Deal faced Faversham Strike Force in The Hoop’s first pre-season friendly on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Charles Ground.

Deal opened the scoring in the 5th minute as Deal’s Ash Miller forced a mistake from the Faversham Strike Force defence. A poor back pass to the Strike Force goalkeeper allowed Miller to intercept, forcing the keeper into a great save. However, the ball fell to Jamie Kennedy who fired Deal into the lead with a clinical finish that nestled in the top-right corner.

Things only worsened for Faversham Strike Force as, mere seconds after Deal’s opener, a clever passage of play put one of Deal’s midfielders through one-on-one with the keeper. However, his shot drifted narrowly wide.

Faversham soon played their way back into the game, with Strike Force’s attack unleashing a low-driven effort from just outside the box that was dragged narrowly wide.

Both teams continued through the first half, matching each other’s quality, but neither side was able to create any clear-cut chances until the 47th minute when a low driven cross fell to the feet of Strike Force’s 10 just 6 feet from goal, he attempted to poke the ball into the net however his right-footed finish skimmed the top of the crossbar and flew out of play. The first half ended with Deal holding a narrow 1-0 lead.

Deal however soon found a second, in the 65th minute a cross from the right found Ash Miller unmarked in the box. Miller tucked the ball into the bottom left securing Deal’s lead.

Deal continued their dominance over Strike Force in the second half but were made to wait to extend their lead. However in the 75th minute an intuitive through ball from Deal’s midfield caused the ball to fall to Deal’s Dan Gannon who dribbled the ball into the box, beating several of the Faversham defence. Several players failed to close Gannon down, before he finished clinically into the bottom right of the goal.

Faversham did manage a consolation goal in the 85th minute from a set piece, a scramble in the box following a corner resulted in a Strike Force’s midfielder heading ball into the bottom left, making the score 3-1.

Deal did have the chance to restore their 2 goal lead in the 91st minute when Deal’s Will Callaghan intercepted the ball just outside the 18 yard box however his shot was dragged wide.

The match ended with Deal securing a 3-1 win over Strike Force.

Match report courtesy of Fin Moore.