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Nineteen-year-old George Whitefield struck a thirty-yard screamer, as dominant Dartford beat Cheshunt in a highly entertaining game in front of 863 supporters at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park.
The hosts, who came into the game with just one defeat in five (in all competitions), burst out of the blocks in a pulsating first-half, but came across an in-form R’Avan Constable between the Ambers’ sticks.
The goalkeeper saved well from Duane Ofori-Acheampong (3) and from Samir Carruthers’ cheeky lob in the fifth minute, before Vas Vasiliou fired over the Dartford crossbar at the other end (8).
Jacob Marsden also had a good afternoon in goal for the Darts, which began with a good save to deny Tommy Wood in the 10th minute.
That was pretty much it from the visitors for the first period, as Ady Pennock’s Darts were purring and laying seige on the visitors’ goal.
Denzelle Olopade was next to try his luck with a delightful curling drive, which forced Constable into a superb save (13), before Ofori-Acheampong scored only to see his effort chalked off for an apparent offside.
Jeremiah Pinder then saw his low drive tipped behind by Constable (28), before Olopade had two bites of the same cherry in quick succession after Luther Williams and Sam Odaudu combined well to wreck havoc in the Cheshunt box. Olopade’s first strike was saved well by Constable, before his second smacked back off the upright.
The Darts’ pressure eventually told as the excellent Constable made arguably his only mistake of the afternoon, by taking out Sam Odaudu in the box. The referee Mr Teddy Osborn pointed to the spot, and Samir Carruthers cooly slotted home to score his third goal in as many games (35).
The visitors responded via a well-taken free-kick, which struck the far post, before Magloire Muyembe forced an excellent save out of Jacob Marsden deep into stoppage time at the end of the half.
The second-half was a more even affair, with in-form Vas Vasiliou forcing a fine save from Marsden (57) as the Ambers looked for an equaliser.
That duly arrived on the hour, after a swift counter-attack was rewarded by a Tommy Wood leveller.
Ady Pennock responded by introducing Olly Box for Duane Ofori-Acheampong (61), before going on to swap Tyler Christian-Law and Jeremiah Pinder for Dean Nayler and Todd Brand (79).
Cheshunt kept probing and only superb defending by Luther Williams prevented a potential two-on-one situation from developing after an excellent counter-attack (70).
However, it was young defender George Whitefield who had the last laugh, when his 30-yard screamer flew into the top-corner in the 78th minute to send the Dartford supporters into delightful celebrations.
With the Dartford faithful in full voice, the Josh Hill-led Darts held firm to thwart any Cheshunt attempt at seeking an equaliser.
Jack Thomas fired narrowly over the Dartford crossbar (81), before Whitefield put in a brilliant challenge to intercept Vasiliou’s dangerous cross deep into stoppage time.
Whitefield not only scored his first goal for the First Team and, arguably, the goal of the season, he also collected a well-deserved Man of The Match award as well in what was a thoroughly deserved victory for Ady and his team.
TEAMS
DARTFORD: Jacob Marsden, Sam Odaudu, George Whitefield, Josh Hill (c), Luther Williams, TylerChristian-Law, Denzelle Olopade, Jeremiah Pinder, Samir Carruthers, Callum Jones, Duane Ofori-Acheampong.
SUBSTITUTES: Olly Box, Dean Nayler, Todd Brand, Josh Atkinson, Gabe Campbell.
CHESHUNT: R’Avan Constable, Brandon Bryan Waugh, Fionn Murphy, Magloire Muyembe, Darion Furlong, Raul Da Silva, Vas Vasiliou, Jack Thomas (c), Hassan Nalbant, Alex Gibson Hammond, Tommy Wood.
SUBSTITUTES: Taylor Curran, Lorden Akolbire, Sam Granville, Jeremy Bisau, Tobias Braney.
Chris Palmer