by Steve Tervet

Dartford manager Tony Burman admitted he was relieved to still be in the FA Trophy after watching his side held to a 1-1 draw by FC Halifax Town in Wednesday’s quarter-final.

The Blue Square Bet Premier side played with a man extra for 73 minutes following the dismissal of midfielder Chris Worsley.

But the Darts trailed to Lee Gregory’s opener and they needed a headed goal from substitute Danny Harris to earn a replay and keep them in the Trophy.

Burman (pictured) said: “We’re still in the competition and it’s as simple as that, really.

“We’ve come up against a very determined team with 11 players and an even more determined team with 10 players. I don’t think we played particularly well but in the second-half we got in it and the job’s been done.

“Full credit to Halifax, they’ve had a right go and I don’t think we matched them in the first-half. They took the game to us at the start, which we thought might happen, but I felt they were a yard quicker than us.

“They’ve got 10 men and we probably should have done more but it wasn’t to be. All credit to the guys, they’re still in the competition.”

The tie, postponed on Saturday, was then moved from Tuesday to Wednesday to allow The Shay pitch to recover from heavy rain.

Dartford’s players had to book time off work at late notice but Burman refused to blame the disrupted preparations for his side’s slow start.

“It’s easy to say that but no, I’m not going to say that sort of thing,” he said.

“This is a tough place to come. We’ve been travelling most of the day but I can’t use that as an excuse.

“I thought Halifax were excellent with their commitment and we had to match them. I thought we matched them better in the second-half.”

Worsley’s red card enraged the home fans and even Burman was not convinced by the decision.

He said: “It looked a late challenge and the referee was closer than me. Sometimes they’re a yellow card, sometimes they’re a red card and unfortunately that’s how it went.

“You don’t want to see anyone get sent-off and it wasn’t a dirty game or anything like that.”

How far do you think Dartford can go in the Trophy? Have your say below.