Manager Dan Scorer spoke about the big moments in games after Kennington’s defeat at Deal on Tuesday.

Scorer’s side suffered their first defeat since the opening day of the Southern Counties East season, going down 2-0 at the Charles Ground.

The outcome might have been different had Gary Lockyer converted a second-half penalty while Deal were only a goal to the good.

But the chance went begging and Billy Munday’s late effort clinched the points for a Hoops side who took the lead just before half-time through Tom Chapman.

Ton boss Scorer said: “We took a while to settle and match the tempo of the game. Full credit to Deal, because they started quick and looked to unsettle us early on.

“We finally found a bit of rhythm and we slowly started to assert some dominance on the game, but once again we were punished for not making the most of the possession we had.

“We started much brighter in the second half, and for the first 30 minutes of the half we completely dominated the play and created a couple of decent chances.

“Gary Lockyer then won a penalty, but missed. Those are the big moments at this level and we’ve spoken a lot about that as a group.

“There’s a number of teams that are well established at this level, who know how to soak up all the pressure and will punish you for not taking your chances.

“Deal worked tirelessly and got hold of the game in the last ten minutes, and punished us again to seal a deserved win.

“There’s moments where you feel frustrated with the result and performance, but it’s the first defeat in six in the league and we’ve had a good run in the FA Cup, so it’s important to take the positives out of the start we’ve had.

“We still haven’t quite reached the level I know we’re capable of and I’m sure that moment is coming.”

Kennington missed keeper Joe Mant and captain Gary Clarke, who were expected to be fit, while Tommy Scorer is out for a month.

They host Welling Town this Saturday, with the manager looking to strengthen his squad.

He said: “We’re quite depleted at the moment in terms of availability, but we’re hoping to add a couple of fresh faces in the next week.”

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