By Isaac Wood
Margate welcome Deal Town to Hartsdown Park this Saturday for a local Kent derby. The Gate will be looking to secure back-to-back home wins for the first time since early November.
Last week against Sheppey, Margate defended well, and with a goal in the first half from Sam Blackman, and then a second in the 60th minute from the gaffer Ben Greenhalgh, The Gate were able to secure a 2-0 victory and a clean sheet from Dino Kaiser on his debut.
Ronnie Vint and TT Walters will undergo a fitness test ahead of the game, whilst Manager Ben Greenhalgh continues to monitor the progress of midfielder Brandon Davey as he inches towards a return to the side.
Deal Town currently head into this fixture sitting 10th in the league and on good form, with recent wins against Three Bridges and Sevenoaks Town, they will look to make it three wins on the bounce.
Margate’s home form this season has been indifferent, only managing to win just one in the last five games at Hartsdown Park.
In their last five away games Deal have managed to pick up two wins and a draw, and a win for the visitors could see them climb as high as eighth place with games in hand adding a further incentive.
Saturday’s game will be the 47th meeting between the two sides, dating back to 1947. In recent times Margate have done well, picking up two wins and a draw in the last three games against Deal Town. In the reverse fixture earlier this season in October, The Gate saw themselves two goals behind at the break, however they got a glimpse of hope when Kane Haysman pulled one back in the 78th minute, and thanks to Max Walsh’s 90+5th minute equaliser the ‘Gate were able to rescue a valuable point.
Kick off at Hartsdown Park is at 3pm. The gates will be open at 12pm, with the live FA Cup FOURTH-round tie between Burton and West Ham being Shown in the Hartsdown Bar from 12:15pm.
Supporters in the Loyalty Programme will receive double points with every purchase of Cruzcampo between 12:30pm and 2:30pm.
