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Dartford manager Tony Burman's reaction to the 1-0 win over Havant in National League South

Dartford boss Tony Burman was keen not to overplay their narrow victory against title rivals Havant on Saturday.

The teams were locked on goal difference at the top of National League South but Tom Murphy's second-minute strike was enough to give Darts three points at Princes Park.

It means Darts are now three points clear of Havant, who have a game in hand but dropped to third after Hampton won at Eastbourne.

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Dartford's Tom Murphy crosses from the left wing. Picture: Andy Payton
Dartford's Tom Murphy crosses from the left wing. Picture: Andy Payton

Burman said: "It's a big win in respect that they had a game in hand and now they've got to win that game in hand.

"It doesn't mean we've won the league or they've lost it.

"It's another game where we've picked up three points, the bonus for us was a clean sheet."

Darts are now seven games without defeat and have lost just once at Princes Park in the league from 13 outings this season.

But it was a gritty display rather than a game full of flair against a Havant side who included the likes of striker Jason Prior, Wes Fogden and Ed Harris in their line-up.

"It was a battling performance rather than a footballing one," said Burman.

"It's nice to go on a run and all of a sudden it's coming together.

"They've got good experienced players with a lot of league games under their belt.

"They might not be as quick as they might need to be, and I don't mean that disrespectfully, but experience-wise they are excellent.

Ryan Hayes is closed down quickly against Havant. Picture: Andy Payton
Ryan Hayes is closed down quickly against Havant. Picture: Andy Payton

"Jason Prior leads the line well for them, he is a handful. He hangs in the air and wins some great headers so you've got to be aware on that next ball and we were excellent on that.

"Defensively I thought we were excellent. We were forced into playing some long balls (going forward).

"It was a good goal in the first two minutes. To be fair, Tom Murphy was finishing well on Thursday night (in training).

"We needed to go for them a little bit more after that (but) we sat back."

Read the match report from Dartford's 1-0 win over Havant here

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