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Dartford FC team-mates Tom Bonner and Bailey Vose clash at Dulwich Hamlet

Dartford joint-manager Adam Flanagan has spoken about the clash between two of his players on Saturday.

Captain Tom Bonner and goalkeeper Bailey Vose went head-to-head after a mix-up during the Darts' 2-0 defeat at Dulwich Hamlet in National League South.

Photos of the incident look dramatic but Flanagan insisted they don't tell the whole story.

Dartford captain Tom Bonner clashes with goalkeeper Bailey Vose Picture: Keith Gillard
Dartford captain Tom Bonner clashes with goalkeeper Bailey Vose Picture: Keith Gillard

"I didn't actually see it," he said. "All I saw was them pushing each other away and thought it was just handbags.

"The phase of play before they started arguing, Callum Driver headed it back to Bonner and he could maybe have gone back to Bailey so Bailey positioned himself for that while Driver headed it back to Bonner. He then tried to go back to Bailey and Bailey's body positioning was off and he missed it so it went out for a corner.

"It looked a little bit comical and I thought they were just pushing each other away.

"It wasn't until Monday that I saw the photos - and they don't look great to be fair.

"I spoke to Bailey first to get some feedback and he said the photos don't represent what actually happened. It was just two people passionately arguing about something and probably both frustrated because we were losing as well.

Referee David Spain talks to Tom Bonner and Bailey Vose Picture: Keith Gillard
Referee David Spain talks to Tom Bonner and Bailey Vose Picture: Keith Gillard

"They've come head to head and pushed each other away.

"In terms of that, while we don't want any of our players headbutting people, especially team-mates, we do want them to show passion.

"If we're losing a game, I want people to show that it's hurting and that they want us to get back in the game.

"There's a line you don't want to cross but I'd rather have passionate players who show their emotion and actively come across like they want us to get back into the game, than players who are prepared to accept losing because that's not what we're about."

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