Deal’s win at Erith Town has been described as probably their best so far this season by boss Steve King.

It’s now six straight Southern Counties East Premier Division successes for the Hoops and seven wins out of eight in all competitions as they bounced back from the previous Saturday’s Kent Senior Trophy loss to Snodland Town.

Joe Reeves netted before frontmen Aaron Millbank and Rory Smith also scored in the 3-2 victory over the play-off occupants.

King reflected: “It was a massive win. It’s probably our best of the season so far.

“With nobody else playing in the league, we have had games in hand, but they can erode away quite quickly.

“To get to 20 points from 10 games was a big marker down, considering the start we had.

“We probably had a third of the chances that we had the weekend before - the difference is that we took them.

“That’s six wins on the bounce in the league and seven in eight. We’re pleased.”

As a side, generally, Deal haven’t been solely reliant on their strikers for goals over the years.

But King was pleased to see his forward players - with Reeves playing on the wing in place of suspended Tom Chapman - deliver.

“He always gives 100 percent,” he said of Reeves. “With Tom Chapman suspended, he played on the wing on Saturday.

“All of our front three scored, which was nice. We know we have goals around the team.

“We don’t rely on them to get 30 or 40 goals a season but, when they’re scoring, it’s a good sign.”

The match also saw experienced defender Liam Hark serve his one-game suspension after his red card against Kennington.

But Chapman has a three-match league ban and therefore will not return until their trip to Bearsted on October 31.

On Hark, King, whose in-form team host Snodland in the league tonight, said: “He can slot into any defensive position. We know what we get out of him so we’re pleased to have him back.

“We still want to add a couple in terms of depth but it’s a pretty tough market at the moment. If we can get a couple over the line, that will help us.

“But we’re winning games so there’s no panic to do that.”

The Hoops will host mid-table Rusthall this Saturday.

While Rusthall are now without prolific hitman Louie Clarke, King, who reckons midfielder Macauley Murray should come back in contention after netting for Deal Reserves at the weekend, certainly won’t be underestimating them.

He said: “Rusthall had a brilliant season last year. Obviously, they have lost Louie Clarke but they’re still a good side.

“If we can pick up four or six points from those [two] games, that puts us in a really strong position.”

King says Deal intends to contribute to the fundraising page set up by Isthmian Premier Folkestone for Lenny Atherton, the young striker suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury when playing for them in August’s FA Cup clash at Lydd on dual registration.

“We will certainly be looking to contribute,” he added. “It was a pretty innocuous one - and we thought he might even be able to come back on.

“It’s taken a couple of weeks with the scans to find out the severity of it.

“He gets our best wishes and, hopefully, he gets back as fast as possible.”

More than £700 has already been raised.

Go to tinyurl.com/KMLennyDeal to support Atherton.