The managers of Dartford and Cray
Wanderers insist they are taking Tuesday night's Kent Senior Cup tie at
Stonebridge Road seriously - and with both sides capable of entertaining
and scoring goals, this first round clash is definitely one not to miss,
writes Stephen McCartney.
Cray Wanderers were 3-0 down to Leatherhead at Hayes Lane on Saturday but
Leigh Bremner's second half hat-trick helped the Wands' collect their 27th
point of the season.
And the former Herne Bay striker wasn't the only one banging in the goals
in Kent at the weekend, with Darts' striker James Carter netting three in
their 4-2 win over Enfield.
In an EXCLUSIVE interview with www.kentishfootball.co.uk,
Dartford manager Tony Burman reflected on their ninth league win of their
Southern League Division One East campaign.
"We played some good football going forward," he said.
"We felt we should have gone in more than 1-0 up in the first half,
but it wasn't to be.
"At half-time I felt once we scored the goal we should have gone and
probably scored more goals without conceding any, but for a little bit of
sloppy defending Enfield managed to equalise and then we went straight
back up and made it 2-1.
"I felt we'd go on from there but again Enfield came and equalised
from a free-kick but I still felt we were still going to win the game and
for the last 30 minutes we pushed on and managed to make it 4-2."
The Dartford stalwart was delighted with his side's forward play.
"Our forward play was excellent," he said. "Our two
wingers Dave Martin and Ryan Hayes (who scored the other goal) and Jim
Carter. I'm really pleased for him scoring a hat-trick for all his hard
work this season.
Looking ahead to their Kent Senior Cup showdown
against Cray Wanderers, Burman cannot wait.
"First of all we are taking it seriously," he said. "I will
be making one or two changes only.
"Gary Carter is out with the 'flu and I will be putting a strong
enough side as I want to be involved in the competition after
Christmas."
Can the Darts win the competition? Burman replied: "There's some
tough teams in the competition and we are playing against Cray tomorrow
night, who are one of them."
Ian Jenkins, meanwhile, will be hoping his Cray side climb the Ryman
League Division One table, after his side slid down the table after losing
six games on the trot earlier in the season.
And how is the Cray stalwart treating tomorrow's cup tie against Dartford?
"Seriously mate," was Jenkins' reply. "We are only in
two cups (the other, a trip to Staines Town in the London Senior Cup) and
I want to get as far as we can to be honest with you.
"It won't be easy as Dartford are going well in their league and
there is always a bit of needle between the two sides when they do
play."
Jenkins admitted he doesn't read too much into his side's last appearance
at Stonebridge Road, which ended in a 4-1 defeat to Dartford in a friendly
during the close season - a game he missed due to being on holiday.
But he will be without influential, experienced defensive pair, David Gray
and Ian Rawlings - which is a blow.
"We've got a big squad so I can use players that haven't been
playing," he said. "I am down to a bare fifteen at the
moment, there's a few injuries so the team picks itself with what I've got
available."
Speaking about his missing defensive pair, he added: "We are going to
miss them as we've been leaking a lot of goals. I want to plug that
in. I want to get them back and stop that."
One thing for sure, Jenkins calls upon fans to flock through the
turnstiles at Hayes Lane to watch his entertaining, free-scoring team in
action.
After their trips to Dartford and Banstead Athletic (Saturday),
Kingstonian visit Hayes Lane next Tuesday (20th) - the side that knocked
them out of the FA Trophy at the end of last month.
"We are the sort of side that gets people through the turnstiles,
scoring goals and entertaining. That's what it's all about,"
said Jenkins.
"We've still got to play local derbies against Dover and Tonbridge
and that will bring a fair few hundred, but our lack of support surprises
me."
Tuesday night's game completes the first round of the competition with
Margate (winners three years running), Dover Athletic (last season's
runners-up), Bromley, Ramsgate, Gravesend & Northfleet, Folkestone
Invicta and Welling United already in the last eight.
*Meanwhile, Dartford are sending their reserve team down to Sevenoaks
Town's Greatness Park for a friendly. The Greatness Park outfit have
won two games since former Dartford reserve team manager Bob Pittaway took
over at the helm of the Kentish Observer Premier club.
Dartford v Cray Wanderers
Kent Senior Cup First Round
Tuesday 13th December 2005
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Stonebridge Road, Northfleet
|
Kentish Football 
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd