Play-off pain for Dartford captain
Dartford captain Tom Bonner said Saturday’s play-off defeat was his worst experience in football.
The Darts missed out on a place in the National League after losing on penalties to Weymouth in the promotion final.
Jack Jebb, Darren McQueen and Noor Husin all missed the target when the game went to penalties after finishing goalless over 90 minutes. Weymouth, in contrast, scored all of theirs to win the shootout 3-0. “I thought we played really well and that probably makes it harder to take,” he said. “I felt comfortable and we were really solid, there was no massive chances for either team but we looked sharper and we edged it and to go out like that makes it 10 times worse.
“It was the lowest I have ever felt in football. We went to Slough (in the play-off eliminator) and won 3-0 and then to Havant, the big spenders, went down to an early goal and won 2-1, then to Weymouth and I believed we were the better team.”
With no extra-time the promotion final went straight to penalties. But even McQueen couldn’t convert. He had a 100% record in the 2019/20 season, including a penalty winner against Havant that won them a place in the final.
“I felt sorry for the boys after an unbelievable play-off experience,” Bonner said. “There is always a winner and a loser but to have played those three away games, conceding just the one goal and playing well in all three games and to come away with nothing is gutting really.
“But when you look at the playoffs, we did ourselves proud, and there was nothing more we could have done. We went out to the lottery of penalties. If the penalties had of gone our way we would look back on it as an unbelievable achievement. “We have lost but when you strip it back and see how we performed against those three clubs it should give us confidence for next year, knowing that we should be in with a big chance of challenging. “If we can keep the majority of the boys together, we have a hell of a chance next year. I am still gutted about Saturday, I felt it was Dartford’s time, but we just have to build on the positives now.”
Dartford’s season ultimately came down to three kicks from 12 yards, all of which went wide. Bonner was down as the fourth man to take a penalty, keen to put right the pain of the 2016 shoot-out defeat when he was playing for Ebbsfleet against Maidstone United. His kick was saved that afternoon. “It is heartbreaking if you are one of the guys who misses,” he said.
“It’s disappointing to miss the three but I have been in the situation before myself. It is devastating for them, they feel terrible, but there isn’t much you can do.
“Fair play, they put their hands up to take one, I would never knock anyone who steps up to take a pen, they deserve credit for doing it.
“I was up next. I wanted to bury my own little demon from the play-off final.”
After enjoying success in his first three play-off campaigns, Bonner has now tasted defeat in the last four.
He said: “Saturday was probably the worst I have felt, probably because of the way we had played in the build-up, I felt it anyone deserved to go up it was us but all credit to Weymouth, they took three good penalties and that is what it came down to.”