SDFL premier division

Dartmouth AFC 1,

Waldon Athletic 1

A frustrated Dart­mouth were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Waldon Athletic on Saturday, ensuring their 100 per cent winning start to the season was over.

The home side were dealt a massive blow prior to kick-off when top scorer Karl Baker was unable to shake off an injury, leaving Liam McAuley as the only striker in the Dart­mouth squad.

This was always going to be the toughest match of the season so far for the Darts, and so it proved in the opening 15 minutes as the hosts started the brighter of the two sides without forcing home ‘keeper Ryan Walton into a save.

Winger Josh Webber looked the likeliest to create the first meaningful chance for the hosts, but on a number of occasions his surging runs infield were dealt with well by the Wal­don defence.

Waldon continued to look a threat going forward and soon took the lead to leave Dart­mouth trailing for the first time this season.

A quick free kick caught the hosts off guard, and the number nine was left unmarked to control the ball and rifle past the unfortunate Walton.

This was the wake-up call that Dartmouth so desperately needed, and they finally began to move the ball around with more urgency.

Mark Forrester, Ben Greeno and Charlie Smith in the middle of the Dartmouth midfield began to link up well with lone striker McAuley, but still the away ‘keeper remained untroubled.

Half an hour had been played when McAuley picked up a loose ball before interchanging well with Webber, and as the latter made his way into the penalty area he was tripped by his man to hand Dartmouth a penalty in front of the clubhouse.

The reliable McAuley stepped up and confidently slotted the ball into the net to bring the scores level.

Sensing the lead before half time, Freddie Smith received the ball out wide before making his way to the touchline and pulling the ball back for McAuley, but he was dispossessed as he eyed up a shot at goal.

Dartmouth returned from the break knowing they had to im­prove on their first-half display, and it was Freddie Smith who should have done better from inside the area as he pulled his right-footed effort wide of the mark.

Despite Dartmouth looking to regain the impetus in the game, Waldon continued to break well from midfield.

They would have regained the lead had the number nine looked to his left to find his team mate unmarked in the penalty area, instead opting to shoot over from a tight angle.

Five minutes later a lapse in concentration from the Waldon ‘keeper led to him picking up a pass back from his defender, giving Dart­mouth an indirect free kick from the penalty spot.

McAuley was the man to strike the ball but his effort was blocked well on the line, much to the relief of the Waldon players.

As the game entered the final few minutes, Danny Rushe and Freddie Smith both failed to convert a couple of difficult half-chances after finding themselves free around the opposition goal.

Forrester also came close to winning all three points for his side, but his superb 25-yard free kick landed agonisingly wide of the post.

The whistle sounded to end proceedings, and over the course of the 90 minutes a draw was probably a fair reflection of how the game panned out.

Forrester and Adam Kerswell will be looking for a much-im­proved performance from the Darts this weekend and will be hoping to progress into the next round of the Herald Cup.

They face a tricky away tie at last year’s beaten finalists Bee­sands Rovers.

The match gets under way at an earlier time of 2pm.