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Ryan Hayes came on to help Dartford FC recover from 2-0 down to draw with FC Halifax Town in the FA Trophy

Dartford winger Ryan Hayes Picture: Andy Payton
Dartford winger Ryan Hayes Picture: Andy Payton

Ryan Hayes was the catalyst for Dartford's second-half fightback in the FA Trophy on Saturday.

Darts were 2-0 down at home to Vanarama Conference rivals FC Halifax Town when Hayes was introduced as a half-time substitute for Peter Sweeney.

The long-serving winger scored direct from a corner - the second time he's done that this season - just four minutes after coming on to change the mood inside Princes Park.

And his dangerous set-piece deliveries put the Shaymen on the back foot, with Rory McAuley scoring late to keep Dartford in the Trophy for a few more days at least.

Darts boss Tony Burman said: "At 2-0 down, it was made for Ryan to come on and do something like that. He came on and caused a few problems although we probably didn’t get the ball out to him as much as we could have done. He’s good at dead ball situations and he’s come on and done OK.

"You need that little bit of good fortune or luck. I wasn’t too sure if it went straight in or if someone else has put it in but he’s put a decent corner in.

"He played alright against Halifax when we played them before but they went tight on him in the second half so he couldn’t get any crosses in.

"He’s got to learn that sort of thing but he’s done alright."

Dartford's part-time players now face a 450-mile weeknight round-trip to Yorkshire for the replay.

Burman said: "It’s going to be a big task to do something on Tuesday. It’s a long journey, we know that, and Halifax had to do it a couple of weeks ago (for a league game at Dartford).

"We were due to train on Monday night but obviously now a few of them have got to take the afternoon off work on Tuesday and they’ve probably got to take Wednesday off because we’re not going to get home until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning.

"It’s not the greatest preparation for the following game on Saturday but you have to just get on with it. It’s going to be tough for all of them up there but it’s not points, it’s being in or out of the cup at the end of the game."

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