HOOPS V K SPORTS PREVIEW

The Hoops begin a run of three successive home games when they take on K Sports in the league on Saturday (3pm).
The following weekend Deal will again be in league action when Tunbridge Wells visit the Charles Ground and then on November 30 it’s the eagerly-awaited FA Vase third round clash with Southall.
But first the Hoops must concentrate on boosting their points tally against a K Sports side who they played and defeated three times last season, including a 4-1 home victory in the FA Vase second qualifying round.
The Paperboys are currently in 12th place in the table, one place and one point below Deal having played two matches more, and the Cobdown-based club have suddenly hit a “sticky patch” with defeats in their last three matches during which they didn’t score a single goal.
But last month’s wins over AFC Croydon, Tunbridge Wells and second-placed Chatham show what they are capable of, with Hoops manager Derek Hares saying: “K Sports are a similar side to us in that they’ve had some good results and some not so good.”
Hares will be hoping that Wednesday’s League Challenge Cup extra-time success at Snodland will have stiffened his team’s morale following last Saturday’s six-goal defeat at Sheppey, and that skipper Luke Bigginton will be fit to return to the squad after missing the last five matches with a neck injury.