Created 16-Feb-25
135 photos
15 February 2025. Hendon FC 2 (Krokhin 41', Sery 55') Dartford 3 (Denzelle Olopade 50', Hayden Bullas 53', Samir Carruthers 57 (P))The result keeps Dartford at #1 in the Isthmian Premier League ranking.
Dartford stretched their unbeaten run to twenty-one league games, after coming from behind to beat a competitive Hendon side at the Silver Jubilee Park stadium. Having battled to a goalless draw on Tuesday night, Ady Pennock shuffled his side slightly for this fixture in Kingsbury. George Whitefield, Louis Dunne, and Olly Box all moved to the substitutes bench, while Samuel Okoye, Jeremiah Pinder, and Eddie Dsane slotted into the starting eleven. Meanwhile, the sight of Samir Carruthers back on the bench following his return from injury was a pleasant surprise. However, it was Hendon who started this fixture the better of the two sides this afternoon, as they pinned the visitors back for a majority of the forty-five minutes. Both Nikolai Krokhin and Kofi Anokye-Boadi had opportunities within five minutes, but failed to test goalkeeper Jacob Marsden. Such was the hosts’ possession during the opening exchanges, that we had to wait until the 17th minute for any sign of a Dartford effort… but Sam Odaudu failed to test Roraigh Brown with his rather audacious strike. Leo Sery fired wide shortly afterwards, before some strong Dartford defending deflected another Hendon effort onto the crossbar. Arguably the best opportunity for the Darts duly came after 34 minutes, when Callum Jones and Jeremiah Pinder combined well resulting in the latter forcing a good save from Brown. Jacob Marsden then pulled off an excellent save to prevent the hosts from taking the lead, before Nikolai Krokhin did indeed score to give The Greens a deserved half-time lead (41).
However, the Darts are made of stronger stuff these days, and an explosive opening ten minutes of the second-half saw Ady Pennock’s team bounce back in style. First Callum Jones’ hard work saw him find Denzelle Olopade with a neat cross, which the midfielder fired low into the back of the net to equalise (50). Three minutes later saw Samuel Okoye block a Hendon attack before finding Hayden Bullas, who duly pulled the trigger on an unstoppable shot to turn the game on its head! The goal was the Leyton Orient loanee’s first for the Darts. However, the celebrations were somewhat short-lived because The Greens responded immediately via Leo Sery to level the score at 2-2 (55). The Darts weren’t done there though because, the next attack saw a Hendon player handle the ball inside his own box. The referee pointed to the spot, and Samir Carruthers stepped up to put Dartford ahead once again with his eighth goal of the campaign (57). Not only were there four goals during this crazy ten minutes, but Ady Pennock also introduced fresh legs as well! The first to enter the field of play was Samir Carruthers, who had come on for Jeremiah Pinder (50). Olly Box then came on to replace Eddie Dsane (57), before George Whitefield swapped places with Samuel Okoye (59). Then, deep into stoppage time, Tyler Christian-Law came on for Hayden Bullas (90+3). Once the chaos had calmed down, Hendon began trying to find a way back into the game. But, Josh Hill and Co were relatively solid for the remainder of the game. In fact, it was the visitors who came the closest to adding to the scoreline… First Olly Box saw an effort from a tight angle excellently blocked following his excellent drive into the box (88), before Michael Olarewaju couldn’t keep his bullet header down late on (90+1).
So, having suffered an early scare, the Darts fought back in style to register an eleventh victory in twelve games. The result ensures that Ady Pennock’s side remain at the top of the Isthmian Premier League table, in what is proving to be a tight and exciting battle for the top five places.
HENDON: Roraigh Brown, Kombe Kawimbe, Stefan Ilic, Rohdell Gordon, Nikolai Krokhin, Freddie Stanley, Joseph Halsey, Lonit Talla, Leo Sery, Niko Muir (c), Kofi Anokye-Boadi.
SUBSTITUTES: Khalil Kirwan-Meade, Billie Busari, Jayden Ashbourne, Henry Curtis, Aderi Arthurdede.
DARTFORD: Jacob Marsden, Sam Odaudu, Luther Williams, Michael Olarewaju, Josh Hill (c), Samuel Okoye, Hayden Bullas, Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, Eddie Dsane, Callum Jones.
SUBSTITUTES: Samir Carruthers, George Whitefield, Olly Box, Tyler Christian-Law, Louis Dunne.
