Charlie doubles up
Charlie Sheringham was the two-goal hero for Dartford on Sunday to send them through to the play-off semi-finals. Sheringham struck twice from close range with a quickfire double early in the second half at Slough Town before Luke Wanadio’s late strike sealed a 3-0 win in the eliminator tie. The Darts are now heading to Havant & Waterlooville for the National League South play-off semi-final this Saturday (3pm) and boss Steve King knows a much bigger test awaits. He said: “They are a seasoned team, with good players and match winners. I know all of their players and some used to play for me. It will be really tough but we have given ourselves a good platform.
“We have shown we are strong but for me this is the real test because I think along with Wealdstone (who topped the table ahead of second placed Havant), they are the best team in the division.
“I have seen them a number of times this season and when I saw them beat Dorking 6-0 it was probably the best 60-70 minutes I have seen in non-league football, and I have watched thousands of games. That is as good as I have ever seen.
“We know what strengths they have but we have to work on their weaknesses and I have my own thoughts on that.” Kent football fans will recognise many of the Havant team, which includes welltravelled front-man Danny Kedwell, former Maidstone defender Simon Walton, who is their player-coach and ex-Gills youngster Dean Beckwith.
Sam Magri played for Ebbsfleet and Dover while Andy Drury is another to have played at Stonebridge Road and Josh Taylor had a loan spell with the Stones.
Saturday’s match will once again be played behind closed doors.
The experience was a weird one on Sunday, says boss King, who will be forced to watch from the stands again due to a touchline ban.
“It was really weird, surreal,” he said.
“It was competitive on the pitch and it took the first half to get going, it was a poor first half of football, it was cagey, we didn’t want to lose the game, didn’t want to give the ball away, didn’t get into our rhythm of what we normally do, it was weird.
“I am sitting there thinking what is this? It is a game but with nothing on it but there was a massive carrot. Strange.” His decision to re-instate Sheringham to his forward line paid off. The striker was flanked by leading scorers Darren McQueen and Elliott Romain and was on hand with a poacher’s eye to net two goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
King said: “I told him when he came back after the lockdown that I don’t have favourites. The way he has come back, the attitude he has shown, the willingness, he listens.
“He has shown a good attitude. He started the second half against Boreham Wood (the previous weekend in a friendly) and occupied the two centrehalves, getting it and knocking it wide, and getting himself in the box and he scored a fantastic goal and I thought, ‘ooh, we may need that’.
“He can win fouls, he takes one touch then sets, the others take a touch and a touch and the whole picture changes. Whoever decided to bring Charlie back in was a great move!”