CAFC vs Dartford Preview
Carshalton Athletic will have hopes of carrying the momentum of Saturday’s 3-1 victory away at Chichester City into the weekends fixture against former National League South outfit Dartford FC.
Peter Adeniyi’s side will be eyeing to go four games undefeated.
Dartford FC
Dartford registered a first home win of the campaign against Canvey Island thanks to a series of smart substitutions, which ensued a tweak in formation during the second half and saw the points swing in the way of the hosts. Sam Odaudu’s stellar goal and performance was the difference between the two teams.
Ady Pennock’s side also relied on a superb Denzelle Olopade second-half strike to secure the points on the opening day against a stubborn Cray Valley PM; however, they failed to capitalise on the narrow 2-1 victory, falling short at Princes Park to a well-organised Potters Bar in the second fixture.
Following several seasons of challenging for promotion in the National League South (NLS), Dartford FC suffered a shock relegation to the Isthmian Premier Division after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign.
The Darts finished a turbulent year in 21st place, narrowly missing out on safety after their 46 points were only four shy of 20th Hemel Hempstead.
Steven King’s arrival in Kent in 2019 turned Dartford into regular play-off contenders; unfortunately for the Darts, it would be a series of false dawns.
In an effort to complete that well-deserved next step up, King departed Princes Park in May 2022 and Alan Downson succeeded him. In 22/23 he guided the club to second place in his only full season in charge, finishing 20 points behind runaway champions Ebbsfleet. However, it was an all too familiar feeling for Darts fans as they were knocked out of the play-offs on penalties by St Albans.
Downson left Dartford mid-way through last season in January with the team sat 16th in the NLS on 34 points from 27 matches, seven away from the play-offs and 10 above the relegation zone. They had won just one of their last seven games and dropped 21 points from winning positions.
During the intervening period before the appointment of a permanent manager, the Darts went on a four-match winless run but managed to pick up an important victory against Dover Athletic, who were also battling the drop.
Eventually, Chairman Steve Irving decided at the beginning of March that experienced EFL and non-league coach Adrian Pinnock would be best to take the club forward. Currently, languishing 18th and four points above relegation with 11 matches to go, Pinnock had his work cut out.
Despite their best efforts, the magnitude of the task proved to be too great, and Dartford found themselves back in the Isthmian league for the first time in nearly 14 years.
With aspirations of going straight back up, the Darts organised a tough fixture roster for pre-season with all the sides coming from the higher tiers of English Football.
A spirited display against League One’s Charlton Athletic began proceedings before a hard-fought draw versus Margate, and a comfortable 3-1 victory over Ashford United ensued.
That was followed by a commendable first-half defensive performance against Pinnock’s former club Gillingham, a huge 1-0 win over former League Two team Sutton United, who they limited to very few chances and an unlucky 2-0 loss to Boreham Wood after two late goals.
There have also been 15 new incomings to the squad, a healthy mix of youth and experience, with a number of academy starlets given professional contracts and forging a place in the first team during pre-season.
Likely line-ups
Carshalton
Formation: 4-3-3
Foley; Sankho, Atewologun, Hamstead, Read; Saraiva, Vose, Jackson; Ifianyi, Bradford ©, Saunders-Henry.
Dartford
Kerbey; Odaudu, Hill, Williams, Whitefield, Okoye, Olopade, Pinder, Box, Dsane, Jones
Team News
Carshalton
Mason-Saunders Henry returned to first team action Monday night, therefore the only player unavailable is long term absentee Kwaku Frimpong.
Dartford
For Dartford, new number one Jacob Marsden, who featured in every pre-season match, will be unavailable for an extended period of time owing to an injury sustained in their final preparation game against Boreham Wood.
Sutton United goalkeeper Matt Kerbey has been brought in on a one-month loan to replace Marsden.
New signing Eddie Dsane from Kingstonians will provide competition with Christian-Law given Olly Box and Callum Jones’ spots in the front three are seemingly nailed on.
Expect to see a new-look Dartford team with a heavy emphasis on youth and experience, it seems the Kent-based side are keener to lean on their strong academy this season.
Pre-Match Analysis
Creating opportunities to score is not a problem for Dartford given the quality of their front two. The Darts possess the hugely exciting Olly Box, who dazzles with his quick feet and delivers a mean cross while boasting a prolific goalscorer in Callum Jones.
Jones does lack a clinical edge, tending to squander a chance or two, but in the grand scheme of things it does not matter owing to the volume of chances Pinnock’s team feed him often from out wide.
The forward is one of the best at getting in behind opposition defences.
Dartford have found it difficult to strike the right balance in the midfield, preferring more defensively-minded personnel over ball carries.
There is a heavy emphasis on the long ball game, so there will be a lot to do for Fikayo Atewologun and Ollie Hamstead.
Key Player
Centre-forward Callum Jones joined Pinnock’s Darts this summer from NLS side Chelmsford and has really impressed during pre-season and the start of 24/25. Following on from netting eight goals in 61 appearances for the Clarets and Billericay, the 21-year-old dropped down a level to rediscover the goalscoring form of his younger years at Colchester United U21’s, and so far, he has done that.
Jones has found himself on the scoresheet three times in pre-season and was unfortunate to have one ruled out in the 2-2 draw with Margate.
The forward perhaps should have opened the scoring as early as the first minute against Cray Valley when a string of quick passes carved through their defence and set him away, but his low strike flew wide of the far post. However, the forward made amends with a clinical finish from close range, teed up by young starlet Olly Box, just before the 30 mark.
Despite suffering defeat to Potters mid-week, Jones continued to pose the main attacking threat for the Darts, getting in behind and creating 1 v 1 situations with the goalkeeper.
His partnership with Box will cause the Carshalton defence problems on Saturday.
Expected to feature heavily for Dartford throughout their promotion push, he will carry a lot of attacking threat, given he is the complete attacker.
On the forward, Assistant coach Roland Edge said: “He’s a treat for Adi [Pinnock] and myself, he’s not only scoring and getting in the right positions, he’s also organising; we’ve got a few youngsters in the team that need to be put in the right places. The other thing is that he works solidly for like 95 minutes which is an added bonus and every chance that he’s had I think he has taken really well.”
The Gaffer
As a player, Pennock had an extensive career, featuring for the likes of Norwich City, Molde FK, AFC Bournemouth, Gillingham, and Gravesend & Northfleet.
He had a two-year stint as Welling manager before transitioning to become the first team coach at Stoke in the Premier League.
The departure of Tony Pulis at the end of the 2012-13 season to newly promoted Crystal Palace signalled the end of his time at the Potters, and subsequently, the managerial hot seat at Forest Green beckoned on the 12th of November 2013, where he achieved record highest league finishes twice during his tenure of which lasted until 2016.
Following that, Pennock had a stint in League One with Gillingham as head coach, stepping down in September 2017.
A return to the National League was the next stop, taking stewardship of Barrow the following month; however, he would depart at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, having only narrowly avoided relegation.
Out of nowhere, the 53-year-old went abroad ready for the start of the 2019 Singapore Premier League. He won DPMM FC their second title in his first campaign in charge, remaining with the club for four years.
Coming home on December 31 2023, he was immediately back in work three months later with Dartford in the National League South.
The Last Meeting
The last meeting between the two sides came on January 23 2010 in the Non-League Premier Division. The match concluded 1-1 and the Darts would conclude the campaign runaway champions, 18 points in front of second place Sutton United. As for the Robins, we narrowly avoided relegation by four points, sitting 17th place level with Maidstone United.
Match Details
Date: Saturday 24 August, 2024
Venue: Colston Avenue
Kickoff: 3:00 pm
Admission: Admission: £11, £8, £5 (online prices) tickets on the gate are +£1.
Tickets can be bought online here
