Dartford 1-1 Sittingbourne

A LATE Dartford lapse in an otherwise solid performance allowed Sittingbourne a second bite of the FA Cup cherry in a contest they were for long spells second best, writes Mike Brett-Smith.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Darts stared by defending the Brooklands end and forced the first corner after four minutes, which the Brickies' keeper Josh Willis managed to fist clear. The visitors countered with a run up the right, winning a free-kick which went past Tony Kessell's right-hand post.

Darts swiftly established a firm grip on the game by forcing Sittingbourne into conceding a series of corners, which were mostly palmed over the bar by the busy Willis.

A neat run by Eddie McClements and a pass to Brendon Cass freed up Jay May, who exquisitely lobbed Willis from the edge of the Sittingbourne penalty area on 13 minutes. Moments later, a looping Cass header was scrambled away for a corner by Willis and the same player then shaved the outside of the far post following an astute through-ball.

Midway through the half, a great run and pass from Jamie Coyle saw May head narrowly wide of Willis' right post.

With McClements and Dave Moore running midfield, Darts continued to dominate the half and just before the break, a delightful May pass ended with a scuffed shot from Cass which was fielded by Willis.

Another cute through ball found Cass in space five minutes after the restart, but his angled shot passed the outside of Willis' right post.

On any other afternoon, he could have had a hat-trick.

As always, the inability to score a killing second goal encouraged the visitors to become a bit more adventurous and back into Dartford territory.

Sittingbourne got in some shots on goal including a typical Steve Hafner run and shot causing Kessell to go down and smother.

Darts were not seriously troubled until they allowed Bradley Spice some room on the left and his cross set up Mitchell Sherwood to fire home.

Darts immediately set about getting the winner but, despite late pressure, Sittingbourne lived to fight another day.

Dartford: Kessell, Coyle, Norman, Flanagan, Guest, Potter, Moore (Lawrence 75), May, Cass (Bradbrook 80), McClemence, Green. Subs nor used: Youle, Avery, Tedder. Att: 870