Dartford Frustrate Beckenham

Beckenham hosted at Club Langley, for their 2nd league fixture of the season and a 10:00am KO. The match ended in a 2-2 stalemate after 80 minutes of competitive football, with both sides sharing the spoils.

Beckenham Town lined up in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, a setup they’ve been working on in training.

The first half opened with Beckenham in total control, stringing passes together and creating clear chances that on any other day, wouldve been converted. However Dartford made a fight of it, making life difficult for Beckenham. It took until the 20th minute for Dominic Morgan to pick the ball up in midfield, releasing Turkson Appiah down the right flank. Turkson beat his man and crossed to the back post. The ball took a slight deflection and bounced on the she of the 6yrs box, before Joe Inglis volleyed home, making it a deserved 1-0 to Beckenham.

Dartford continued to frustrate Beckenham. Not helped by some questionable refereeing decisions. Beckenham were dominant but against the run of play, Dartford pumped a hopeful ball into the box. Defensive hesitancy let the Dartford attacker scramble the ball home, drawing Dartford level, against the run of play.

The Beckenham players were frustrated during the half time talk. But remained confident of overcoming their opponent.

In the second half, the tempo increased. Dartford came out more organised and their midfield were starting to see more of the ball. Beckenham were still on top, but the game was much closer now. The Beckenham players distribution was sloppy which gave Dartford hope. Another careless foul gave Dartford another opportunity to pump the ball into the area, this time met with a thunderous header from the powerful Dartford winger, which beat the Beckenham keeper on his line.

This caused the Beckenham players to become increasingly reckless. And tempers began to flare, which only played into Dartford’s hands further.

Lewis Hayden was calm under pressure and began to see more of the ball. Harry Odlum was unlucky not to score from 2 goal mouth scrambles. The Dartford keeper also made a number of great saves. And late in the game Joe Inglis managed a clever flick on to Dominic Morgan, who had some work to do, held off 2 strong tackles from behind, before steadying himself and driving the ball home, low to the keepers left, drawing us level.

The final 10 minutes was all Beckenham. The Dartford management urging the referee to

blow the final whistle. Beckenham carved out a number of clear chances that they really should’ve converted. But final decision making in those advanced positions, wasn’t quite as sharp as it normally is. Defiantly not helped by the state of the pitch.

Ultimately, the draw was a fair reflection of the contest, with neither side able to secure the decisive advantage. Beckenham Town will learn a lesson. There are no easy games in the KYL. If they are not at their best, it will allow teams to take points of them.