Deres bid for county cup double

WAYNE BALDACCHINO, the reserve team assistant manager of Erith & Belvedere, has praised his young side for their hard-graft for their impressive run of form, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Deres are currently in third place in the first division of the Bulmers Cider Kent League table with a record of nine wins and two draws from 16 league games - seven points behind league leaders Thamesmead Town with six reserve games remaining.

Deres’ second string have now gone nine games without defeat or conceding a single goal, and Baldacchino, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk today, explained the reasons behind their excellent run.

“Hard graft!” he replied. “The lads have been working very hard on their fitness levels at training and we are now seeing the rewards with maximum performances over ninety minutes.

“The lads had a poor start to the season with some below par performances and together with the shock of seeing manager Sean Clarke have a major illness, things were not looking great pre-Christmas with the team in the relegation zone.”

However, a few tweaks here and there and a new belief has seen the team shoot up to third in the table and reach the Kent Intermediate Cup Final, where they will meet holders Tonbridge Angels at Longmead Stadium on Wednesday, 29^th April, 7:30pm.

“The lads have worked hard for each other since Christmas and now go into every game with new confidence,” explained Baldacchino.

“We really do take one game at a time and show our opponents the respect they deserve, but winning breads confidence and we will continue to show this in every match without getting complacent.”

The Deres’ second string have four 15-17 year-olds in the squad, which is amazing at that level of football.

Tom Chattenden, 17, and Ben Bickford, 16, have been with the side since pre-season and have done brilliantly as and when needed and the Deres’ have also taken on board two more young lads in fifteen-year-old pair Jack Baldwin and Arian Retkoceri.

And Baldacchino added, “Both play District football as well as being at Kent Youth standard without doubt. They are players we are looking to work with in the future so we want to develop them in the right way and have them involved with the reserve team squad.

“We know the importance of ensuring we look after the young lads for their own benefit and ours and that is what we will continue to do.

“We will continue to work hard and see how things pan out.”

Meanwhile, the Kent County Football Association have confirmed the date and venue for the Kent Senior Trophy Final against VCD Athletic.

The first-team match against Paul Foley's men will be played on Sunday, 19^th April, 3pm, at Park View Road, although the Deres’ landlords, Welling United will be hosting the game.

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website: www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk