Dartford’s Skrill Conference Premier future is hanging by a thread despite more than matching sixth-placed Braintree Town.

Kenny Davis’ superb half-volley in the 24th minute was the difference between the teams, but it was the excellence of the two goalkeepers that kept the score at 1-0 in the second half.

Alan Julian’s wonderfully instinctive left-handed save from Dean Wells’ header kept Dartford in the game.  But with the last action of the game, Braintree’s Nik Hamann produced a double save of equal quality to block Elliot Bradbrook and Jim Stevenson efforts as the Darts lost ground on the teams around them.

Dartford manager, Tony Burman, said “We’re disappointed, and we’ve got to be.  We had a chance to get back in it right at the death, and I’m feeling for them right now.  They’ve had a decent go, and this is a difficult place to come to get a result, but it hasn’t run for them inside the box.”

“It took a good shot from outside the box.  He’s a clever player, who sits in that hole where it’s hard to pick him up, but I think it’s the only time they’ve really bothered us.  What can I say?  It’s a shot from outside the box that’s gone into the top corner.”

“It’s what games are like at this stage.  There are a lot of bouncy pitches around, but you have to get on with it and do your best.  When you get opportunities, as happened at the end, that could have been our lifeline and we couldn’t take it.  We pushed on and had a real go at it, and I think we were unlucky not to get a point.”

An uninspiring first half saw both sides struggling to play football on a hard bobbly pitch, which led to both teams looking for the long ball to get in behind the opposing defence.  There was no action in either area for the first 10 minutes; the first cross into the Dartford box coming from Braintree left-winger Daniel Sparkes, but it was an easy catch for Alan Julian.

Dartford, looking to be compact against the surprise playoff chasers, failed to clear a corner properly on 16.  Matt Paine hooked the ball back into the box to Sean Marks, but the ‘Iron’ top-scorer was being well marshalled by Mat Mitchell-King, who blocked Marks’ shot on the turn.

The Darts were then able to exert a little pressure of their own, with two chances in a minute; both coming from Braintree mistakes.  Nathan Collier was allowed to swing in a cross to the back post, where Mikel Suarez headed down for Danny Harris.  Harris laid the ball into the path of Lee Noble central in the area, but the midfielder scuffed his shot goalward.

Thirty seconds later, Noble capitalised on Ryan Peters’ uncertainty, as he tried to control the ball, to nip in and rob the Braintree right-back.  Noble took a couple of touches to steady himself, and with Nik Hamann too far over to the left side of his goal , Noble tried to curl a shot into the opposite corner, but the ball wouldn’t come back in enough.

Five minutes later, on 24, Braintree took the lead as Kenny Davis rifled a curling half-volley past the helpless Julian.  Dean Wells’ long ball from the back found the chest of Marks, who controlled the ball into the path of Davis.  The Braintree midfielder was given too much room and was able to fire into the top left corner.

Sparkes’ corner into the area just past the half-hour almost led to another chance for the home side, as Wells’ flicked on to Marks, whose shot on the turn was smothered well by Julian, with Mitchell-King completing the clearance.

Whatever Burman had said to his team at the break was almost undone within 30 seconds of the restart.  Dartford were undone by a quick throw and Sparkes rolled a ball through into the path of Marks, who was denied by a perfectly timed sliding tackle from the outstanding Rory McAuley.

Braintree’s Dean Wells became the third player to receive a caution deliberately handling as Suarez tried to burst past him.  From the resulting freekick, Lee Noble curled a ball over the defence where Suarez, diving full length, couldn’t make a meaningful contact and his header glanced past the left post.

By now, Dartford had switched to a conventional 4-3-3 with the introduction of Elliot Bradbrook, and it was the club skipper who had a great chance within two minutes of his arrival.  Suarez controlled Mitchell-King’s clearance into the path of Harris, who touched the ball into Bradbrook’s path.  The shot, from fully 30 yards, tested Braintree’s Hamann, but no-one was following up to pressurise the keeper’s handling.

Julian had to save a shot from Iron substitute Jordan Cox, as Dartford were protesting that Max Cornhill was prone in midfield, but the keeper was called into more significant action with twenty minutes left.  Chez Isaac’s floated corner was met powefully by Wells, and somehow Julian managed to arch upwards and back to get a strong left wrist behind the ball and keep the header out.  His palm was so strong that although the ball went straight onto the head of Marks, the Braintree forward’s header looped up and over the bar.

The home side were now happy to sit back and counter attack, and Dartford nearly took advantage, as Ben Swallow swung a freekick into the box for Harris to flick on, and the ball agonisingly dropped into the area between the back post and the lunging Suarez.

Stevenson and Harris joined the players in the referee’s book as Dartford looked to get back in the game, but they had a scare as Davis’ low cross looped up off McAuley, over the backpedalling Julian, but also over the bar.

With literally the last action of the game, Dartford couldn’t find a way to force the ball over the line.  Suarez flicked Mitchell-King’s long throw on to Bradbrook.  He swivelled and hit a shot that Hamann managed to block and the keeper was back up, lunging across his line to block point-blank from Stevenson.  As the ball bobbled round between the legs, somehow it was forced past the post rather than into the net, and that was the chance gone.

You certainly couldn’t fault the Darts’ effort in the game, but it looks now to be one game too far.  Even Burman admitted “we’ll go again on Monday, and if it’s meant to be, it will be.  I hope it’s still all to play for.”

BRAINTREE TOWN: Nik Hamann, Ryan Peters, Sam Hebergham, Alan Massey, Dean Wells, Chez Isaac (Luke Daley 75), Matt Paine, Kenny Davis, Daniel Sparkes (Jordan Cox 58), James Mulley, Sean Marks.

Subs not used: Daniel Holman, Nathan McDonald, Josh Laurent.

Goal: Kenny Davis 24.

Bookings: Sean Marks 47, Dean Wells 53.

DARTFORD: Alan Julian, Lee Burns, Tyrone Sterling, Mat Mitchell-King, Rory McAuley, Nathan Collier (Ben Swallow 66), Lee Noble (Elliot Bradbrook 55), Jim Stevenson, Max Cornhill, Danny Harris, Mikel Suarez.

Subs not used: Craig Holloway, Alex Woodyard, Kenny Clark.

Bookings: Lee Noble 45, Jim Stevenson 83, Danny Harris 84.

Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Mr Declan Ford
Assistants: Mr Ian Smedley and Mr Andrew Tonks
4th Official: Lee Forester