Manager Ady Pennock is confident Dartford’s young guns will start firing for them again soon.

The Darts enjoyed a morale-boosting few days after a miserable run, holding promotion-chasing Cray Valley to a weekend goalless home Isthmian Premier draw, having won 1-0 at Isthmian South East Erith Town in the Velocity Cup through playmaker Samir Carruthers’ early goal last Tuesday.

With several youth-team products in Dartford’s first-team squad this season, Pennock always expected the levels of some of those players to drop - but now hopes they will come back stronger.

“The young ones have been great,” said Pennock.

“As I said at the start of the season, they’ll have a high for the first couple of games and then there will be a dip in form.

“That’s what has happened. But I still massively believe in the youngsters we have got at the club.

“They will come back stronger and start performing again.”

While the Darts find themselves closer to the relegation zone than they do to the top of the table, Pennock knows his side could easily shoot up the league if they are able to build upon their draw with Steve McKimm’s Cray Valley side.

Pennock, whose team are at home to Cheshunt this weekend and visit Hashtag United on Tuesday, said: “If you look at Saturday, there were some strange results again.

“Dover are in good form but, other than that, it shows, if you can get a couple of results, things can change quickly.

“The players have been working hard. It’s just about getting that balance right and putting a run together.”

Pennock admitted Dartford’s derby with Cray Valley, a game played in front of a crowd of 912 at Princes Park, had not been pretty on the eye.

He reflected: “It was just a good scrap, really. It was a scrappy game.

“I thought we were a little bit nervous for the first 20 minutes, which is understandable, after what has happened in the last few weeks. Arguably, we had the better half-chances.

“It was another clean sheet. We kept one last Tuesday and we kept another one on Saturday. It was a very similar game last Tuesday.

“Cray are a good side, they’re on good form and they have some very good players.

“Freddie Parker was a handful on Saturday - and always will be a handful. They have some pace out wide but we dealt with it.

“Of course, we wanted the three points but, at the end of the day, if you don’t concede, the minimum you will get is a point.

“Cray are a good side and we have taken four points off them this season.

“It wasn’t pretty on Saturday. We have played better - but we have played better and lost.”

The match also saw goalkeeper Jacob Marsden replace young Bromley loanee David Aziaya, who pulled out on the morning of the game.

“Jacob was thrown in and did really well,” admitted Pennock. “It’s been tough for him.

“Obviously, he has been in and out for one reason or another this season, but I thought he did well on Saturday.”

A Carruthers penalty helped 10-man Dartford to a 1-1 draw away to Potters Bar on Tuesday.

The Darts were reduced to 10 when Duane Ofori-Acheampong collected two yellow cards.