McDonald double denies the Darts (From News Shopper)

Farnborough 2-1 Dartford

4:19pm Monday 23rd August 2010 in Sport By Mike Brett-Smith

A JOURNEY scheduled to take 70 minutes instead became one of two hours as a snarled-up M25 did nothing to aid Darts’ pre-match preparation.

It was a dull enough afternoon as thick, grey cloud surrounded the home club’s partially-built Rushmoor Stadium.

Darts’ supporters of a certain age will have been surprised at the remarkable transformation of the old ground on the same site.

Kicking off merely three minutes late, Farnborough soon paraded their pacy strike force of Kezie Ibe and Dean McDonald, the latter being Darts’ main tormenter and the scorer of both the home side’s goals.

The opener arrived on 12 minutes when defender Jay Conroy drove a ball deep into the visiting penalty area for James Smith to lay off to McDonald.

A shimmy and a rising shot later and it was 1-0 to Boro.

For 10 minutes or so, Darts were playing catch-up but as rime went on they slowly came to terms with their hosts.

Darts got more on to the front foot after the break but were undone when, soon after the hour, star-man McDonald set Ibe away on a solo run.

Totally exposed, keeper Andrew Young came out to minimise Ibe’s opportunity, only to bring the striker just inside the area.

The sensible Mr Lymer, reasoning Ibe was going away from goal at the time, yellow-carded Darts’ keeper but McDonald converted the resultant spot-kick.

Darts really turned up the gas and pulled a goal back when a long ball into the Boro area was flicked on by Carl Rook to the inrushing Lee Noble, who headed firmly past the despairing Jean-Zepharim in the home goal.

Try as they did, Darts could not quite grab a leveller in the six added-on minutes.

Dartford: Young, Burgess, Bonner, Bruce, Goodacre, Shinn, Hayes (Noble 73), Harris, Berquez, Burns (Rook 83), Bradbrook (Burchell 85). Subs not used: Gross, Ibrahim. Att: 1,016.