I know that all of the players' are up for it, says Erith & Belvedere boss Owen Jones

ERITH & BELVEDERE manager Owen Jones says his side will get punished when they make mistakes having sealed promotion back into the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division after a two-year absence.

The Deres are in eighth-place in the table after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to K Sports on the opening day of the season and coming away from Erith Town with a 1-1 draw last night.

“The players’ were a bit disappointed because the match ended up being a draw but to be honest we deserved a point and we played quite well considering it was our first Premier Division game,” said Jones on his side’s opening game of the new season.

“The support was really good and there was a good atmosphere around the game, the officials’ were good and they were impressed with both sides.”

Jones was full of praise for his highly-rated goalkeeper Dan Teeley for helping his side grab a point in the Erith derby last night.

He said: “We were awful in the first half and Erith Town should have scored at least four or five goals but when you have a keeper like Dan Teeley, anything can happen. He was unbelievable!

“Second half we should have won. We really played well. If we can get the Step Six mentality out of our heads and remember that we are now a Premier Division team, then I am confident that we can do really well this season.

“I am learning more about the Premier Division and you will get punished when you make mistakes at this level.

“It’s a fantastic division for young players, who want to play football at the highest level. It’s a good kick-start for them.

“Anyone who think it’s easy playing at Step Five will be in for a shock!

“I thoroughly enjoyed the game last night and I would like to thank Erith Town for hosting such a good match.”

Erith & Belvedere welcome Peacehaven & Telscombe to Park View Road on Sunday in The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.

The Sussex side started their Southern Combination Premier Division campaign with a 2-1 home defeat to Alford, before coming away from Little Common with a 2-1 win on Tuesday night and are in eleventh-place in the table.

“The fact that this fixture is on a Sunday means that we are managing to attract good quality supporters,” said Jones.

“We don’t know too much about Peacehaven but that they finished well in their division and that they will be a strong, physical side.

“It’s early days for us but we need to continue building to make sure that we can challenge at the higher level and Sunday’s game will be a real challenge.

“I know that all of the players’ are up for it and who knows how far we can go in this amazing competition?

“I am sure that we can get a result and go into the next round. We will certainly try to work hard and compete. It will be challenging but that’s what football is all about.

“It’s early days, our third game of the season so it’s about building up our performances to challenge at the highest level.”

The winners will travel to Chertsey Town or Cobham in the Preliminary Round on Saturday 24 August.

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website:  www.erithandbelvederefc.clubbuzz.co.uk

Erith & Belvedere  v  Peacehaven & Telscombe
The Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Sunday 11 August 2019
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY