Chatham Town beat Three Bridges 3-1 at the Bauvill Stadium with goals from Bradley Stevenson, Ollie Evans and Ben Allen – Kevin Hake’s men take on Whitehawk this Saturday

Chatham Town have gained some early-season momentum with back-to-back home wins.

Kevin Hake’s Isthmian Premier side followed up a 3-1 midweek win over Dulwich Hamlet with a weekend victory over Three Bridges by the same scoreline.

For the second time in three games, Chats had to cope with 10 men, as substitute Kian Garlinge was dismissed, having come off the bench midway through the second half.

“I was really proud of the players on Saturday,” said their manager.

“It was important for us to back up the Dulwich result and putting back-to-back victories together gives us some early momentum.”

Bradley Stevenson opened the scoring by burying a 26th-minute penalty.

Ollie Evans added a second and although Kevin Rivera halved the deficit on 68 minutes, Chats netted a third to secure the points through Ben Allen, curling in a shot from just inside the box, shortly after Garlinge had been sent off.

“I was gutted for Kian Garlinge,” Hake said. “He’s worked incredibly hard to battle his way back from a shoulder injury, so to see him sent off so soon after getting back on the pitch was really disappointing.

“What pleased me most, though, was the reaction of the team.

“For the second time this season we found ourselves down to ten men and once again the players showed tremendous resilience and character.

“We didn’t just hang on at 2–1, we continued to be positive and found a way to score again and make it 3–1.

“That says a lot about the mentality developing within this group. It’s still very early in the season and there’s plenty for us to improve on, but six points from the last two games gives us something to build on.”

Chats head to Whitehawk in the league this Saturday, a team who have yet to pick up a win from their opening