Two teams who are having difficult times in the league met in a pulsating F.A. Cup tie at Princes Park with Welling United claiming the bragging rights at Dartford.

Although having claimed only one point in the three subsequent matches, Welling had played well without having a cutting edge, and their good performance at their neighbours was rewarded.

Danny Bloor, Welling’s manager, said “I thought that we got our just desserts in the end, we were worthy winners and we were really, really good. Dowse (Dartford manager Alan Dowson) might say that he thought they were unlucky but it doesn’t matter. What I think, what Dowse thinks, the result is Dartford two, Welling United three.”

Antony Papadopoulos took the headlines with his first hat-trick in senior football after having worked on training on getting into more advanced positions. Bloor said “That’s a massive compliment to my coaching team. It’s been apparent that we haven’t scored enough goals and all our training was on Thursday was to try and do what we did today and it was really pleasing for the guys that it paid off.

“It just shows you what he (Papadopoulos) is capable of. He’s only 20, 21. He’s the only player whose remained at Welling United from last season. Many congratulations to him,”

However, new signing Tristan Abrahams also caught the eye. “Massive thank you to the powers that be at the club for getting Tristan Abrahams in.” said Bloor. “He made a massive difference to us up front today. Other than score, he did absolutely everything. He was a great platform and that’s the type of forward we need. That’s no disrespect to David Kamara and Alex MacAllister. They need to learn from experienced players like Tristan is.”

Having a striker like him might have made a difference in earlier matches. Bloor admitted “Maybe I’ve got to hold my hands up a little bit. Our recruitment in front areas wasn’t what it should have been. David and Alex are good young players and they’ve got a massive future but you need someone whose got a bit of know how and Tristan wouldn’t have played at the level he has, and the amount of games that he has, he has that.”

Once again, Welling played football that was pleasing on the eye. Bloor confirmed “That’s the way we’re going to play. We don’t have a long throw, we don’t smash the ball, we try and get it wide to our wide men, that’s the way our sides played at our previous club. I’m so lucky to have a magnificent coaching team. I’ve got an assistant manager in Ben Austin who couldn’t be any better. We drill it into the players, Nick Arnold, Teddy Bloor, they do a magnificent job. When you get wins like this, my name is just on the top of the tree.

“This is for everyone at Welling United, but most importantly those fans. They could not have supported me any more from the day I took over as manager. The results haven’t quite gone as well as we would have liked but the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and seeing the scenes with the fans at the end, that’s for them.”

They now have a week before their next league game but Bloor is mindful that some of his squad players are short of playing time. He said “We’re looking to get a friendly on Tuesday as we have a lot of subs, a lot of players around the group, who need some minutes so hopefully we’ll get a friendly on Tuesday to give them all an opportunity.”

Images courtesy of Dave Budden