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Dartford manager Steve King admitted he couldn’t have asked for any more from his team on Saturday.
Oxford City survived a second-half onslaught against the National League South leaders to leave Princes Park with a goalless draw.
It was a sixth game without a win for Darts, but King knows there wasn’t much more his team could have done.
“If your manager asks you to give us everything and they gave us everything, I can’t ask for no more,” stated King.
“We just needed that little bit of luck. The keeper’s made two fantastic saves, it was just begging to go into the back of the net, and I think they got away with one.
“If that’s the start of the season we win that game 3, 4 or 5-0. There was some last-ditch defending and heroic goalkeeping, we’re just missing chances and are a lick of paint away.
“It’s hard to take because we deserved three points and people clapped the whole team off, and quite rightly so. All you can do is give everything and hope the finer details take care of themselves.
“In the second half we were camped in their half, they had a couple of counter attacks but any chances they had were from mistakes by us. For me, we deserved to win the game.
“We should have had a penalty, the player saved it on the line, I’ve already seen (the clip). I don’t think we can do any more.”
King felt Dartford’s dominance was clear to see. It was one-way traffic for long periods of the second half but lady luck was not with the home side.
Replays suggested Ade Azeez was level when he turned in the rebound after Jack Jebb’s thunderbolt hit the bar, Connor Essam’s goalbound shot was handled by a defender and the visiting keeper produced an outstanding save to deny Josh Hill from a corner.
“If I’m not happy they know I’m not happy but I’m happy that they gave everything,” added King. “I know that some days you get the rub of the green and some days you don’t. Oxford know they got battered, especially second half.
“I think everyone in the ground can see it. You can’t confuse that with trying to blag anyone, I don’t even need to talk – the talking should come from everyone else.
“If we win that two or three, everyone would say what an outstanding performance. It was a good game for a neutral, I just think we missed some great opportunities.
“Three draws and two defeats, for anyone else in this league that’s not too bad. But because we set such a pace and won every match (at the start), everyone else says you’re not winning every match.
“But it’s not for the lack of trying, we’ve not had the rub of the green on a number of things. It’s handball.
“I only complain about the big decisions, I don’t complain about their overall performance, things like the three throws that they gave the other way which were all for us.
“For me, I’m not here to complain about that but big opportunities, like the handball. Even when Kieran Murtagh was fouled in the middle of the park (in the first half), I’ve looked at it again on the video and their player has not touched the ball. They broke and nearly scored through a shocking decision.”
