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More on KentOnline
Captain Tom Bonner was pleased to give Dartford fans something to cheer about following their play-off disappointment.
Bonner lifted the Kent Senior Cup for the second time this season - the delayed 2019/20 final having been played in November - as Darts beat Isthmian Premier Folkestone 6-2 at Chatham on Tuesday night.
It was the first time the players had seen each other since losing on penalties to Chippenham in the National South play-off eliminator last Thursday.
The hastily arranged final was probably a game they could have done without but a mix of first-team and young players eventually wore down a Folkestone side who hadn’t played for more than three weeks.
“The season didn’t end the way we wanted, our goal was to win the play-offs, but it was nice to sign off with a win in the last game,” said Bonner.
“It was difficult to get motivated for the game, I’m not going to lie.
“We haven’t been in since we lost to Chippenham, so I’ve not really thought about this game too much until today.
“This doesn’t make losing against Chippenham any easier but it’s the last game of the season, we’ve lifted a trophy again and hopefully given the fans a little bit to cheer about.
“In our level of football, other than the league, you’re not going to win the FA Cup and it’s difficult to win the FA Trophy, so it’s a cup we take seriously.
“When we start the Kent Cup we want to win it, so I’m delighted we’ve won it for the second time this season.”
Dartford overturned a half-time deficit to lead 2-1 and while Folkestone levelled, the holders pulled clear with four goals in the final 13 minutes.
Man-of-the-match Ade Azeez scored twice, with Luke Allen, academy right-back Ali Mansaray, Connor Essam and Danny Leonard also on target in the 6-2 win.
“Fair play to Folkestone, I thought first half they were very good,” said Bonner.
“I thought we were poor, to be fair, and we just said at half-time if we up our levels hopefully the difference in levels we play at will come through and we managed to pull away at the end.
“Fair play to Folkestone, they maybe died out a little bit, and we took advantage of that.
“I thought our academy boys were brilliant.
“All three who started were fantastic and we managed to get two more on, so it’s good signs for the future. I was buzzing for them.”
