Horsham v Dartford: MATCH PREVIEW

Dartford boss Tony Burman labelled this week as 'the week from hell' but its probably fair to say that John Maggs would view the past fortnight in rather stronger terms after watching his side drop off the pace with 4 defeats and a draw that leaves the Hornets in 9th place, 5 points outside the play-off places ahead of this visit of the league leaders.

Dartford have led the table since the opening weeks of the season but have stumbled of late, losing 3 of their last 4 matches, to give a flicker of hope to the chasing pack. But, with a 7 point lead and 4 games in hand on closest rivals Kingstonian, it would take a foolish man to bet against the league championship heading anywhere other than Princes Park at the end of April.

However, Burnham's concerns, ahead of this week's meetings with Tooting & Mitcham, Boreham Wood and ourselves, looked to have been well founded as his side followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at the Imperial Fields with a home loss to promotion chasing Boreham Wood on Tuesday night and a Horsham success this Thursday would register as the first time the Darts have lost 3 league games in a row since November 2008. 

Horsham travelled to Princes Park on the opening day of the season and took a first half lead, through Russell Eldridge's stunning free-kick, only to suffer a wretched 10 minute spell after the break that saw them concede 3 goals. Pat Harding claimed a late reply but it wasn't enough as the Darts went on to record an unbeaten run of 15 league games to surge ahead of the competition. It will be a vastly different starting XI from that which lined up against the Darts that day, though, with Rob Tolfrey, Lee Carney, Russell Eldridge and Alex Haddow no longer with the club, Ben Andrews misses the game through suspension, Mark Knee's ankle injury looks likely to rule him out until next week and Gary Charman is out for the season after fracturing his cheekbone at Hendon before Christmas.

Maggs admitted that it would be the same line-up as that which drew at Maidstone on Tuesday as he simply doesn't have a squad big enough to allow him to make changes. "We might try a few different things," he confessed "but it will be the same faces as we don't have anyone else to bring in."