Referee: Mario Stetakovic
Assists: Chaolun Tan, Patrick Hanlon
Att: 382
Dartford stretched their unbeaten run to twenty-one league games, after coming from behind to beat a competitive Hendon side at the Silver Jubilee Park stadium. Having battled to a goalless draw on Tuesday night, Ady Pennock shuffled his side slightly for this fixture in Kingsbury. George Whitefield, Louis Dunne, and Olly Box all moved to the substitutes bench, while Samuel Okoye, Jeremiah Pinder, and Eddie Dsane slotted into the starting eleven. Meanwhile, the sight of Samir Carruthers back on the bench following his return from injury was a pleasant surprise. However, it was Hendon who started this fixture the better of the two sides this afternoon, as they pinned the visitors back for a majority of the forty-five minutes. Both Nikolai Krokhin and Kofi Anokye-Boadi had opportunities within five minutes, but failed to test goalkeeper Jacob Marsden. Such was the hosts’ possession during the opening exchanges, that we had to wait until the 17th minute for any sign of a Dartford effort… but Sam Odaudu failed to test Roraigh Brown with his rather audacious strike. Leo Sery fired wide shortly afterwards, before some strong Dartford defending deflected another Hendon effort onto the crossbar. Arguably the best opportunity for the Darts duly came after 34 minutes, when Callum Jones and Jeremiah Pinder combined well resulting in the latter forcing a good save from Brown. Jacob Marsden then pulled off an excellent save to prevent the hosts from taking the lead, before Nikolai Krokhin did indeed score to give The Greens a deserved half-time lead (41).
However, the Darts are made of stronger stuff these days, and an explosive opening ten minutes of the second-half saw Ady Pennock’s team bounce back in style. First Callum Jones’ hard work saw him find Denzelle Olopade with a neat cross, which the midfielder fired low into the back of the net to equalise (50). Three minutes later saw Samuel Okoye block a Hendon attack before finding Hayden Bullas, who duly pulled the trigger on an unstoppable shot to turn the game on its head! The goal was the Leyton Orient loanee’s first for the Darts. However, the celebrations were somewhat short-lived because The Greens responded immediately via Leo Sery to level the score at 2-2 (55). The Darts weren’t done there though because, the next attack saw a Hendon player handle the ball inside his own box. The referee pointed to the spot, and Samir Carruthers stepped up to put Dartford ahead once again with his eighth goal of the campaign (57). Not only were there four goals during this crazy ten minutes, but Ady Pennock also introduced fresh legs as well! The first to enter the field of play was Samir Carruthers, who had come on for Jeremiah Pinder (50). Olly Box then came on to replace Eddie Dsane (57), before George Whitefield swapped places with Samuel Okoye (59). Then, deep into stoppage time, Tyler Christian-Law came on for Hayden Bullas (90+3). Once the chaos had calmed down, Hendon began trying to find a way back into the game. But, Josh Hill and Co were relatively solid for the remainder of the game. In fact, it was the visitors who came the closest to adding to the scoreline… First Olly Box saw an effort from a tight angle excellently blocked following his excellent drive into the box (88), before Michael Olarewaju couldn’t keep his bullet header down late on (90+1).
So, having suffered an early scare, the Darts fought back in style to register an eleventh victory in twelve games. The result ensures that Ady Pennock’s side remain at the top of the Isthmian Premier League table, in what is proving to be a tight and exciting battle for the top five places.
HENDON: Roraigh Brown, Kombe Kawimbe, Stefan Ilic, Rohdell Gordon, Nikolai Krokhin, Freddie Stanley, Joseph Halsey, Lonit Talla, Leo Sery, Niko Muir (c), Kofi Anokye-Boadi.
SUBSTITUTES: Khalil Kirwan-Meade, Billie Busari, Jayden Ashbourne, Henry Curtis, Aderi Arthurdede.
DARTFORD: Jacob Marsden, Sam Odaudu, Luther Williams, Michael Olarewaju, Josh Hill (c), Samuel Okoye, Hayden Bullas, Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, Eddie Dsane, Callum Jones.
SUBSTITUTES: Samir Carruthers, George Whitefield, Olly Box, Tyler Christian-Law, Louis Dunne.
Referee: Mario Stetakovic
Assists: Chaolun Tan, Patrick Hanlon
Att: 382
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