6 November 2021

 

Erith and Belvedere              0

Chatham Town                     1          Bradshaw 90

 

LATE LATE HEARTBREAK BUT PROMISING FOR DERES

 

Erith and Belvedere lost out at the very end in crushing fashion, but were able to console themselves for giving title contenders Chatham a hell of a game with ten men for 85 minutes.

 

The stopwatch read precisely 95 minutes when Dan Bradshaw forced home a loose ball on the right side of the goal area to give Chatham the points, but the rearguard action had been impressive and the Deres had carved a few chances of their own since Luke Rooney’s early red card.

 

Facing games against the top three in the SCEFL table in the space of eight days, Deres gave a debut to right-back Lee Lewis and a first start to striker Danny Lear, and had the first half-chance of the game in the fourth minute when Henry Dasofunjo made a promising run but nobody was there to convert the cross.  Five minutes later a through ball found George Sheminant whose effort hit the post.

 

Then in the 10th minute the face of the game changed when Rooney went in to high in a challenge on Jack Evans and was red-carded.  The Chatham fans behind the goal enthusiastically waved goodbye to their former player, and Deres had an uphill task.

 

Evans and Sheminant both missed decent chances in the next few minutes before the game settled into a pattern, with Chatham dominating, Deres largely on the defensive but looking sharp on the break.  Tyler Anderson-Parr and Freddie Cray played a neat one-two before a tame shot, Cray set up Lear for a header which went out for a corner, and in the 40th minute Dasofunjo hit the bar after a determined run. 

 

Eight minutes into the second half Evans shot from too far out to trouble Rilwan Anibaba, then on the hour Dasofunjo had  a 1 on 1 with keeper Andy Walker but missed out and went down injured.  The time taken to treat his injury and one to Anibaba later on was to be crucial.

 

For periods of the second half Chatham looked rather sluggish up front, seemingly running out of ideas as the Deres defended with spirit.  At the other end Deres’ character was epitomised by the way Lear competed in a 1 on 3 situation, tackling back, winning the ball and eventually winning a free-kick in a dangerous place in the D.  Dasofunjo’s free-kick won a corner which came to nothing but the effect on team morale was evident.

 

As stoppage time wore on it looked like the Deres had gained a valuable point, but at the end of the fifth extra minute the ball ran loose in the goal area for Bradshaw, and the win were sealed.  Chatham celebrated but Deres director Paul Springett described it as “the best performance I’ve seen at the club since we took over”.  Things seem to be moving in the right direction despite this result.

 

DERES: Rilwan Anibaba; Lee Lewis, Teddy Green, Luke Rooney, Calum McGeehan, Reece Barrett, Henry Dasofunjo (Tommy Brown 79), Harvey Brand, Danny Lear, Freddie Cray, Tyler Anderson-Parr.

CHATS: Andy Walker, Ike Orji, Chris Lawal, Andy Pugh, Reece Butler, Fikayo Ajayi, Ryan Hayes (Jack Richards 79), Jack Evans, Dan Bradshaw, Jack Palmby, George Sheminant (Matt Bodkin 86).