16 October 2021

Kent Senior Trophy first round

 

Canterbury City                     0

Erith and Belvedere              4          Dickson 15, 16, K Allassani 61, Alexander 89

 

DICKO’S DELAYED DOUBLE DELIVERS FOR DERES

 

Who remembers Chantelle winning Celebrity Big Brother?  It was the day after that seismic TV moment – 28 January 2006 - that Chris Dickson scored the last two goals of his first spell at Erith and Belvedere.  Against Canterbury 15 years and nearly nine months later, he shattered the record for the longest interval between Deres goals held by his manager that day in 2006, Wayne Brown.  As an encore, he then recorded one of the shortest intervals between Deres goals, scoring again within a minute.

 

Deres began their Kent Senior Trophy campaign with the strike partnership that finished the league game against Welling Town a week earlier, 36-year-old Dickson lining up alongside 42-year-old Gary Alexander.  What they lacked in youth they more than made up for in experience, with 16-year-old Joe Gbode supplying them as he completed his first full 90 minutes in senior football.

 

Canterbury have had a traumatic period lately, submitting notice of resignation from the SCEFL and then withdrawing it as a benefactor came in, but still looking for planning permission to return home from groundsharing at Faversham.  Their captain Danny Keyte had recently moved on to Tunbridge Wells, leaving a weakened side with a number of youngsters to take on a Deres team which is purring at present.

 

Alexander and Dickson combined well for the latter to bury a chance in the 15th minute and make that moment of history.  A minute later Gbode made a storming run down the right and looked on for a goal himself, but was forced wide and instead centred for Dickson to get his second.

 

Such was Deres’ dominance for the rest of the half that Canterbury could not have complained if they’d changed ends 5-0 down.  On 25 minutes with his back to goal Dickson tried a cheeky backheel which would have been a superb way to record a hat-trick; Gbode went close two minutes later; two minutes after that a spectacular Alexander volley was just as spectacularly tipped over by keeper Tom Bonham; two minutes after that Alexander and Dickson combined again but the latter shot wide.  Five minutes before half-time Dickson looked certain to score but the ball bobbled and spun off his foot as though a mole had joined Canterbury’s defence and tried to head clear…

 

The second half began with more chances for the front two, but it was Keanan Allassani who stretched the lead to three as the ball came to him from a scramble in the 61st minute.  Shortly afterwards Dickson suffered a knock and was replaced by Tyler Anderson-Parr, for his first outing since the Lingfield FA Vase tie a month ago.  He relished his cameo, producing some exciting runs down the right and a shot well saved by Bonham.  A beautiful turn and shot could have given Gbode a goal but he fired just wide. 

 

The opposition barely troubled Rilwan Anibaba all afternoon, and in the 89th minute of a straightforward win Alexander hammered a firm shot into the roof of the net to become (almost certainly) the Deres’ oldest ever goalscorer and make it 4-0.

 

CANTERBURY: Tom Bonham; Keanu Barnett, Harvey Brown (Turan Fakoz 85), Charlie Weston, Tom Cousins, Declan Wale, Will Oliver (Jacob Strouts 67), Rob Lawrence, Josh Strouts, Sammi Takaloo.

DERES: Rilwan Anibaba; Kazzeem Richards, Teddy Green, Drew Allassani (Lucas Atkins 75), Rob Curtis, Calum McGeehan, Harvey Brand (Louis Sprosen 70), Joe Gbode, Gary Alexander, Chris Dickson (Tyler Anderson-Parr 63), Keanan Allassani.