Ady Pennock’s Dartford will be looking to consolidate their fourth-place position in the Isthmian Premier this weekend as the Darts head for Lewes.
Wins last week over Whitehawk and Dulwich Hamlet have cemented the Darts in fourth place in the table – level on points with Chatham Town although the Medway side do have two games in hand, with both side eleven points behind pace-setters Folkestone Invicta. So Pennock knows that his side still have it all to do. “We’ve a very difficult game Saturday,” he told us.
“We found it very difficult there last year – they are a good side at home, very strong, a good footballing side and we know it will be very difficult but looking forward to it with the run that we are on at the moment, but it will be a difficult place to go and get three points.” The Darts travel having lost just two of their last seventeen League matches.
“Their home game was called off on Tuesday so hopefully the game will survive but to be fair we have had a lot of rain in a short period, but the Dripping Pan pitch (Lewes’ ground) is usually very nice. I had hoped to go and see them but didn’t get very far!”
“We are going to lose games this year as we have a young side and make some silly decisions, but they are learning from it – we are on a good run at the moment and there is a lot of confidence. We are playing some nice football as well which I am really enjoying watching us play – we don’t always get the rewards that you want but I am really enjoying watching what the lads are doing; we are exciting and in a good place at the moment. Come Saturday though that could all change, but isn’t that why we all love the game to be fair?”
“The League is going to be tight behind Folkestone I think; our aim and some people laugh when I have said before, our aim this year was to survive in the League. That is our first and foremost aim in the League and if we can get in the play-offs again this season, it would be an absolutely fantastic achievement from everybody at the Football Club.”
“It’s a boring old cliche I know, but it’s one game at a time… It’s going to be very tight as everybody can beat every other from top to bottom on the day, but it’s a good League, it’s a very strong League which is difficult to get out of, but we are in a good place at the moment!
“We respect everybody that we come up against, every single team and player, so let’s see where this run takes us and hopefully at the end of the season we will be in a good place where we can say that we are back in the play-offs again like last season which will be another marvellous achievement!”