Faversham Strike Force goalkeeper Harry Earls has spoken about a crazy start to their match at Croydon - which saw him bag a goal and an assist inside the first 10 minutes!

A clearance by Earls set Tom Barton away to score the opener for Force before the 21-year-old got on the scoresheet himself.

Earls admitted, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was his first goal in senior football and he is now looking forward to picking up a long overdue goal bonus.

He explained: “Obviously, it was a tough game. We are new to this league at Faversham Strike Force.

“Going into the game, they (Croydon) were fourth, in the play-offs and going for promotion.

“The first one, I got the ball sent back to me by one of my defenders and I hit it over the top for one of our strikers who ran on to it and made it 1-0, so that was strange in itself to get an assist.

“Then, on about eight minutes, we had a free-kick after an offside in between the halfway line and my goal. I looked over at the dugout and my manager (Gary Axford) who, basically, just told me to over hit it.

“I hit it as hard as I could and it just went straight in. It was certainly my first goal in men’s football.

“It was quite funny. We do goal bonuses and I was saying recently I will never score to get one but it just happened!

“The defenders ran over to me afterwards. It was a nice moment.”

Strike Force, however, could not hold out for victory as Croydon hit back through a Richard Pingling brace to earn a share of the spoils.

Manager Axford said: “On reflection, a point on the road was a good result.

“But it was a scrappy game and, ultimately, not the most enjoyable afternoon.”

Earls, a qualified goalkeeping coach who works with Dover’s Academy, has had spells playing at Dover, Herne Bay, Faversham and Canterbury but is loving life at Strike Force in their debut season in Southern Counties East Division 1.

He said: “I went through a bit of a tough period, really, at Dover, Herne Bay and Faversham.

“As a young keeper, you don’t really get a chance but I have got back into it this year.

“We are 15 games in and it couldn’t be going much better.

“I think the best we can hope for this year is a mid-table finish, being new to the league, so we are doing well.”

Faversham, in 13th, host struggling Staplehurst, who are 18th, this weekend.

*Canterbury City suffered their third consecutive defeat as they were beaten 4-0 in the Premier Division by Tunbridge Wells on Friday.

City visit Punjab United this Saturday.

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