Dartford book Kent Cup final spot (From News Shopper)

Ramsgate 0-3 Dartford

4:15pm Wednesday 6th April 2011 in Sport By Mike Brett-Smith

NINE-TIME Kent Cup winners Dartford eased through to their 22nd county Kent final thanks to three second half goals at Ramsgate last night.

The game was spoilt by a blustery wind and bumpy pitch, with few chances created in the first half.

After the interval Darts established a stranglehold on the tie with two goals from Charlie Sheringham in a 10-minute spell before the hour.

The first came on 50 minutes from a Ryan Hayes cross, which was nudged on by Tom Champion, enabling Sheringham to beat Jack Smelt from close range.

Ten minutes later Sheringam hit home a penalty awarded after Jack Pallen was knocked down in the area.

The in-form Sheringham was subsequently denied a deserved hat-trick by a double Smelt save.

Hope sprung almost eternally for Ramsgate thanks to a series of free-kicks but the vision of extra-time was extinguished when Hayes scored a third for Darts with five minutes left on the clock.

Second half substitutions by Darts enabled academy products Jake Burman and Lewis Rankin to show their paces at a higher level, opportunities grasped by both pairs of feet.

Now for the final at Hayes Lane against the winners of the Cray Wanderers v Bromley semi-final.

Should the landlords prevail then older supporters will be able to conjure up memories of the classic KSC Final at Maidstone on Easter Monday 1947.

That finished Dartford 3-2 Bromley in front of a crowd of 12,000.

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Dartford: Ibrahim, Burgess, Bonner, Champion, Goodacre, Noble (J Burman), Hayes, Burns (Jones), Sheringham, Pallen, Bradbrook (Rankin). Subs not used: Young, Eves. Att: 260.