Brentwood Town were beaten 1-0 by Dartford at Princes Park despite dominating possession and creating the better of the chances, with Dan Smith’s third-minute header proving decisive in a frustrating evening for the Blues.
Brentwood Town were left empty-handed at Princes Park on Tuesday night as an early Dan Smith header proved enough to hand Dartford all three points, despite a dominant performance from the Blues.
Smith struck in just the third minute, meeting an in-swinging corner from Darts player-manager Ben Greenhalgh to head the hosts into an early lead.
From that moment onwards, it was largely Brentwood who controlled proceedings, with Keith Rowland’s side enjoying the majority of possession and creating a number of opportunities as they searched for an equaliser.
Bradley Sach came close on a couple of occasions without finding the target, while Benas Vaivada was unfortunate to see his effort inside the area cannon back off the post.
The Blues produced their clearest opportunity of the opening 45 minutes on the stroke of half-time. Dartford goalkeeper Ryan Sandford spilled Max Hudson’s cross, but Manny Harvest’s follow-up was denied by a superb Joe Tennant clearance off the line.
Brentwood continued where they left off after the interval, dominating possession and continuing to fashion attacking opportunities, although they struggled to properly test Sandford in the Dartford goal.
Jesse Olukolu whipped a dangerous delivery into the box from the right which found Andy Freeman at the back post, but Sandford was alert to collect before Harvest could latch onto the loose ball.
Moments later, the Blues were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area after Olukolu was brought down by Sam Odaudu. Hudson stepped up to take the resulting set-piece, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.
With Brentwood continuing to push for an equaliser, Freddie Sears, Nat Mardell and Mikey Berry were introduced from the bench.
The Blues’ best chance of the second half fell to Sach, after Freeman floated a perfectly weighted cross towards the unmarked striker inside the area. Sach connected with the header, but Sandford was equal to it, holding the effort.
Brentwood continued to huff and puff in the closing stages, but the Dartford defence stood firm to frustrate the visitors and protect their narrow advantage.
The final whistle confirmed a frustrating 1-0 defeat for the Blues, despite a performance in which they dominated large spells and created enough opportunities to take something from the game.
Brentwood Town return to action this Saturday when they travel to Eastbourne Borough for another difficult test. More details on the fixture will be published across the club’s official channels in due course.
DARTFORD: Sandford (GK), Swift (C), Tennent, Whitefield, Gyamera (Duncan 46′), Pinder (Wagstaff 63′), Davey, Odaudu, Greenhalgh, Smith (Botti 81′), Fiddes (Higgs 63′)
Sub not used: Atkins
BRENTWOOD TOWN: Prall (GK), Read (Berry 80′), Cripps (C), Gibbs, Hudson, Freeman, Adams, Harvest, Olukolu (Sears 64′), Vaivada (Mardell 64′), Sach
Subs not used: Davis, Steward
Photos courtesy of Nick Gunn.
