Dartford manager Alan Dowson outlines why he thinks they’ll win the National League South play-offs despite inconistent form

Manager Alan Dowson has outlined why he thinks Dartford will earn promotion through the play-offs despite their recent inconsistent results.

Having secured second place, the Darts will have home advantage for - potentially - both National League South showdown games.

They will be the favourites but play-offs are always a lottery and Dowson’s troops have lost five of their last 11 matches so are hardly in sparkling form going into them.

But the Darts boss is remaining upbeat.

Dowson said: “When the pressure is on, we’re not bad.

“The table doesn’t lie over 46 games. We’re going to finish second and probably second by quite a distance.

“We’re good in pressure games, we’re good with local derbies and especially against Ebbsfleet.

“But in the games against sides lower in the table, where you have to dig in, we’ve been poor.

“The thing that makes me believe that we can get promotion is because we’re good in pressure games.”

Goals by Samir Carruthers and substitute striker Pierre Fonkeu saw Dartford bounce back from last Thursday’s 3-2 defeat at relegation-threatened Concord, despite goals from frontman Harvey Bradbury and young defender Sam Odaudu, with a 2-1 weekend home win against St Albans.

On-loan versatile Charlton player Richard Chin set up Carruthers’ strike amid a player-of-the-match performance but Dowson reserved special praise for Jordan Wynter.

“He did well,” Dowson said of Chin. “I thought Wynter was the best player but Chin did well.

“He’s come in and he’s a good lad. He might play Saturday, but I thought Wynter was outstanding.

“He does what no one else wants to do.

“I gave Tom Bonner my player-of-the-season award. But if I had to have a second, it would have been Wynter.”

Indeed, Dartford skipper Tom Bonner