By Steve Tervet

Jacob Erskine scored his first goal in a Dartford shirt as Tony Burman’s side produced a polished display to see off Thurrock on Tuesday night.

The Essex side had their fair share of play in the first half but the Darts took control of proceedings with two goals inside five minutes just after the break.

Erskine and James Rogers (pictured) netted to leave Thurrock facing an uphill battle and a late strike from substitute Jack Pallen rubber-stamped the win.

Both sides had chances to take the lead in an open first period. Paul Goodacre’s swirling cross struck the crossbar for Dartford, while Thurrock’s best moment was a close-range Alex Osborn effort which flashed wide.

The Darts opened the scoring on 51 minutes when Erskine prodded home a left-wing cross and Rogers made it 2-0 moments later, volleying into the bottom corner from outside the box.

Thurrock had no answer to the double-strike and Pallen capped a bright cameo when he turned sharply in a crowded box before beating Craig Holloway four minutes from time.