Deal Town boss Steve King on two-goal midfielder Ben Chapman’s influence in squad and their 4-2 Isthmian South East victory at Sheppey United on emotional afternoon

Ben Chapman has been hailed as “a hugely valued member of our squad” by Deal boss Steve King.

The midfielder bagged a brace in the Hoops’ 4-2 Isthmian South East success at Sheppey last weekend, a match played on an emotional day following Ites boss Ernie Batten’s death this month.

While it’s brother Tom leading the way at Deal with 17 this term, nine-goal Ben hasn't done badly, with his double at Holm Park coming either side of goals by defender Josh Vincent and forward Rory Smith. They all scored in the first half.

King said: “Probably the biggest compliment I can give Ben is, by his own admission, he’s had a pretty average season.

“But he’s nearly got into double figures and has hardly missed a game. He scored a few early in the season, then hadn’t scored for a while (since October 29).

“Knowing Ben, he does have a knack for going on runs with his goals. Hopefully, he goes on one now.

“People outside the club might not give him the credit he deserves - but I promise you he’s a hugely valued member of our squad.

“We got a goal from Josh from a set-piece, we’ve not scored enough from set-pieces recently, then a couple from Ben. The one from Rory was almost a little bit the Deal of old.

“That’s why I’m just as pleased with how we scored our goals as well as the fact we scored them.”

Deal’s win came despite the team falling behind in the first two minutes for a second weekend in a row, only to recover well.

“Obviously, it was a really good win,” said King. “It was a sad occasion, but I thought we applied ourselves well.

“We gave a goal away in a minute-and-a-half, which is crazy - when we did similar the previous weekend!

“I’ll be honest, I did feel ‘Here we go again.’. Then, we clicked into gear and it was 4-1 by