4 December 2021

K Sports                               2          McGeehan og 45, Morgan 49

Erith and Belvedere          4          Cray 9, Dyer 33, Lear 48, Atkins 90

DERES MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THEMSELVES

Erith and Belvedere eventually achieved what was their first win away to K Sports since 1932 (when they were under their original name of Aylesford Paper Mills), and wiped out the memory of the awful 7-0 hiding they took in February last year.  Yet they contrived to make it difficult for themselves.

Deres had the early chances, James Dyer sending a chance over the bar and Lee Lewis crossing behind the goal after a promising run.  It was Freddie Cray who headed home as early as the ninth minute to put the Deres in the lead.  In the next twenty minutes Sports made a series of chances, the dangerous Harvey Killick hitting the side netting, Max Morgan giving Rilwan Anibaba a fairly easy save then hitting the side netting himself, and Herve Mbongwe’s shot deflecting off Luke Rooney for a corner. 

Then just after the half-hour came one of the Deres’ best goals of the season – Ryan Flack cleverly feeding James Dyer who turned, made space and fired home a beauty of a shot which found the top corner of Charlie Walker’s net to make it 2-0.

Yet on the stroke of half-time came a freakish goal that brough Sports back into it: Calum McGeehan passed back to Anibaba, but hit the ball slightly too hard on the artificial pitch and the Deres keeper could only watch as it rolled into the net.  Just as freakish was the lack of reaction from the home supporters or either bench: there was a peculiar silence and the goal was only confirmed when Deres kicked off!

Deres were quick to restore the two-goal lead through Danny Lear three minutes into the second half, but even quicker to let Morgan in to pull another goal back less than a minute after the restart.

At 3-2, the game never quite felt safe, particularly when Killick’s close-range shot was smothered by Anibaba until it came to an explosive finish.  Segun Ikudehinbu was red-carded six minutes from time for apparently raking his studs down Lear’s back after a clash.  Sports protested, not entirely without reason, that Henry Dasofunjo should have had a second yellow for a foul on Killick, having earlier been booked for wrestling Oliver Lankshear off the ball.  However all they achieved was to get their manager sent off: he delivered an Anglo-Saxon appraisal of the referee’s performance as he walked past the Deres’ bench.

There was enough time remaining for Lucas Atkins to finally make things safe with his first Deres goal, bringing three welcome points.

SPORTS: Charlie Walker; Oliver Lankshear, Jack Longland (Ryan Young 50), Kwasi Amoah, Segun Ikudehinbu, Isaac Bignell (Ben Percy 63), Harvey Killick, Herve Mbongwe (Tarik Ibrahim 54), Max Morgan, Kane Butler, Ziyad Ghali.

DERES: Rilwan Anibaba; Lee Lewis, Marlon Patterson, Tom McNamee, Luke Rooney, Calum McGeehan, Ryan Flack, Freddie Cray, Danny Lear, James Dyer (Ollie Bate 79), Henry Dasofunjo (Lucas Atkins 87).