There's a lot more to come from my side in the future, says Dartford boss Tony Burman

DARTFORD boss Tony Burman hopes his side avoid any hiccups when they travel to Cray Wanderers in The FA Cup on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Darts travel to Hayes Lane for a mouth-watering third qualifying round tie sitting proudly in second place in the Blue Square Bet South table with 26 points from 12 games – just one point behind Woking.

Cray Wanderers play in the division below, and are in fifth place in the Ryman Premier League and this has a making’s of a cracking game, between two sides that play quality football.

Burman is looking forward to the Kent derby, which has £7,500 in prize money up for grabs for the winner.

He said: “It’s an interesting Cup tie and we know that Cray are doing well at the moment and hopefully it will be a good game.

“We’ve been pleased with the start that we’ve had.  We’ve had the two hiccups away from home but we’ve identified the problems we feel and hopefully we can go to Cray on Saturday and get a result.”

Burman added: “I’m expecting a tough game, like it always is with Cray.  Over the years’ we’ve had some good games against Cray, but they’re good people over there, we’re two club’s that have worked closely in the past, but we go there, we’ve done very well this season, they’re doing very well.  We’ve progressed to a higher league and hopefully that knowledge will see us through to the next round.”

Dartford reached the first round of The FA Cup last year.  The Darts came within minutes of knocking out League Two side Port Vale at Princes Park last November, but went down 4-0 in a freezing cold night in a replay in Staffordshire.

Burman said: “We had a great time last year in the FA Cup.  The problem was in near enough every round we had a replay, which is what we don’t want this season. 

“Having said that, we’ve got a lot of respect for Cray.   We know they’re a good side and they have to realise we’re a good side as well.  I’m sure they will.

“It’s The FA Cup and anything can happen in The FA Cup.  It’s a one-off game, hopefully it’s a good game, a big crowd and we can progress to the next round, avoiding a replay!”

Dartford have won all six of their league games at Princes Park, but have been defeated on their travels at Basingstoke Town and Boreham Wood.

When asked the reasons behind his side’s successful start in their second campaign at Blue Square Bet South football, Burman replied, “There’s no secret other than hard work.  The players’ have worked very, very hard.  They’ve been together in the games other than the two that we lost.  They’re having good habits in the games.

“We’ve managed to get 26 points from 12 games, which isn’t a bad total so to speak.  The players have worked hard and when they’re doing things correctly, they’re a good side.  Even though we lost to Basingstoke and Boreham Wood, these things can be put right.  We lost those games because we decided not to do all the good things that we’ve been doing.  That happens, its football and we need to get back on track, hopefully we can do that with the game on Saturday.

“There’s a lot more to come from our side in the future. 

“The home form has been good.  Teams have come there and we’ve played well against them but we’ve been patient at home, which has been another learning curve.  Away from home, most of the majority of time we’ve been good, but we’ve had a couple of hiccups.  We haven’t been patient or as intelligent as we should have been and that’s when it shows, when we lose the games.

“Hopefully we’ll continue to move in the right direction.  On our day we’re a very, very good side and we’ll improve as we go on.”

Burman is delighted with the goalscoring contribution from striker Charlie Sheringham and midfielder Elliot Bradbrook.

“Charlie’s done well, he’s scored 11 goals in 12 games and he’s been excellent for us this season,” said Burman.

“He deserves what he’s got.  He’s the first to admit he’s played with some good players.  Elliot Bradbrook has scored a few goals for us too.”

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

Cray Wanderers  v  Dartford
FA Cup with Budweiser Third Qualifying Round
Saturday 15^th October 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF