23rdoct05

Sunday 23rd October 2005

Deres come out on top in Erith derby

Two second half goals from Tommy Martin and in-form striker Anton Innocent gave Erith & Belevere all three points in the Erith derby to catapult the Deres up to fourth place in the Kentish Observer League table, writes Thomas Hawes.

After a fairly uneventful first half, in which Erith Town restricted the home side to long range efforts, midfielder Martin slid the ball in from a yard out to convert Ozzie Akif's cross after just five minutes of the second half.

Ten minutes later and the Deres were two up. A winding run from Akif culminated in a perfectly timed through ball to Chris Hurst, who timed his run well and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for Innocent to thump the ball in from close range.

However, a comical blunder by Tony Dakin gave the visitors a chance to get a late consolation inside stoppage time, but two clearances off the line in as many seconds kept the Deres a clean sheet.