We want to take our Kent Senior Cup trip to Folkestone seriously, says Darts boss Tony Burman

DARTFORD boss Tony Burman says he is taking a strong squad down to Folkestone Invicta as they bid to keep hold of the Kent Senior Cup that they clinched at the end of last season, writes Stephen McCartney.

Confidence is sky-high after the Darts defeated arch-rivals Dover Athletic 3-1 in front of their largest crowd of the season at Princes Park yesterday, courtesy of goals from Adam Green, Ryan Hayes and influential skipper Elliot Bradbrook.

The Darts leapfrogged over Sutton United into third-place in the Blue Square Bet South table on 37 points from 18 games – nine points behind leaders Woking, who come to Dartford on 13 December.

Dartford are involved in two Cup ties before that mouth-watering crunch game against the Surrey giants.

They travel to Folkestone Invicta to face Neil Cugley’s side in the Second Round of the Kent Senior Cup Sponsored by Portablefloodlights.com on Wednesday night, before travelling to Brackley Town to contest a FA Carlsberg Trophy First Round tie next Saturday.

Dartford are the holders of the Kent Senior Cup after their convincing 4-1 win over Bromley in what was Hayden Bird’s last game in charge of the Hayes Lane outfit.

Folkestone Invicta go into the Second Round tie sitting in sixth-place in the Ryman League Division One South table on 33 points from 18 games, just one point behind fifth-placed Worthing and eleven adrift of leaders Dulwich Hamlet.

Burman said: “Unfortunately it’s come right in the middle of (a big Cup week), Wednesday’s not the best night for us either.

“We’ll take everybody down there that’s for sure and everyone who hasn’t been playing we’ll be playing and one or two of the guys that played yesterday will play.

“We’ve got a big game on Saturday as well and we just have to be a little bit careful regarding our injuries.”

The Dartford faithful would like their manager to take the Kent Senior Cup seriously, especially as winning the silverware last May.

“We want to take it seriously but it would’ve been a better night being a Tuesday so we can have everyone in on Thursday so we can concentrate on Saturday.  Nevertheless it’s happened and we’ll go there and see what happens.”

Brackley Town, meanwhile, will play Dartford sitting in third-place in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier League with a record of 34 points from 18 games, just one point adrift of leaders Leamington.

Looking forward to the FA Carlsberg Trophy First Round clash at St James Park, Churchill Way, Burman said: “That’s why it was important to pick up the three points (against Dover).  It keeps us in touch.

“Obviously Brackley are having a great season themselves in their own league and we know it’s going to be tough. 

“They’ve got a very experienced squad of players, that’s for sure, but we’ll go there to enjoy and we want to get through to the next round.”

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

Folkestone Invicta  v  Dartford
Kent Senior Cup Sponsored by Portablefloodlights.com 
Wednesday 7th December 2011
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU