Dartford Whites topple ten-man Oxford in commanding victory
The Whites took the lead in a rampant first-half that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Working the ball from the back, Thomas Mitcham’s shot earned The Whites a corner. R Atkins’ brilliant delivery looped over the Oxford goalkeeper and Dean Naylor was there to head it home.
From there, Dartford really kicked on, creating lots of chances.
Abie Omara-Knapp caused all sorts of problems against a struggling Oxford side. Blu Husthwaite, Dartford Academy Player of the Month, made some great runs into the box and could easily have got onto the score sheet.
Going into the break, it seemed as though the domination would not give the team the cushion they deserved. However, just before half-time one of the Oxford players received a red card leaving them with ten men.
A five-minute fightback from the Oxford players saw their only real spell of the game, before Dartford went straight up the other end to double the lead.
Joseph Kpaka got to the byline after some brilliant footwork and was brought down for a Whites’ penalty. Mitcham made no mistake, slotting home the penalty to give The Darts a comfortable 2-0 lead at half-time.
After starting the game so brightly, Dartford looked to put their foot on the gas and further extend their lead, but in the end the two goals were enough to earn them the three points.
Speaking after the game, manager Ben Greenhalgh said: “It was always going to be a difficult game. Oxford were joint-top and winning a lot of games.
“We were putting in good performances but not getting the results that we wanted.
“We were without key players like Ashdon Day and we had to change some things up but we worked really hard in training.
“Even with group we have and with all the injuries, we shouldn’t be in the position we are in.
“The things we worked on paid off massively, you could see that in the first 20 minutes creating chance after chance.
“From there, we really should have kicked on and scored four or five but it was still a great performance from the group.
“I was very pleased – a clean sheet, dominant performance and back to winning ways.
“We worked hard for it, so full credit to the boys and hopefully we can kick on from here.”
The win raises Dartford Whites to 6th in the table, just five points away from the top.
They now prepare to face Aldershot Town.
By Riley Finch
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