The “unbelievable” desire from nine-man Deal has been praised by boss Steve King.

Having taken the lead through Tom Chapman early in the second half against Southern Counties East Premier Division basement boys Kennington on Sunday, the Hoops found their backs against the wall when key winger Chapman and then defender Liam Hark were sent off.

But Deal doubled their lead in front of a crowd of 535 at the Charles Sports Ground despite their numerical disadvantage on 77 minutes when player-of-the-match Billy Munday played in Ben Chapman to score.

King said: “Obviously, it was pleasing to get three points.

“The sending-offs made it difficult. When we went 1-0 up, we were pretty comfortable at that point.

“We lost a man and then lost a second man and you think ‘We’re in trouble here’. But we managed to get a second with nine men and then we were fairly comfortable from there - as comfortable as you can be.

“When you add in added time – we played seven minutes - I think we nearly had 25 minutes with nine men. It was a really good achievement.

“The big thing is Billy Munday passes it to another midfielder, Ben Chapman, for our second.

“It shows their desire. It’s unbelievable from them!”

King had been unsure of the decision to dismiss Tom Chapman. He had few complaints after watching the footage back of the incidents, though.

He said: “Having watched them, they’re both red cards.”

A seventh straight success for in-form Deal did come at a major cost. Not only will Tom Chapman and Hark now have suspensions to serve, but forward Rory Smith and defender Alex Green also came off in the first half.

“It’s something I’ve tried not to think about yet to be honest,” King said.

“But it’s something we’re going to have to deal with. We have built a strong squad. We know Tom Chapman is a big miss for three games.

“But we don’t play in the league for two weeks now.”

King’s promotion-chasing troops didn’t get a first league win until their fifth match but appear back on track.

He said: “We’re back on our target for points-per-game.

“We set three targets. One was a points target for the play-offs, one probably would get us a home play-off and one might win the league. With Faversham playing the way they are, if they keep going, they could get 100 points. That’s probably unrealistic for us - or anyone else - to get to.

“We think 1.9 points-per-game gets us a home play-off and Sunday’s game puts us back on par [with 17 points from nine league fixtures].”

Last season’s Kent Senior Trophy runners-up host Snodland in the First Round on Saturday. They already have shared the spoils from a six-goal league game this term.

“They’re a good side,” said King, whose team thrashed Division 1 Faversham Strike Force 8-2 in the Challenge Cup First Round last Tuesday.

“We had a really good game at their place, a 3-3 draw. They’re going to come down and try to get a result.

“The Kent Senior Trophy, I don’t need to tell people why we’re motivated. It’s pretty self-explanatory after what happened [in the Final] last year. We’re at home but I expect Snodland to be up there in the play-offs.

“I hate games like the one against Kennington. Kennington have played eight games, are bottom and haven’t played at home yet. Everyone is expecting us to win 3-0 or 4-0.

“Some fans were shouting [for goals] after 10 minutes on Sunday! I know we scored eight in the cup last Tuesday - but it’s a different kettle of fish.

“This Saturday, we’re probably slight favourites at home but it’s a game of football I’m really looking forward to.”

First-team debutant Kaeden Jefferys, Connor Coyne, Kane Smith and Munday were all at the double against Faversham Strike Force.