Dartford boss Alan Dowson insists ‘car-crash’ first-half spell in 4-0 National League South derby defeat at Tonbridge Angels was ‘a one-off blip’

Alan Dowson insists “a car-crash” first-half spell which sent Dartford spiralling to a dismal derby defeat was a one-off blip.

The Darts were three goals down by half-time and lost their National League South game at Tonbridge 4-0 last weekend.

While Dartford manager Dowson is remaining upbeat, he may reconsider his opinion if his team don’t put in a much-improved display at home to St Albans this Saturday.

Asked if it had hurt more for his troops to have put in such a poor performance during a derby, Dowson replied: “A little bit. But I cannot really do too much about it.

“I hated my Monday and my weekend after the result - but we cannot do anything about it now.

“I think it’s a one-off blip. If it happens again on Saturday, it’s a problem.

“I believe it’s my heaviest defeat as a Dartford manager. I understand supporters’ frustrations - but I cannot change it now.

“All I can do is get on with my job. It was a bad day at the office.”

Dowson, in fact, was relatively pleased with how the Darts began against Tonbridge as striker Harvey Bradbury started on his return from suspension.

But after Angels’ Jordan Greenidge had broken the deadlock, midfielder Lewis Gard swiftly made it 2-0, man-of-the-match Mohammad Dabre added a third and Greenidge completed the rout with just over 10 minutes to go.

Dowson reflected: “We started the game on Saturday unbelievably well and we had four or five corners inside the first 15 minutes.

“Then, there was a car-crash 20 minutes. That cost us - but we have got to get on with it.

“I’m gutted to lose a local derby, especially after how well we did in them last year, but you have to take it on the chin and move forward.

“People didn’t do their jobs. We said ‘make sure someone is in the front