Deal Town boss Steve King praises teenager Owen Wilkinson as two-goal forward bags brace in 6-1 Isthmian South East home win against Punjab United

Owen Wilkinson’s clinical finishing has been praised by Deal manager Steve King.

The forward was at the double, alongside midfielder Ben Chapman, as the Hoops eased to last weekend’s 6-1 Isthmian South East home success over early-season strugglers Punjab United.

While King sees plenty of room for improvement in the teenager’s game, his goal-scoring prowess has never been in doubt.

“He is always good in front of goal,” said King, who introduced fellow young prospects Zak Hammond, Dillon Simmons, Wes Hennessey and Jamie Kennedy off the substitutes’ bench, the latter also among the goals against Chipie Sian’s side.

“We’re trying to work hard on his all-round game but that [his finishing] has always been good. It was a great header from him to get us back into it.

“We said at half-time that first goal in the second half - making it 4-1 or 3-2 - was going to be really important. That was another really good finish from him.

“Along with the other young players, Zak, Jamie, Wes and Dillon - who we’ve brought in - we have belief in him. It was nice to see the goals shared around again, as well.

“That helps ease the pressure rather than it all being on one person.”

Victory over Punjab extended the Hoops’ unbeaten streak to five matches - albeit they were knocked out of the Kent Senior Cup by Isthmian Premier Chatham on penalties during that run after a 2-2 draw earlier this month - after a poor start to the season.

King, whose team edged to a 3-2 home victory against Merstham last midweek, said: “We’ve had a good week.

“Back-to-back league wins, both at home, it was the week that we needed. I thought, on Saturday, we were ruthless. It’s probably an area where we have struggled throughout the season.

“There have been games where