Dartford 1 Welling 0 match report
Published: 16:56, 01 January 2019
Updated: 22:41, 01 January 2019
Ronnie Vint scored a late winner as Dartford started the new year with three points on Tuesday.
The National League South derby with Welling was keenly contested at Princes Park but looked set to end in stalemate.
However, Vint had other ideas and as Welling struggled to clear another excellent Ben Greenhalgh delivery into the box, Vint was on hand to bundle the ball home.
Dartford started brightly, Charlie Sheringham was played in as early as the fifth minute but keeper Dan Wilks was out smartly to save.
Two minutes later Welling should have gone ahead but Julien Anau was unable to direct his free header on target.
Injury meant both teams made early changes, Nassim L'Ghoul and Mark Onyemah the players replaced.
Welling grew into the half, with former Gillingham midfielder Luke Rooney influential in the middle of the park.
The visitors thought they'd gone ahead on 28 minutes but the offside flag was already raised by the time Zac Newton converted Danny Mills' cross.
Substitute Newton twice went close to opening the scoring and Thierry Audel's long-range effort had keeper Bailey Vose scrambling.
Dartford went close two minutes before the break, Tom Bonner's header from Greenhalgh's free-kick coming back off the post - Elliot Bradbrook unable to turn in the loose ball.
Anau twice threatened to break the deadlock early in the second half before Newton was again denied by Vose as the hosts struggled to deal with a free-kick into the box.
Bradley Goldberg had a shot deflected over just moments after coming on midway through the second half for Welling.
Chances were few and far between in truth, however, and with Lee Noble - again Dartford's best performer - shooting over, the game looked set to end goalless.
Welling went close to levelling once Vint put the hosts ahead but David Ijaha's shot was deflected behind and Tom Bonner produced an excellent block to deny Audel inside the six-yard box.
Dartford: Vose, Onyemah (Wynter 25mins), Vint, Bonner, Greenhalgh, Noble, Roberts (Philpot 64mins), Bradbrook, Coker (Hayes 78mins), Johnson, Sheringham. Subs not used: Oyengya, Darbyshire.
Welling: Wilks, Anau, Braham-Barrett, Audel, Acheampong, Hill, L'Ghoul (Newton 9mins), Ijaha, Mills, Rooney (Kissock 74mins), Kiernan (Goldberg 67mins). Subs not used: Mcnamara, Mendy.
Attendance: 1,725.
More by this author
Matthew Panting