Tony Burman pleased with Dartford's work-rate and battling qualities against neighbours Ebbsfleet United
Published: 08:00, 25 July 2013
Dartford manager Tony Burman praised his side's display after they came from a goal down to draw 1-1 with local rivals Ebbsfleet on Tuesday.
Elliot Bradbrook's 86th-minute header meant the Darts earned a share of the derby spoils after earlier hitting the woodwork three times in the first half.
Burman re-iterated the significance of the performance over the result in pre-season, although the Dartford celebrations when the goal went in showed just what the fixture meant to all involved.
He said: "I thought we played very well in the first half, we hit the post twice and the bar once. We did everything right except put the ball in the net.
"The boys have worked really hard on the not-so-fashionable side of the game and it's nice to see.
"We've gone a goal down but we've come back and we've got a decent result. The result is not the main thing, it's how your players have performed and I thought we performed very well."
Burman confirmed defenders Kenny Clark and Tyrone Sterling had both come through the game unscathed after the pair missed Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Bromley with tight hamstrings.
And the Darts boss felt his side benefited from a fiery end to the game, which saw Ebbsfleet players Anthony Cook and Michael Corcoran booked by referee Mike Bull.
Burman said: "It was a good battle but it was a fair battle. It got a little bit excited near the end but sometimes you need that. By getting excited like it did, it went to our advantage. All of a sudden, the crowd got up, it got a bit lively and all of a sudden we're nearly on a league game.
"They've all done well and worked hard. From now on, it gets a little bit more serious and we start to do things as a unit, as a team.
"I'm pleased because we got something out of the game and we probably deserved a little bit more."
Dartford travel to Tonbridge Angels on Saturday, kick-off 3pm.
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