-final stage, prompting the Kent FA Competitions Committee to issue a final play-by date of 5 March for Margate and Dartford’s Second Round fixture in order to maintain progress through the competition.

Ryman Premier League club Margate were available to play the match, but when Dartford were handed another rescheduled Blue Square Bet Premier fixture on 5 March against Stockport County it was suggested that the match to be moved to 6 March as an alternative.

Dartford were unable to play on this date and subsequently withdrew from the Kent Senior Cup.

Kent FA chief executive Paul Dolan said: “We have other teams at the semi-final stage in the Senior Cup and the final is scheduled for early May, so we are duty-bound to progress the competition at this stage.

”We understand that clubs at Senior Cup level have other commitments and we never stand in the way of clubs chasing league promotion or progressing in national FA competitions, but with over three months since the original play-by date we have to move the competition forward.

”We wish Dartford the best of luck in their remaining league games.”

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