Dartford FC vs Bishop’s Stortford – Match Report by Dan English
Dartford 4 (Pugh, 13; Bradbrook, 25; Ofori-Acheampong, 60; Pavey, 85)
Bishop’s Stortford 0
HT: 2-0
FT: 4-0
Referee: Lee Venamore 7/10
Match Rating: 3/5
Star Man: Ryan Hayes (Dartford)
Attendance: 1,025
Four goals from four different players saw Dartford seal a convincing three points against National League South bottom side Bishop’s Stortford at Princes Park. Goals from Andy Pugh, Elliot Bradbrook, Duane Ofori-Acheampong and Alfie Pavey secured the Darts’ three points over the relegated Stortford side.
Dartford manager Tony Burman yearned for more goals after the victory: “The main thing was that we had to win. We got three points and four goals. I would have liked more but it was not to be. I thought the players conducted themselves really well.”
Dartford took the lead on 13 minutes through Pugh when the forward tucked away a blocked Ryan Hayes effort.
Bradbrook almost doubled Dartford’s advantage on 16 minutes when his effort from a Luke Wanadio corner was blocked on the goal line.
The hosts continued to press the league’s bottom side with Pugh almost netting a second a minute later when his diving header went inches wide.
The Dartford captain eventually put the hosts two ahead on 25 minutes when Bradbrook powerfully nodded a Hayes corner past Harry Voss.
Stortford struggled to get into the game but were unlucky not to draw a goal back on 29 minutes when Sam Ford’s free kick forced Deren Ibrahim into a low save.
Talisman Hayes continued to threaten on the right wing with the midfielder curling an effort narrowly over on 38 minutes.
Undeterred by their two goal deficit, Stortford responded brightly after the restart.
A surging run from Evans Kouassi on 54 minutes saw the visitors’ attacker caused some discomfort for the Darts’ defence.
The hosts responded and had their third on the hour mark when Stortford were agin unable to deal with a Hayes cross, gifting Ofori-Acheampong the free header.
Stortford looked certain to draw a goal back on 76 minutes when Kouassi ran through unchallenged, only thwarted at the last moment by Tom Bonner’s last ditch tackle.
The visitors continued to press with Aaron Greene shooting over on 78 minutes when Dartford weres stretched defensively.
Amassing 17 corners across the afternoon, the Darts looked threatening from set pieces.
They scored their fourth on 85 minutes as substitutes combined when Lee Noble’s corner was headed in by the on-loan forward Alfie Pavey.
The Darts almost had a fifth in injury time when Alex Brown had his effort from a Pavey knock on blocked before the whistle blew on a convincing victory.
Dartford (4-4-2): Ibrahim; Wood, Wynter, Bonner, Vint, Brown, Hayes, Bradbrook, Ofori-Acheampong (Pavey, 63), Pugh (Noble, 70), Wanadio (Murphy, 63)
Subs not used: Harris, Coxall
Bishop’s Stortford (4-4-2): Voss; Richefond, Williams, Taiwo, Adebowale, Rodgers, Ronto (Kabeya, 71), Everett, Ford, Kouassi, Greene
Subs not used: Fagan, Rogers, Harris
Stats:
Shots on target: Dartford 6,1 Stortford
Shots off target: 9,5
Corners: 17, 2
Offside: 2,4
Fouls Conceded: 8,6
Yellow Cards: 0,1
Red Cards: 0,0