Fit-again Henry Newcombe made a welcome return for Deal in their hard-fought success at Stansfeld.

Former Hythe keeper Newcombe was back for their 2-1 Southern Counties East Premier Division triumph on Saturday, nearly exactly a month after he sustained an injury in their FA Cup game at Lydd, which left him struggling to breathe and the match abandoned.

Deal manager Steve King said: “We have made sure he has done all his recovery right.

“He’s back fully fit now - that’s pleasing to say, considering what happened.

“He made a couple of good saves but he didn’t have a huge amount to do.”

The Hoops failed to beat Stansfeld last term, despite earning a third-placed finish, but took the points from Foxbury Avenue this time thanks to striker Aaron Millbank’s effort and a late own goal winner.

King reflected: “We were delighted with the performance. We were outstanding.

“The last couple of games, we have made life difficult for ourselves! I know the scoreline is pretty close but we hit the bar or post five times.

“We played very well and needed to get the second earlier, really, which allowed them back into the game.

“But for us, having done so well, when the game gets back to 1-1, it’s a test of character. For the boys, winning the game from that point was important.

“Stansfeld are a tough side, we know that, and we didn’t beat them last year.

“It was our first league away win of the season as well. We always back ourselves at home so, on the road, that was really important for us.

“No one else was playing in the league so it was a chance to gain points on other teams.

“That was our third win on the spin and we’re moving in the right direction.”

Deal claimed the success despite making a late decision to withdraw defender Alfie Foster from their starting line-up, Max Niblett taking his place amid a reshuffle.

“It’s just a very tight back at the minute with Alfie,” revealed King.

“Three weeks ago, I would have said to Alfie ‘Go on mate, do what you can do.’ But we have the luxury of starters on the bench now so we made the decision to get Max in and leave Alfie out.

“People don’t see that but lots of players have been playing with little niggles over the first few weeks. It’s not a long-term thing for Alfie.

“It was more precautionary because he’s an important player.”

The form of Deal, due to visit Hollands & Blair tonight, may have improved but things don’t get any easier for them.

They host early high-fliers Corinthian this Saturday and are at home to last season’s Division 1 play-off Semi-Finalists Faversham Strike Force in the Challenge Cup First Round on Tuesday.

On Corinthian, King said: “They’re going to be one of the favourites for promotion and they have started that way.”

Strike Force may ply their trade a division below the Hoops but did beat them 2-1 in pre-season.

“I know a lot of their players,” noted King.

“It will be a really tough game because they’re one of the stronger Division 1 sides.”

Sidelined midfielder Macauley Murray could come into contention for a return for their Corinthian clash.

King said: “Macca is close. He might have a chance for the weekend, we’re not rushing him back.

“We will lose Max Niblett soon, going back to university, but we’ve got him for a little while longer yet.

“But we’re happy and we’re at a stage where we can assess if there’s any areas we need to strengthen over the next four games or so because it’s been difficult to assess what we have.”