Beating Dartford was a great occasion for the club, to beat someone from National League South is a massive achievement, says Beckenham Town assistant manager Billy Walton

BECKENHAM TOWN assistant manager Billy Walton says it’s a proud moment after his heroic side slayed giants Dartford in The FA Cup Second Qualifying Round on Saturday.

Goals from defenders Harvey Brand and Rob Carter sent Jason Huntley’s men through to the Third Qualifying Round for the first time in the clubs history after pulling off the clubs greatest ever result, a 2-1 win at Dartford.

Dartford boss Alan Dowson saw two of his players sent off during the Princes Park clash as the Isthmian League South East Division leaders stunned a side in tenth-place in the Vanarama National League South to maintain their unbeaten record to the new season.

“Obviously fantastic for us. All the old cliches come out but it’s a great day and it’s a proud moment to be involved in, long may it continue,” said Walton, who doesn’t receive payment for his efforts for the Eden Park Avenue outfit.

“We know we’re not going to win The FA Cup but let’s see how far we can get.  We look forward to the draw tomorrow and see who we get when it comes about and pit our wits against them.

“Saturday was a great occasion for the club, to beat someone from the National League South is a massive achievement.”

Reflecting on the game itself, Walton said: “I thought, to be honest with you, the game as it panned out, they didn’t really trouble us.  They were pretty long ball to be honest with you.

“I listened to the manager’s comments after the game and I was a little bit disappointed with it in terms of he never gave us any credit whatsoever – it was just how poor Dartford were in their defending and finishing.  He said nothing about how Beckenham defended and how well Beckenham played, so I was a little bit disappointed with that.

“It’s a great time to be at the club.  This group of players, they won’t accept getting beat and they’re not frightened to play any team at any level.  Hopefully it will continue.”

Walton, a painter and decorator, was proud of the all-round effort both on and off the pitch from last season’s Combined Counties League Premier Division South champions.

When asked how it feels beating such a massive club in The FA Cup away from home, Walton was beaming with pride and insisted it’s a group of management and coaches that should take the credit.

“I mean, fantastic for me.  Everyone’s got to take credit,  Jason Huntley, the manager, Peter Sweeney, Phil Wilson, Jason Clews and myself, we all contribute little bits here and there and in our training sessions and how we set up and the players try and execute what we try to tell them.

“We had one ex-Dartford Academy player, Freddie Nyhus, who was immense and Alfie Bloomfield, who has just turned 21, another former Bromley Academy player and worked his socks off and done extremely well, along with all the other players who played on Saturday.

“The back four was immense and the goalkeeper Nick Blue was superb. It was just a good all-round team performance, which we’ve all seen quite a lot this year from this group of lads and it’s a good group to be with at the moment.”

Beckenham Town lost top spot at the weekend as Steve Lovell’s Ramsgate claimed a 2-1 home win over Lancing and are a point clear of Beckenham.

Kevin Watson brings his Cray Valley (Paper Mills) side to Eden Park Avenue on Tuesday night, looking to bounce back following their own FA Cup exit.

The Millers are in ninth-place in the table with seven points on the board from their opening four games and were knocked out of The FA Cup after losing 2-1 at home to Hanwell Town at the weekend.

Beckenham Town are unbeaten in all of their nine league and cup games this season, collecting maximum league points from their first four league outings.

“Another really, really difficult game,” warned Walton.

“Another good game to look forward to. We’re at home. Cray Valley are an exceptionally good side and have got a very good manager and it will be a really tough game and it will test us.

“It will be good to see how they react, they had a disappointing result on Saturday themselves.

“We’ve just got to be at the races again. If we don’t, Cray Valley will be up for it. It’s a local derby and it’s a game that we’re looking forward to against them and I’m sure they’re looking forward to coming to us and want to upset us.

“We’ve got quite a few friends at Cray Valley who we know and it’s another local derby to look forward to and another fantastic contest for us.”

Beckenham Town  v  Cray Valley (Paper Mills)
Isthmian League South East Division
Tuesday 20 September 2022
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Eden Park Avenue, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3JL