MATCH REPORT | POTTERS BAR TOWN 1 DARTFORD 0
The Dartford boss was understandably angry with the poor showing from his team in front of 469 supporters at The Lantern Stadium, but that’s not taking anything away from The Scholars who were good value for their win.
There was optimism amongst the visiting supporters before the game, especially surrounding the fact that new signings Dave Winfield and Rohan Vaughan were named in the starting eleven.
And the early signs looked promising when Dan Smith saw his first minute effort blocked and his third minute strike saved well by Josh Shattell. The Scholars’ goalkeeper then did well to get down to prevent Rohan Vaughan’s low strike from breaking the deadlock mere seconds later!
Jonny Henly was then called into action to save Brandon Adams’ effort (5), before pulling off a superb double save to thwart both Adams and Nana Kyei three minutes later.
However the deadlock was broken after eleven minutes, when Joe Re’s brilliant run split open the Dartford defence to allow him to find Kyei with a delightful cross, which the latter slotted beyond Henly.
The visitors came close to equalising via Dan Smith following good work by Vaughan (18), before Dan Carter’s effort was blocked by a resolute Scholars defence (22).
Ady Pennock had seen enough after just 23 minutes, as he swapped Michael Olarewaju with Luther Williams in a bid to try and tighten up his defence and change the formation.
Yet the hosts soacked up the pressure, as Shattell saved another Vaughan strike (31) and Dan Smith effort (38).
The first-half ended with the hosts feeling rightly aggrieved that they hadn’t been awarded a penalty, after Marcel Guzynski appeared to have been pushed over inside the Dartford box (45).
The start of the second forty-five saw Ady Pennock swap Dan Smith with Eddie Dsane (46) in a bid to try to ignite his team. The Dartford boss would go on to swap Rohan Vaughan with Olly Box (54), Dan Carter with Jeremiah Pinder (54), before Sammie McLeod came on for Jacob Bland (71).
As we return to the restart, a little pinball wizarding took place inside the Potters Bar area which was somehow cleared by the defence (47), before Cole Kpekawa headed narrowly over Henly’s crossbar at the other end (56).
Eddie Dsane saw his shot superbly blocked by Kiril Halenin (59), before Callum Jones saw a similar turn of events occur with his strike in the 65th minute.
Josh Shattell pulled off a marvellous save to tip Sam Okoye’s long-range pyledriver from flying into the top corner (80), before both Dsane and Joe Tennent came close to equalising deep into stoppage time.
The second-half display from the Darts was much better than the first, but the hosts stuck to their game-plan to secure a deserved victory on this sunny but cold afternoon in Hertfordshire.
Ady Pennock’s side, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back when Cray Wanderers come to Princes Park next Saturday.
POTTERS BAR TOWN: Josh Shattell, Dylan Adjei-Hersey, Marcel Guzynski, Prosper Keto, Cole Kpekawa (c), Kiril Halenin, Joe Re, Ryan Blackman, Brandon Adams, Nana Kyei, Damaray Anyadike.
SUBSTITUTES: Borja Loeches, Jacques Kpohomouh, Tyler Young, Kyriacos Antonio, Jeddiah Brown-Johnson.
DARTFORD: Jonny Henly, Michael Olarewaju (c), Dave Winfield, Joe Tennent, Samuel Okoye, Denzelle Olopade, Jacob Bland, Dan Carter, Rohan Vaughan, Callum Jones, Dan Smith.
SUBSTITUTES: Eddie Dsane, Olly Box, Luther Williams, Sammie McLeod, Jeremiah Pinder.
Chris Palmer