Dartford XI 4-2 Fleet XI
Paul Lorraine was back in a Fleet shirt as he played the second half of the Ryan Hayes Testimonial against a Dartford XI. Less than 24 hours after beating Deal Town 5-0, Fleet were in action again in warm temperatures at Princes Park.
After being presented with a memento on behalf of the Fleet for his decade-plus service at Dartford, Hayes was promptly in on the action, crossing for Andy Pugh to divert past Jon Miles in the Fleet goal after six minutes.
Bradley Bubb won a penalty after being hauled down by new East Thurrock signing Lee Burns, back in Dartford colours for the day, but Bubb’s spot kick was dealt with by Deren Ibrahim.
After that, the Darts took an unassailable lead. First, Tom Bradbrook got a foot to a Pugh delivery for 2-0, and then Lee Noble drifted in a free-kick that floated wide of the wall and went straight in with Miles wrong-footed.
The second half was more traditional testimonial fare, with Paul Lorraine joining the likes of Daryl McMahon, Stacy Long, Dean Pooley and Shane Huke while Dartford fielded a raft of old faces. Ollie Boulding and Mitch Liddle of the club’s Academy got a run-out while trialists Brandon Griffiths, late of Swansea City, and Darren McQueen saw playing time.
McQueen was responsible for almost hauling Fleet back into the game, scoring his first with a little help from Boulding, and then tucking away the second penalty of the afternoon to make it 3-2. Dartford had the last laugh, however, when Joe Bruce’s cross was met by former Fleet striker Rob Haworth, as he dived to divert a wonderful header to Miles’ left.
EUFC: Miles, Shields (Boulding), Connors (Liddle), Clark (Huke), Winfield (Lorraine), Greenidge (Pooley), Deering (Long), Lewis (Holmes), Bubb (McMahon), Kissock (Griffiths), Cook (McQueen).
