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Thursday 01st September 2005

Collin clinches victory in local derby

Chatham Town 3-0 Dartford

Dr Martens League Eastern Division

Easter Monday, 12 April 2004

Stephen McCartney reports from Maidstone Road

AFTER losing 5-3 at Stamford on Saturday, Chatham Town bounced back with a comfortable victory over a very young Dartford side at Maidstone Road.

Two goals in a space of three first half minutes, helped the Medway side on their way on a typically bumpy end of season playing surface.

Dartford's sixteen-year-old goalkeeper James Tedder, was called into action early on, tipping Kevin Sprigg's twenty-two yard effort over the crossbar after eight minutes.

Two minutes later, the young shot-stopper denied Israel Amadi after his downward header was instinctively blocked at the near post.

For Dartford, Barry Gibson's right-footed long range shot drifted over Gavin Hopper's goal, after Danny Tingley, who joined the Darts at the start of the season after serving ten years at Tonbridge Angels, combined with Tostoa Kwashi down the right hand side.

Chatham took the lead after 21 minutes when sixteen-year-old schoolboy, Frannie Collin smashed the ball into the top left hand corner from 22 yards, after the visitors half cleared Spriggs free kick from the edge of the penalty area on the left.

The game was killed off, however, when Chatham doubled their lead only two minutes later.

Daniel Lombardo sent Collin on his way down the right hand side and his pin-point cross was met by former Lordswood and Maidstone United midfielder Danny Kedwell, unmarked, whose looping header dropped into the far corner of the net leaving Tedder rooted to the spot.

Chatham goalkeeper, Hopper, played a key role starting many attacks, taking many free kicks from yards outside his penalty area and even up to the half-way line, but he wasn't beaten from Gibbon's weak shot after he got to the ball ahead of his marker from Tingley's cross from the right.

Highly-rated Dartford defender Luke Cuthbert, who only made his debut in Saturday's 1-0 win over King's Lynn, made a fine saving tackle inside the penalty area after 36 minutes.

Both the seventeen-year-old defender and experienced Paul Sykes, who started the game with a mild groin injury before being replaced at half time with a knee injury, were beaten outside the penalty area by the lively Amadi, but Cuthbert was alert to the danger.

On the stroke of half time, Collin raced with the ball close to his feet from the half-way line to inside the Darts penalty area but the striker, who played for Gillingham reserves in the past week, shot wide of the far post.

Unfortunately the second half wasn't as lively as the first, and Collin went close after 57 minutes, clipping a cross narrowly wide of the far post, before Daniel Lombardo blasted high over Tedder's bar seven minutes later.

A strong but fair tackle by Mark Horan on Kedwell gave the burly Dartford midfielder a chance to shoot at goal, but his fierce drive from 24 yards went well wide of the left upright.

Kedwell spread the play from the right to the left with a diagonal pass for Lombardo but the tall striker dragged his shot wide of the far post.

Horan then struck another powerful shot, this time over the crossbar from 24 yards before Tingley was harshly penalised for a handball inside the penalty area with thirteen minutes left on the clock.

Collin's cross was cut out well by Tommy Osborne but the ball struck Tingley, with his back to goal, on the edge of the penalty area, just left of centre.

Collin sealed a perfect day for himself and Chatham, although he was rather fortunate with his right-footed spot kick. The ball struck Tedder before finding the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Hardworking Dartford's best chance of the game came with four minutes remaining when Ted Ansell and Chris Nunn combined down the left hand side, and Nunn delivered an inch-perfect cross for Kwashi to score, but his header from six yards went inches wide of the top of the right post.

Chatham Town: Gavin Hopper, Tom Binks, Daniel Larkin, Martin Driscoll, Andrew Boyle, Steve Best (Capt), Kevin Spiggs, Danny Kedwell, Frannie Collin, Daniel Lombardo (Gary Stock 75), Israel Amadi (Mark Brooks 39). Subs: Steve Hafner, Richard Styles, Oliver Cotton (GK)

Dartford: James Tedder, Danny Tingley (Capt), Tommy Osborne, Mark Horan, Luke Cuthbert, Barry Gibson, Tostoa Kwashi, Ted Ansell, Paul Sykes (Jack Munday 46), Tommy Gibbons (Brad Potter 41), Chris Nunn. Sub: Paul Sawyer