Deal Town FC

Deal Town played Margate on 18th October 2025 in the Isthmian League South East Division. Deal Town drew two - two against Margate in front of a crowd of 748 at the Charles Ground. The Deal goals came from Ben Chapman and Ife Oni.

A game of two halves at the Charles ground on Saturday as Margate produced a dramatic late comeback to earn a point, in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

Steve King named an unchanged squad from Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Ashford United, albeit Ife Oni started in place of Ashley Miller. The visitors, meanwhile, welcomed Lewis Knight back into the starting line-up in place of Ronnie Vint, as the ‘Gate looked to bounce back from midweek frustration after letting a 2-0 lead slip against Faversham Town.

The opening exchanges were largely uneventful, though Ibrahim Olutade came close to capitalising on a loose back pass when Deal goalkeeper James Tonkins’ clearance ricocheted off him, only for the ball to loop safely back into the keeper’s hands.

From there, Deal took control. In the 19th minute, relentless attacking play saw Ben Chapman find space in the box before smashing past Tom Wray to give Deal a 1-0 lead. A fantastic strike from just outside the penalty area to give the Hoops the lead. Moments later, Rory Smith forced Wray into a smart low save, and the home side continued to threaten on the counter.

Margate’s first-half struggles were compounded in the 32nd minute when the pace of Ife Oni proved too much for the Blues’ defence. The Deal forward raced through on the right and finished confidently to double the advantage, leaving the hosts now 2-0 up at the break.

Margate reshuffled at half-time, bringing on Kane Haysman for Knight and introducing Reece Hobbs between the sticks, after Wray was forced off through injury. The changes continued as Blu Husthwaite replaced Harrison Hatfull seven minutes into the second half.

Despite Deal still posing problems through Oni, Margate gradually began to find their rhythm. Around the hour mark, Jack Peters went close with an off-balance effort before Henry Young saw his shot superbly blocked. Encouraged, the visitors began to dominate possession, with Haysman and Max Walsh both testing the Deal defence.

With 12 minutes remaining, Margate finally found a breakthrough. A deep cross was nodded down by Emmanuel Oke and finished by Haysman to make it 2-1 and set up a tense finale.

Just three minutes later, the visitors thought they had completed their comeback when Harry Hudson netted, but the celebrations were cut short by the assistant referee’s flag for offside. Greenhalgh himself then went close, seeing his effort blocked before Haysman fired the rebound over as Margate threw everything forward.

Deal almost sealed the win in the 85th minute when Jack Paxman’s curling strike struck the inside of the post and rolled across goal, much to Margate’s relief.

Deep into stoppage time, it looked as though the ‘Gate would fall just short—until the final moment of the match. A hopeful cross into the box caused chaos, and when the ball dropped kindly, Max Walsh pounced to slam home the equaliser in the 95th minute, sparking wild celebrations among the travelling fans at the St Leonards Road end.

The referee blew for full-time immediately after the restart; a result which certainly felt like a defeat for Deal given the overall positive performance. Nonetheless, it remains four home games unbeaten as we go again on Tuesday.

Full-Time: Deal Town 2–2 Margate

Deal’s Perrys (Dover Ford) man of the match, as selected by match sponsors Keith Meekins & Friends, was Alfie Foster.