Margate make the short trip to The Charles Ground on Saturday afternoon to face Deal Town in the Isthmian South-East Division.
The ‘Gate will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to three matches, following last weekend’s impressive away win at Eastbourne Town and Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw with Faversham Town at Hartsdown Park.
Hosts Deal Town head into the fixture in good form, having lost just once in their last five league outings – a 3-1 defeat to high-flying Three Bridges. Steve King’s side climbed to 10th in the table with a 1-0 victory over Ashford on Tuesday night, sitting just two points behind Margate, who currently occupy 7th place.
Two goals from Ibrahim Olutade in midweek provided a timely boost for Margate, who are beginning to see their injury list ease. However, long-term absentees Tom Derry and Brandon Davey remain sidelined, while there are doubts over Lewis Knight and Kieron Agbebi after he picked up a knock during Tuesday’s warm-up.
Last season saw Margate take maximum points from the Hoops, with a 1-0 win at The Charles Ground thanks to a Harvey Brand goal, after a a dramatic 99th-minute winner from Louie Atkins in a 2-1 victory at Hartsdown Park in September.
Competitive meetings between the two sides have been rare in recent history – prior to last season, their last encounter came in the FA Cup back in 1997. Deal Town’s last competitive victory over the ‘Gate dates all the way back to 1981, when they triumphed 2-1 in an FA Cup First Qualifying Round replay during the Thanet United era.
Kick-off at The Charles Ground is at 3pm, with tickets available on the gate or in advance via the Deal Town website.
Margate will be wearing their blue home kit for this fixture.
Stadium Address
The Charles Ground,
St Leonard’s Road,
Deal,
Kent,
CT14 9AU.
