Dartford return to home league action on Saturday, as they host Taunton Town for what looks set to be a ‘relegation six pointer’.

After a step in the right direction in Dover last weekend, the Darts fell to defeat in Slough on Tuesday night. Tony Burman’s side fell behind early, courtesy of a Nathan Minhas goal, and despite equalising twice, further goals from John Goodard and David Ogbonna confirmed the loss for Dartford. Their misery was also compounded by the dismissal of Joash Nembhard shortly before full time – the defender will subsequently be unavailable for Saturday’s clash.

Despite the Club’s league standing, one positive in recent weeks has been the prevalence of Olly Box in the first team. The 18-year-old, who amassed 46 goals and assists at youth level last season, has started the last two league games, and has repaid Burman’s faith in him by scoring thrice in these fixtures. Burman recently stated that the youngster has a “good footballing brain” and can “score a goal”, and his recent performances have certainly backed this up.

Taunton have had troubles of their own recently, both on and off the pitch. Rob Dray’s Peacocks sit one point above the relegation zone, failing to win a game since early December. They have also seen a collection of games postponed, as they suffer from pitching issues similar to that of Truro, who they now groundshare with.

Additionally, they have been hampered in recent weeks by a winding up petition, which had led to the Club being placed under a transfer embargo. However, the embargo has since been lifted on Wednesday night, as the Club confirmed in a statement that “the sums that

were owed to HMRC have been cleared”. A clearing of such issues could provide a huge boost for Taunton, especially for a game of such importance near the bottom of the table.

As a result of their postponed games, Taunton hold some power in the relegation battle if they win their games in hand. They sit four points behind Dartford with as many games in hand, so any positive results for the Peacocks would place them in good stead to leapfrog the sides nearest to them.

Since their promotion to the division, the Darts have had a torrid time against the Somerset side. They have lost all three of their clashes with Taunton and have only scored once (via Davide Rodari) in these games. Burman will certainly be looking to put an end to this poor streak, and lift Dartford away from the danger zone.

Kick-off is 15:00 on Saturday, with tickets priced at £16 for adults £11 for concessions.