Fans from both sides gathered in the stands as Deal Town and Bearsted FC met for an evening fixture at the Charles Ground.

Deal opened the action as Owen won the ball in midfield and played a through ball to Kennedy. However, his shot was saved by the Bearsted goalkeeper.

It was Bearsted who opened the scoring in the eighth minute. A line-breaking pass from midfield found the feet of their striker who was positioned near the penalty spot, who quickly squared the ball to a teammate. The Bearsted midfielder then cleverly poked the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom-right corner.

Bearsted continued to threaten Deal and, in the 17th minute, a brilliant cross put them through on goal once again. However, Tonks rushed off his line to make an important save. Deal continued to struggle against Bearsted’s attacking wing-backs, who pushed high up the pitch during the first half and created a number of chances for the visitors.

However, Deal found an equaliser just two minutes later. In the 19th minute, a cross from the left by Jack Penny caused a scramble in the box. The ball eventually struck the back of a defender’s heel and flew into the top of the net, levelling the score against the run of play.

Deal then looked to take the lead from a corner swung in from the left-hand side. A powerful header appeared to be heading into the bottom-left corner, but it was brilliantly cleared off the line by the Bearsted defence.

The first half ended with neither side able to take the lead.

In the 56th minute, Deal played a long ball towards the left which found Strouts. He crossed the ball to Kennedy, who calmly squared the ball to Owen, leaving him with what looked like an open goal. However, Owen was unable to reach the pass in time as the ball drifted out of play and Deal narrowly missed the chance to take the lead despite Bearsted having been the better side during the early stages of the second half.

Two minutes later, in the 58th minute, a through ball found Jamie Kennedy, who raced through on goal and fired a shot towards the bottom-left corner of the goal. However, likely due to the windy conditions, the effort drifted narrowly wide after striking the post.

Deal dominated the remainder of the second half, creating the majority of the chances, but were unable to find a winner. As a result, the match ended in a 1–1 draw.