No.8 — October 30, 1948: Fleet 0-1 Dartford
The largest ever Stonebridge Road crowd to watch a derby game, some 8,189 packed into the ground to watch Dartford nick a slender win in the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round. That attendance beat the record of the previous season, when 7,100 had watched Dartford do exactly the same at the same stage of the competition, getting out with another 1-0 victory!
No.9 — April 6, 1953: Fleet 2-1 Dartford
That wasn’t quite the largest crowd to ever watch a Fleet-Darts match, however, as it was beaten by the 8,874 who travelled to Priestfield Road, Gillingham, to watch the Kent Senior Cup Final of 1953. Len Wakeman, having returned to the Fleet from Watling Street, plus Jack Winter scored the two goals to give the reds their second triumph in the competition.
No.10 — September 10, 1955: Dartford 0-3 Fleet
After Dartford’s FA Cup dominance over the Fleet, finally the tables were turned as Len Davis (2) and George Stewart scored the goals in a fine victory at Watling Street, watched by 6,708. It was the first of several FA Cup wins over the Darts during the 1950s, with crowds still packing in to watch the rivals slug it out in the competition to the tune of 4,700; 5,555; 5,510; and 4,587.
No.11 — December 26, 1959: Fleet A-A Dartford
The infamous ‘Battle of Watling Street’ where British footballing history was made when both sides were sent off by referee and traffic cop Alf Sturgeon who had little time for the bad feeling between the two teams. Fleet had lost 4-2 the day before in the Christmas Day clash at Stonebridge Road and their was little seasonal cheer shared between the teams as they assembled before 2,083 spectators for the rematch 24 hours later. With Dartford leading 2-0, the experienced and highly regarded Sturgeon suddenly blew up, sent off both sides to the incredulity of all present and stormed off into the changing room. The Fleet and Dartford chairmen were told by Sturgeon that he hadn’t lost control of the game but that a Dartford player had been “thumped” and that was the final straw after incidents going on constantly throughout the game behind the referee’s back. He was said to be “sickened” by the “constant fouls, dirty play and private brawling” – although Darts manager George Reeves was “flabbergasted” and the Fleet camp “amazed” by the sendings-off. The match was replayed four months later, Dartford winning a somewhat quieter affair by just the one goal.
No.12 — December 10, 1960: Dartford 1-4 Fleet
Given the shenanigans of the previous season, the North Kent derby games were brought forward from Christmas and Fleet won the first 3-0 and this one at Watling Street 4-1, with goals by Reg Edmunds (2), Mickey Cross and Jimmy Robertson. The four points were crucial as relegation that season went down to the wire, Dartford needing a win at Yeovil on the last day to leapfrog the Fleet to safety. In the event, they got only a point despite hitting the post and missing two open goals and it was the Darts who were relegated – courtesy of Fleet’s better goal average of just 0.11.
No.13 — March 3, 1969: Fleet 3-1 Dartford
The bad old days of the Sixties threw up few moments of cheer as the decade wore on but for Fleet fans, this was the only win against Dartford in 21 attempts, masterminded by former Darts boss and now Fleet manager Alf Ackerman. That shocking run of derby results was over a 10-year period that included just the 17 defeats! A crowd of 1,032 watched Eddie Newton (2) and Brian Coates deliver the rare victory.
No.14 — August 18, 1981: Fleet 1-0 Dartford
Our first ever season together in the top flight of non-league football, it was also the last season in which either of us completed a league double, Fleet winning this one at Stonebridge Road courtesy of a Trevor Smith goal in front of 2,051, and also winning the return 1-0 at Watling Street. Ultimately, it didn’t matter much as we were both relegated from the Alliance Premier League at the end of the campaign, Fleet third from bottom and Dartford one place below us. (Click below to continue)
