We felt it had been coming and to beat Chatham 7-1 in the first local derby against our old rivals for years was a great boost for all involved, says Sheppey United assistant Barry Morgan

SHEPPEY UNITED assistant manager Barry Morgan says thrashing Chatham Town 7-1 yesterday has given everyone at the club a great boost.

Striker Dan Bradshaw took his goalscoring tally for the season to six after scoring four goals, while Luke Harvey scored twice and Luke Girt also got on the scoresheet.

“Yesterday’s result was a good one,” said Morgan, who is Ernie Batten’s assistant.

“We felt it had been coming and to beat Chatham 7-1 in the first local derby against our old rivals for years was a great boost for all involved.

“From the start we dominated the play with our quality passing game and it came as no surprise when we scored, with the subsequent goals coming thick and fast after, leaving us 5-0 up at half-time.

“What can you say to the boys at half-time after that?

“All the usual clichés in the dressing room was followed by a great start to the season half where we added to our tally.

“We were a bit disappointed conceding, but we’re not going to let that take the gloss off a top showing.

“It was a great team performance throughout the game but I have to say Dan Bradshaw and Luke Harvey were clinical with their finishing and midfield general Luke Girt rounded off a great personal game with a cool finish.”

Chatham Town, who suffered relegation from the Isthmian League Division One South at the end of last season, remain rooted to the foot of the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division after losing both of their opening league games, while Sheppey United are in the top eight, having bagged four points from their opening three league outings.

Sheppey United travel to Whitstable Town tomorrow, a side that are in the top six with two wins out of two, having come away from Hollands & Blair with a 2-1 win yesterday.

“We’re looking to build on Saturday’s plusses and hopefully adding to them in certain areas,” said Morgan.

“We will likely be changing the personnel here and there as two games in 48 hours is a big ask, but we feel we have a strong enough squad to enable this approach.

“As far as the season so far is concerned, we’re reasonably happy with the squad’s progress.

“We were very disappointed with our display in defeat against Rusthall in our opening league game, but that’s not to take anything away from our opponents on the day, who deserved their win.

“However, the boys reaction after that has been excellent.  We have a good group, who are prepared to fight for each other. We try to play the game the right way and we believe everything is moving in the right direction.”

Visit Sheppey United’s website: www.sheppeyunitedfc.co.uk

Whitstable Town   v  Sheppey United
Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division
Bank Holiday Monday, 28^th August 2017
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Belmont, Belmont Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1QJ