The Hoops will have the chance to complete their third league “double” of the season when they travel to to Hollands & Blair on Saturday.
Goals from Connor Miller and Ben Cardwell earned Deal a 2-1 win over Blair in their opening home league game back in early August and although that set the tone for what has been a difficult campaign for the Gillingham outfit, Hoops boss Derek Hares says he is expecting “a tough game” this weekend.
For one thing Hares and his players will probably need little reminding that they suffered a surprise 3-0 home defeat to Blair in a Kent Senior Trophy first round tie in October, while last weekend Blair pulled off another shock result, this time a 4-2 victory at high-flying Sheppey Utd.
That was Blair’s first league win in 11 matches but the Hoops’ recent record is little better, with only one victory in their last 10 league games, and Hares admitted: “We’ve probably got the youngest team in the league and at times we’re missing a bit of experience.
“Although we’ve got a lot of young players, they have played a lot of football in this league but sometimes you just need an older head.”
One the squad’s most experienced players, Andy Miller, is available against this weekend after missing last Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Rusthall because of flu.
