Dartford 1-1 Heybridge Swifts

ANOTHER good midweek crowd turned out to see this so-called six-pointer on Tuesday at Princes Park and got what many of them have been calling for - the first sighting of the Brendon Cass-Rob Haworth partnership.

Under a brooding night sky flecked with drizzle, Darts attacked the Brooklands end urged on by the behind-the-goal choir.

Having shaded the opening gambits, Darts began to show the grass level passing game they are capable of but the key passes were tentative rather than telling.

Prompted from midfield, Steve Butterworth on the right and Lee Noble on the left drove at the Swifts' defence but, too often, the final ball ended up in the tall Ollie Morris-Sanders' hands.

Heybridge had their moments, but not many of them and the half ended 0-0.

The second half started with what is known in basketball as "the all-court press" as Swifts were penned back.

It ended when Butterworth fed Haworth with a canny through ball, the latter being felled in the penalty area by Hull and Morris-Saunders.

For the second time this season, Coyle stepped up for the kick and chose placement over power and his effort was saved.

Naturally the visitors galloped up to the Darts' end and a near post header from Frank Everitt gave Swifts a rather fortuitous lead.

Darts responded by bringing on Ryan Hayes for Noble and the game changed in a twinkling.

It was as though Hayes sent a message to the players, by example, and tentative became positive as one-way traffic took over.

Hayes was certainly something else and only the woodwork twice saved the day for the visitors.

A point was rescued when the last of several Hayes corners was met by James White, on for Danny Dafter, who leapt like the proverbial salmon to head Darts level in the dying moments.

Heybridge somehow got through the five minutes added on for time wasting.

Dartford: Kessell, Coyle, Ketchell (Powell 75), Osborne, Guest, Day, Butterworth, Dafter (White 83), Cass, Haworth, Noble (Hayes 65). Subs not used: Ibrahim, Norman. Att: 733