Chatham Town Women came close to ending Fulham’s perfect start to the season on an emotional afternoon for boss Keith Boanas.

Boanas’ friend and assistant boss during their time together at Charlton, Matt Beard, has died aged 47. His death was confirmed on Saturday night.

Beard was taken under Boanas’ wing at Tooting & Mitcham and then Charlton Athletic Ladies before establishing himself at the top of the game in his own right, with two spells as manager of Liverpool Women, head coach at American side Boston Breakers, boss at West Ham United Women and a short spell at Burnley.

He’d been best man at Boanas’ wedding in Mexico and the Chatham boss is godfather to his children.

It was devastating news to Boanas, whose Chatham team were due to face a Fulham side with a 100 per cent record at the start of the Women’s National League Division 1 South East season. He saluted his side’s efforts in Sunday’s match, losing 2-1 but fighting all the way with only 10 players in the final 30 minutes.

Boanas considered staying away from Sunday’s game but chose to watch from the boardroom, close enough to communicate any messages that were needed and able to watch as his side came so close to ending Fulham’s winning start.

“It was a real tough one,” he said. “He was my right arm at Charlton and then went on to do his own thing. He’s like a mini-me.

“I wasn’t going to go to the game at one point after I heard the news on Saturday but I couldn’t stay indoors so I went down to watch Kev’s [men’s] game on Saturday against my old club Carshalton.

“I was tossing and turning about whether to go or not on Sunday, and I arranged with my staff, who were brilliant, to take the game.

“I deliberately didn’t go in the dressing room and I stayed out of the dugout. I sat up in the boardroom and just relayed some information through phone calls.

“The only time I really showed my face to the girls was when the skipper came up and one of the other players came up.

“After the game, despite the loss, I was really proud of the way that we fought.

“I went on the pitch at the end to let them know that I was proud and thankful for the way they’d been to me and the way they responded to me, as well and everyone else at the club.

“I didn’t want the negativity to affect their performance. I don’t think it did, it was a good game and we probably deserved a draw out of it in the end.”

Fulham took a 26th-minute lead and with injury issues again hitting Chats’ back-line, it meant Ellie Jeffkins dropping into defence. When she handled on the line, the result was a red card and the visitors scoring from the spot.

With 10 players, Chatham competed well and halved the deficit when Lucy Jones scored, netting at the second attempt after her own penalty had been saved but Chats were unable to find the net again.

“It was an incredible effort,” said Boanas. “We could have capitulated after the second goal.

“We changed formation a little bit. Made a couple of changes. The fightback after that showed real determination and real spirit.

“We got the penalty back and definitely created more chances than them when we had 10 on the pitch. We just couldn’t get a break, didn’t get the rub of the green, which seems to have happened to us a lot in the last couple of weeks.”

Chatham now turn their attention to cup football. On Sunday they host AFC Sudbury in their third Women’s National League cup match, having already won group games against London City Lionesses Academy and Billericay Town.

They travel to Beaconsfield Town the following week in the FA Women’s Cup third qualifying round and in between face Herne Bay in the Isthmian Women’s Cup first round.

“The next two or three games are opportunities to play with less pressure,” Boanas said.

“We’ve drawn Beaconsfield in the FA Cup, who are a couple of leagues below us. I’ll definitely go full strength anyway, because that’s about prize money as well.

“It does take the league situation out of it for a little while. It gives us a chance to get some injuries back and rotate the squad a bit more.”

Last weekend’s defeat to Fulham follows a goalless draw against London Bees in the league and a 1-0 loss to QPR, three games that Chatham feel they could have easily got more from.

Boanas said: “We’re competing and we’re creating chances but we’ve just got to start finding the back of the net again.

“We’ve got such a good group of forward players and we’re working on it a lot in training. It’s just not clicking in games. Sometimes it’s literally the bounce of a ball or a deflection or something. It’s not something you can cure easily.

“I hate using it, but we just need a little bit of luck. We’re not getting it. We’re just not getting it injury-wise or in those situations.

“We’ve had six or seven different centre-backs since the start of the season. Players are having to adjust and rotate.

“I’ve tried to get new ones in and people are kind of hesitant because they know you’ve got the others. They don’t want to come in because they know if you get the others back then they might not get their playing time.

“Everybody wants guaranteed playing time in this day and age.”

Chats’ game against AFC Sudbury on Sunday at the Bauvill Stadium is a 2.30pm kick-off.