DARTFORD virtually guaranteed their Conference South safety on Saturday with a home win over Maidenhead.

A wag in the crowd was heard to say on his way out of Princes Park: 'Dick Turpin committed highway robbery and got hung,Darts committed the same offence and got three points.'

Well, that’s one man’s view.

What happened over the 90 minutes was that Darts’ revival continued, thanks in no small part to Andrew Young’s fourth consecutive league clean sheet.

Asked to kick to the unfavoured Academy End, Darts quickly got into their stride.

But the malaise of the half – the final touch – was much in evidence.

The visitors soon took charge of affairs and a fifth minute shot on the turn from Kieran Knight struck the bar.

A poorly cleared corner minutes later reached Martel Powell, whose drive was turned one-handed over the bar by Young.

It was on the half-hour before Darts got a sniff of goal.

A neat pass over the top set Charlie Sheringham up for a one-on-one with visiting keeper Steve Williams but the ball ran on just that fraction too far.

The rather muted crowd groaned and it just seems as though kicking to the Academy is a penance.

The turn round was not only of ends but of intent. Dartford were much brighter and a double substitution on the hour saw Danny Harris and Ryan Hayes on for Lee Burns and Jon Main.

The move brought immediate results for, on 70 minutes, a Hayes cross into a crowded goalmouth picked out Sheringham, who duly netted by the far post.

The crowd erupted.

Maidenhead rung the changes but to little effect. Darts were now sauntering and Sheringham set up Harris for a drive which the keeper did well to parry.

Then came the 'highway robbery' bit. Hayes broke along the right and hit a pinpoint cross for skipper Elliot Bradbrook to hit home from close range in on 86 minutes.

Then in injury time Bradbrook nodded in another Hayes free-kick to seal a rather flattering 3-0 scoreline.

Finally, a word about the visiting Maidenhead faithful.

They were noisy throughout and sported the longest banner seen at Princes Park, dwarfing the home supporters’ ‘flagzilla’.

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