Lydd Town boss Scott Porter on the bizarre second-half own goal in their 3-1 defeat at newly-crowned Southern Counties East Premier Division champions Deal Town

Boss Scott Porter described Lydd’s own goal in their defeat at Southern Counties East Premier Division champions Deal as something he had never witnessed before.

Trailing at half-time to teenage forward Jamie Kennedy’s early goal, the Lydders’ hopes of a second-half comeback were dealt a major blow inside seconds of the restart in barely believable fashion on Saturday.

Deal restarted the game, as midfielder Macauley Murray launched a long ball from the centre-circle into the final third. Goalkeeper Craig Smith rushed to the edge of his penalty box but was beaten by defender Jahmahl King’s miscued header, which bounced into the empty goal.

Porter said: “We’re in the game (at half-time), we were well in the game. All the pressure is on them, there’s no pressure on us.

“(I told them) to go and express yourselves and go and get on the ball and go and put a fight up - and look what happened.

“It killed it. It’s killed everything and I’ve never witnessed anything like it!

“It’s a bad, bad mistake from Kingy and the goalkeeper. It’s got to be dealt with by two experienced players, so there goes the momentum. It’s gone.

Report: Deal 3-1 Lydd

“There’s no communication. He (Smith) has not called early enough. The wind’s blowing, it just goes to him.

“I’m just feeling gobsmacked.”

Lydd never recovered from that moment in front of a crowd of 1,422 at the Charles Sports Ground, substitute Jack Shonk getting a late stoppage-time consolation after home substitute Ife Oni had sealed the win as it finished 3-1 to Deal.

With only two matches to play now, Fisher handed the points from the abandoned home game in December, they are seven points from fifth-placed Erith Town.

“It sums up the time I have been at Lydd,” said Porter, who took