Liburd Secures Vital Point for Valiant Millers
Recent new signing Rowan Liburd earned a crucial point for the Millers in challenging conditions at a rain-soaked Arctic Stadium. This fixture marked the first meeting between the two local rivals since their dramatic play-off clash last season.

The visitors started brightly and deservedly went ahead in the 13th minute through Dan Smith, who reacted quickly after an initial effort was blocked, calmly slotting home from close range. Valley responded positively, led by captain Tom Beere, who dictated play in midfield and was at the heart of every attack. Several good chances were created, only to be denied by resolute defending and timely interventions from the Darts backline.

The second half saw the hosts dominate as weather conditions worsened. Their persistence paid off in the 65th minute when Liburd found space on the right flank, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful low strike into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Jonny Henly with no chance.
Both sides pushed for a winner, but with defences winning their personal battles in the closing stages, a share of the spoils was inevitable and overall, a draw was a fair outcome in a pulsating match.

The point keeps Valley out of the bottom four whilst Dartford maintained their position in the play off’s.

MAN OF THE MATCH – Crossley Lema (Cray Valley)

Millers: Peart-Rowley, Harvey, Bowry, Ekpiteta, Lema, Ajakaiye (Shomotun 80), Beere (c) (Adebiyi 57), Cumberbatch, Moore (Vigor 16), Ogunwamide, Liburd. Subs not used: Waldren, Akbani
Caution: Ekpiteta

Dartford: Henly, Carruthers, Smith S, Whitefield, Jones, Olopade, Smith D, Box, Tennant, Frempah, Olarewaju (c). Subs not used: Sullivan, Oviawe, Mcleod, Atkins
Caution: Tennant

Post Match Interview: Steve McKimm
https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/videos/postmatch-steve-mckimm-on-a-strong-cray-valley-pm-performance-in-a-11-vs-dartford-221125-215683.html

Additional Match Report: The Preston Perspective
"Darts Deflected !"
In an eagerly awaited fixture, The Millers entertained their well-supported nearby neighbours and play-off nemesis from last season on what proved to be an increasimgly sodden and soggy afternoon

The odds may well have favoured the visitors going by the form book as this pitched the visitors in 5th place and once again clearly gunning for a return to National South football against the Millers a lowly 5th from bottom, but nonetheless buoyed by the return to playing duty of club captain Tom Beere and a midweek win away at high flying Dulwich Hamlet
Indeed it was the Millers who started the brighter and had 2 good chances in the opening 5 minutes only to fall behind on 13 minutes after an initially saved effort was tucked away by Dan Smith

Cray Valley then doubled down onto their game, and only some fine acrobatic saves from visiting 'keeper Jonny Henly stopped us from getting back on level terms ; plucking balls out of the sky was his forte and we observed that we'd need to keep shots low on the ground to beat this big tall guy in between the sticks.
The one heart in mouth moment came later on in the first 45 which was the Darts only real second attempt on goal ..... but despite boasting the leading scorers in the division, they didn;t convert that chance , and to be fair the Millers defence kept them fairly subdued for most of the match

The second 45 was pretty conclusively bossed by the Millers , and it was a fair reflection on the passage of play when Rowan Liburd sprung the offside trap and bore down on the advancing Henly and coolly slotted past him for his first Millers goal on 65 minutes
From that point on , it was noticeable that the visiting support became fairly mute ; they may well have been presuming that they were on course for an easy 3 points , but Steve Mckimm's boys are finding some rhythm now and out to go toe-to-toe with the best in the league and were keen to dent the aspirations of the Darts in their quest to keep Folkestone and Brentwood honest at the top of the table

The rest of the game was played out with the Millers hunting that elusive winner that i feel we deserved ; some will say "well you're bound to say that, you're a bit biased !!" but we really were playing some good football in pretty challenging conditions and can be disappointed to have taken all 3 points come the final whistle.

The only other real incident of note was a game of handbags midway through the second half where just about everybody joined in a good old fashioned game of push and shove. Fortunately nobody got a red card, as that would have spoilt what was a finely poised game
So, credit to the players who entertained us with some great passing football this afternoon, and have taken 4 points from 2 games against teams much higher up the table this week

Credit also to the club officials who sensing the potential for idiots posing as Dartford fans to try and gain entry to the ground had taken preventative measures beforehand to make sure Billy Pillock and his 14 or so friends couldn't get in and spoil the afternoon for all the genuine supporters , all 4,804,718 of them ( if the Isthmian website is to be believed ????? )
ISMWT

Match Photos: Romana at Inspire Socials
https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/photos/millers-v-dartford-221125-photos-inspire-socials-1159237.html