McDonald boosts play-off hopes (From News Shopper)

McDonald boosts play-off hopes

11:45am Monday 26th January 2009 in Sport By Mike Brett-Smith

Horsham 0-3 Dartford

A SEASON’S best turnout, basking in the chill New Year sun, witnessed Dartford close in on a play-off spot thanks to another brace from Cody McDonald and a 35-yard Ryan Hayes screamer.

Horsham’s neat, lived-in ground is surrounded by streets of semis and looks like it had been dropped there by some mystic force.

It sports a bit of a slope, which Darts played up in the first half, giving Andrew Young the handicap of looking into a terrace-topping sun.

After the standard sounding-out of each other the game settled into the familiar routine of Darts soaking up the opposition with ease.

Midway through the half, Hayes did what he is great at – working clear up the right, twinkle-toeing inside and unleashing a majestic curler beyond stranded keeper Rob Tolfrey into the far top corner.

This winded the home side and they never really created much in the rest of the half as their ebb-tide attacks foundered on the rock which is Darts solid defence.

Going down the slope after the interval, Darts quickly doubled their advantage when Hayes struck the bar.

The rebound came as far as McDonald, who insolently swished his shot through Rob Tolfrey’s legs to raise his tally to 16 for the campaign.

It was really all over at this point as Horsham were closed down.

So shaken were the hosts, when they did work their way into the Darts’ penalty area England Futsal International Alex Haddow skied his shot over the bar from five yards with Young stranded.

To round off a fruitful afternoon, McDonald scooped up a through ball and beat Tolfrey by rolling his effort home into the stranded keeper’s net.

The stattos among the Darts fans quickly established the win put Dartford sixth and the third blank sheet left the opposition scoreless for 289 minutes.

Dartford: Young, Coyle, Gross, Flanagan, Guest, Osborne, Hayes (White 81), Haworth (Cass 84), McDonald (Eferakorho 89) Dafter. Subs nor used: Holding, Ibrahim. Att: 418.