Ben Chapman has been hailed as “a hugely valued member of our squad” by Deal boss Steve King.

The midfielder bagged a brace in the Hoops’ 4-2 Isthmian South East success at Sheppey last weekend, a match played on an emotional day following Ites boss Ernie Batten’s death this month.

While it’s brother Tom leading the way at Deal with 17 this term, nine-goal Ben hasn't done badly, with his double at Holm Park coming either side of goals by defender Josh Vincent and forward Rory Smith. They all scored in the first half.

King said: “Probably the biggest compliment I can give Ben is, by his own admission, he’s had a pretty average season.

“But he’s nearly got into double figures and has hardly missed a game. He scored a few early in the season, then hadn’t scored for a while (since October 29).

“Knowing Ben, he does have a knack for going on runs with his goals. Hopefully, he goes on one now.

“People outside the club might not give him the credit he deserves - but I promise you he’s a hugely valued member of our squad.

“We got a goal from Josh from a set-piece, we’ve not scored enough from set-pieces recently, then a couple from Ben. The one from Rory was almost a little bit the Deal of old.

“That’s why I’m just as pleased with how we scored our goals as well as the fact we scored them.”

Deal’s win came despite the team falling behind in the first two minutes for a second weekend in a row, only to recover well.

“Obviously, it was a really good win,” said King. “It was a sad occasion, but I thought we applied ourselves well.

“We gave a goal away in a minute-and-a-half, which is crazy - when we did similar the previous weekend!

“I’ll be honest, I did feel ‘Here we go again.’. Then, we clicked into gear and it was 4-1 by half-time. They got one back, but we managed that spell well.

“We were deserved winners against Sheppey who, although they’ve been out of form, were desperate to get the win for obvious reasons. We’ve beaten them twice this season.

“When we think back to our Southern Counties East League days, they were a far stronger outfit than us for a while then.

“It made for a really pleasing day for us.”

A much-needed triumph, just a second since January 25, leaves the Hoops 12th ahead of their season run-in.

King, speaking ahead of tonight’s match at fifth-placed Merstham, said: “It’s so tight, isn’t it?

“I didn’t realise, but the win on Saturday left us only a point behind Sheppey, who were pushing for the play-offs for a lot longer than we were. I would probably say on reflection bang-on halfway is where we deserve to be. That’s where we are.

“But we have got seven games left to determine where we finish.

“I’m a massive believer you finish where you deserve to finish. If you finish 17th, you’re the 17th-best in the league.

“We would have taken that at the start of the season, but I think we’ve shown we’re better than that.

“It’s going to be close between five or six clubs.”

The Hoops return to home action this weekend, looking to improve their fortunes at the Charles Sports Ground, against another play-off chasing team in seventh-placed Three Bridges.

It had been a bit of a fortress in recent years before suffering three defeats in five games in 2025 at home.

“It’s going to be really tough,” noted King.

“They got beaten in the play-off final last season and, when they were playing at Chatham, they struggled a little bit.

“But since they have gone back to their ground and on their new 3G pitch, they have hardly lost. They have been unbelievable.

“But when we played them away (losing 2-1), we more than matched them. We have had two disappointing results at home against Erith Town and AFC Croydon.

“We haven’t lost any support this season and that’s been fantastic. If anything, we have picked up some fans.

“Three Bridges are probably a side you wanted to play at the start of the season in hindsight, but also, our long-term aim is to get into the play-offs in this division.

“These games will show where we’re at and where we still need to get to.”

Deal will hold youth-team trials for their under-13s, under-14s, under-16s and under-18s for the 2025/26 season on Thursday, April 17.

Go to t.ly/MMChW if interested.