Deal manager Derek Hares described Saturday’s victory over Glebe as “one of our most pleasing wins of the season” after watching his team take their goal tally to 14 in the last three matches.

“Glebe were very physical and I thought our young side stood up to them very well,” Hares said. “You’ve also got to take into account that we had several players missing and so for me that has got to be one of our most pleasing wins of the season.”

Glebe also showed several changes from the side beaten 6-3 by the Hoops a week earlier and, having lost 7-2 in a cup replay at Deal in September, the Chislehurst outfit were clearly intent on avoiding a third heavy defeat at the Charles Ground this season.

But it took the Hoops just four minutes to set themselves on course for this latest victory when debutant Euan Sahadow, the 17-year-old striker signed on a dual registration agreement with Folkestone Invicta in midweek, produced a calm finish following Danny Smith’s free-kick into the box.

The next 25 minutes then saw some high-energy, end-to-end football by both sides but once again Glebe were let down by poor defending as Deal struck twice more in the space of four minutes. The first came from man-of-the-match Jack Paxman after a Glebe defender deflected Alfie Foster’s chip into the midfielder’s path, and then Lee Scott popped up with a rare goal, heading home unchallenged after keeper Darren Behmet had tipped Smith’s cross against the bar.

Suddenly finding themselves three goals adrift with nearly an hour still to play Glebe were again facing another long afternoon, but Derek Duncan gave them fresh hope by drilling a low 20-yarder past James Tonkin right on half-time, and when Glebe re-emerged after the break they were clearly determined not to go down without a fight.

The result was that the Hoops were on the back foot during the early stages of the second half, with Terlochan Singh and Bryan Zepo both going close for the visitors. But, as in the match-up a week earlier, their inability to cope with Danny Smith’s inswinging corners again proved costly when, with 64 minutes gone, the left-back’s near-post delivery flew into the net off the head of a Glebe player.

That proved enough to knock the stuffing out of Glebe, and Connor Coyne missed a couple of good chances before rattling the crossbar in the closing stages as Deal again threatened to run up another big winning margin over the visitors.

Hares added: “We obviously had a great first half but they got back in it with that goal right on half-time, and they came out for the second half really fired up and ready to go for it. But I thought we defended really well and then the fourth goal killed the game off.”

Deal: Tonkin, Paxman, K Smith, Hill (C Miller 46), Hark, D Smith, Scott (Brisley 82), Foster, Coyne, Sahadow (Reeves 68), Adams.