Defender Calvin Sedenu says Kennington back themselves to give anyone a game in their new league.

Ton started life in the Southern Counties East Premier Division with a 3-2 defeat at Punjab on Saturday - a match vice-captain Sedenu described as an early kick up the backside.

But they showed what they’re all about in Tuesday night’s 3-3 draw against a Sheppey side who are one of the promotion favourites.

It could have been even better, with Ton leading 3-1 at one stage, but Dan Scorer's team proved they can mix with the division’s big-hitters.

Sedenu said: “We fancied ourselves to beat Punjab but we didn’t perform to the levels we set.

“We’ve gone away on Sunday and Monday and had a period of reflection, individually and collectively, and identified what we needed to change going forward.

“It was good to get an early kick up the backside because for the last two years we’ve been top dogs in our old division.

“We took that into Tuesday night, against one of the best teams in the league, and put in a performance we were a lot more proud of, and a lot more used to.

“It helped being at home, in front of 300 people, they gave us that push to play how we expect to play.

“We thrive on playing the bigger sides, we don’t mind being the underdogs, we held our own and we’re probably gutted we didn’t win it.

“From ourselves, there weren’t any doubts we could compete at this level.

“We’ve been together a couple of years, it’s not like everyone’s new and you’re trying to get to know each other in pre-season.

“We’ve gone up, Dan’s got a lot of trust in the players he had and he’s added a few boys to increase the numbers because of the amount of games we imagine we’ll be playing.

“In our changing room we back ourselves. We never look at a team we’re playing and think, ‘We’re going to get a battering here.’

“We know the quality we’ve got and how much every player wants to fight for the player next to them.

“There’s a few experienced boys in there; me, Gary Clarke, the captain, Gary Lockyer’s played this level and the one above, so has Reiss Crimmen and in Joe Mant we’ve got one of the best keepers in this league, if not the league above.

“Dan can lean on us and doesn’t have to say too much before games.

“He says his piece but then he lets us get on with it, which shows a level of confidence and trust that we know our jobs and what we need to do.”

Kennington, who host Horley in the FA Cup extra preliminary round tomorrow, have noticed a couple of differences between Scefl Premier and Division 1.

Sedenu added: “We pride ourselves on being a fit side but a lot of teams will be fit in this league and won’t stop coming at you, which is one difference from Scefl 1.

“There’s also the quality in the final third. No disrespect to Scefl 1, because there are good sides in there, but in the Prem, if you give an attacker a chance, nine times out of 10 they’ll have a good go at it.

“We’ve got to nullify as many attacks as possible and keep Manty as quiet as possible because there are some very good forwards in this league where the better teams with bigger budgets can afford players from the league above.

“As defender that’s what I’ve noticed but we kept a lot of clean sheets last year and that’s what we pride ourselves on.

“I’m happy playing against the best players because they bring the best out of you. I’d much rather be playing Sheppey and Glebe and Chatham every week because it motivates you a lot more.

“No disrespect to the smaller teams - we’ll still show them the same respect - but I’ll always prefer a challenge and a battle and coming out of a game, saying, ‘Bloody hell, they had a good go there.’

"You learn stuff from those games.”

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