Deal Town FC

MENS FIRST TEAM

Deal Town played Beckenham Town on 26th October 2024 in the Isthmian League South East Division. Deal Town lost four - one against Beckenham at Beckenham. The Deal goal came from Ben Chapman.

DTFC made the long journey to League leaders BTFC after a convincing win against Hythe Town in the KSC last Tuesday at The Charles Ground.

'Kingy' went with his regular 11 which included the addition of new signing Archie Hatcher, signed on dual registration from Whitstable Town, in the midfield.

Both teams started on the front foot, with quick attacks down both flanks looking for the ball into the centre for the forwards to get on to! From the outset the H9, Louie Theophanous, looked like the main thrust for the home team and his first effort in the 4th minute went past the post on Molloy’s left side.

Not to be outdone in the forward area DTFC were pushing forward on the right through TC and in the 11th minute his over exuberance in the challenge with the home keeper ended with a caution, though it may have been for something other than the challenge.

The ball continued to move to and fro with both teams using the flanks in an effort to breach the full back areas, aiming to find the respective centre forwards and the back of the net. BTFC were utilising these opportunities to a greater extent than DTFC with their more direct play. Their corners were in on top of Molloy but he held well on more than one occasion to repel headers. This led to an unusual situation in the 22nd minute, both physios on for the same team, with 3 DTFC players sprawled in the box after yet another corner!

The directness of H9 was creating issues for the DTFC defence and his marauding style ensured he was  always a problem. In the 24th minute when the ball broke to him in the box, his instinctive shot was pushed away again by Molloy. DTFC were holding their own with the continuous backwards and forwards but Theophanous always looked likely to get opportunities; in 31st minute he picked up the ball from the H11, Townsend, and had his shot held at bay again by Molloy.

DTFC were putting in plenty effort but their final ball was always short, behind or not into the feet of the intended recipient. A melee on the right side saw the ball go away for a corner for DTFC in the 40th minute which came to nothing and led to possession for BTFC in the midfield, leading to the ball breaking to Theophanous on the left side where he danced through 3 DTFC defenders to smash the ball into the net for the first goal.

Half time soon arrived without any other incident and both teams headed to the changing room.

The 2nd half started without any changes and DTFC were on the front foot straight away with both full backs using the break to rejuvenate their attempts to feed the front players. Better passing and more direct play were giving DTFC chances and from a shot from Kennedy the ball broke to Ben Chapman in the 53rd minute for a deserved equaliser.

The tempo of DTFC attacking rose from this point forward and despite BTFC being somewhat jaded they always looked like the could create something every-time they moved forward. As the game progressed there looked like the next goal would only come from the away team, especially on the right flank were Paxman and Miller were putting some good moves together, sadly to no avail.

The first change of the match occurred in the 68th minute with Oni replacing the hard working Kennedy. DTFC continued to look for the break and the 2nd goal and at this stage looked like the next scorers. The second change of the match occurred with H7 was replaced by 14.

No sooner than that change was made, the ball broke to Theophanous;  striding forward he rocketed the ball past Molloy for a barely deserved lead. A bitter blow for DTFC who had been on top since the start of the half. There was barely time for a breath when the ball was lost in the midfield by DTFC and the ball was pounced on by home fullback Belford, who strode forward and unleashed a rocket shot which, despite Molloy getting his hand onto it, nestled in the back of the net for a 3-1 scoreline.

A bitter blow for DTFC and the game totally turned on its head. 3 quick changes followed with Hollness,  Foster and Smith replacing Murray, Vincent and Ben Chapman for DTFC in the hope fresh legs could give a way back into a match which for most of the second half looked as if there would only be one winner. Continued pressure led to an away corner but the impetus was now with BTFC and from their next attack and resultant corner their experienced defender Holland pounced on a weak clearance and despatched the ball into the bottom left corner for 4-1 and the match was over as a contest

Changes by the home team to refresh their industrious full backs; Nyhus and Belford as well as the live wire Brissett only emphasised that at this level of football the need to take your chances is paramount and, whilst disappointment was written all over the faces of all DTFC players, they continued to try to establish attacking moves deep into stoppage time. Beckenham again showed that in Theophanous they have an excellent target man whose combative nature an directness nearly gave him a richly deserved hat trick with a shot on the final whistle which screamed past the right hand post.

A final score of 4-1 paints a picture of a match which was much closer and for nearly 30 mins in the second half the neutrals were looking at only one winner. Onwards to the next fixture and the trip to Littlehampton which despite being a long journey and a difficult fixture should if we play to our potential, could see us coming back with a good result.

SOURCE: Don Macleod

Deal Town Starting XI: Adam Molloy, Jack Paxman, Jack Penny, Archie Hatcher, Tom Chapman, Macaulay Murray, Ben Chapman, Alex Green, Ashley Miller, Jamie Kennedy, Josh Vincent.

Subs: Alfie Foster, Matty Holness, Alex Smith, Ife Oni, Zak Hammond.

Deal Goals: Ben Chapman ('53)

Referee: Dann-Pye

Attendance: 308