5 March 2022

Erith and Belvedere         0        

Sheppey United                3         Mfula 21, 35, Grant 89

DERES UNABLE TO STOP THE MARCH OF ITES

Try as they might, the Deres were unable to deny Sheppey United recording their 25th win in 30 league games, and indeed were only a little more competitive than in the 4-0 beating last November.  So Sheppey drew level on points with Chatham Town, who were held 0-0 at Glebe: indeed with 8 games to go, both sides have records of 25-3-2 and look unlikely to drop any more points, which would give Chatham the title based on their greatly superior goal difference.

The large contingent of Sheppey supporters and the “Old Deres Reunion” gathering of former Deres players to mark their centenary year contributed to a bumper crowd of 270 – the 9th highest Step 5 crowd of the day.  So after the November match drew the biggest league crowd (413) to watch Erith & Belvedere since their Southern League days, this game drew their biggest home league crowd since the August Bank Holiday derby v VCD in 2006.

The crowd saw Deres competitive to begin with, having the first decent effort on goal as Nathan Palmer sent in a dipping shot that just cleared Adam Molloy’s crossbar.  The Deres were taking the game to Sheppey in the early minutes, with Danny Lear working hard in the lone striker role as always.

But at the other end Warren Mfula gave notice that he was going to be a threat when a cross skimmed wide off his forehead in the 16th minute, and five minutes later he met Richie Hamill’s free-kick from the left with a perfect looping header to give Sheppey the lead.

Danny Lear had a decent chance blocked by Molloy on 25 minutes, but in the 34th the Ites doubled their lead.  Another Hamill free-kick was well blocked by Airidas Vilinauskas, but barely had the ball been cleared when it was returned with interest, and Mfula was left in the clear to walk it past the stranded keeper and roll it home.

The second half began quietly, but Sheppey began to pile on the pressure in search of a third.  Henry Dasofunjo, who had starred for Deres in the early part of the season, drew a foul from former team-mate Calum McGeehan which saw the Deres player booked, then made a typical tricky run before seeing his shot blocked by Vilinauskas in the 73rd minute.  Mfula gave McGeehan the slip but Vilinauskas blocked again, and the young Bristol Rovers loanee proved his worth again when saving at the feet of Billy Bennett on 83 minutes. 

By this stage Deres were down to ten men, a frustrated high tackle by Stefan Cox on Dan Birch earning a red card.  In the closing stages Mfula skied a shot when the ball bobbled as he tried to complete his hat-trick.  Three minutes into stoppage time Dean Grant was sent clear and kept his cool to make it 3-0.

DERES: Airidas Vilinauskas; Josh Leach, James Dyer (Neil Spencer 86), Ross Craig, Calum McGeehan, Luke Rooney, Nathan Palmer (Sid Morgan 86), Harry Maher, Danny Lear, Stefan Cox, Lee Lewis (Daniel Pepple ht).  Sub not used: Ted McDonald.

ITES: Adam Molloy; Helge Orome, Renford Tenyue, Jahmal Howlett-Mundle, Ashley Sains, Richie Hamill, Billy Bennett, Henry Dasofunjo, Dan Birch (Danny Devine 79), Dean Grant, Warren Mfula (Max Oldham 88).