Sam Folarin strikes again as Chatham Town beat Cheshunt before weekend Isthmian Premier games at Aveley and home to Folkestone Invicta

Chatham Town boss Kevin Hake praised his side’s patience and resilience after edging past Cheshunt last Saturday.

Sam Folarin struck the decisive goal in the 67th minute at the Bauvill Stadium, netting for the second game running after also scoring in the midweek 4-2 win over Ramsgate.

“It was a hard-fought game against Cheshunt on Saturday, but the lads kept plugging away and got the result with a 1-0 win,” said Hake.

“Sometimes you just have to stay patient, keep believing, and I thought we showed good resilience to get over the line.

“Sam Folarin netted his second in two games and has made a great start to the season transitioning at this new level.”

Folarin, 18, moved to Chats from Northwood FC having been with Crystal Palace and then Portsmouth as a youth player.

The front-man ran half the length of the pitch, after being played in down the right hand side, and cut inside before firing in a low shot across the keeper and into the bottom corner.

Forward Tope Fadahunsi, who opened the scoring against Ramsgate, missed the weekend clash with a minor injury, while Kofe Anokye-Boadi has yet to feature this season. Both are expected to return to action shortly.

Hake added: “It’s been good to see Tope and Kofe back in full training this week.

“Having players return strengthens us even more and adds to the competition for places, which is exactly what we want at this stage of the season with the quick turnaround, we’ll need to lean on the whole squad.”

Chatham now face two tough fixtures over the Bank Holiday weekend, travelling to Aveley on Saturday before a Kent derby at home to Folkestone Invicta on Monday.

“We’ve now got a full week of training, which will be valuable before a busy Bank Holiday weekend with Aveley away