Chatham Town’s depleted squad battle to 1-1 Isthmian Premier draw at promotion-chasing Horsham; Chats visit Dover Athletic for derby next up

Chatham Town’s depleted squad battle to 1-1 Isthmian Premier draw at promotion-chasing Horsham; Chats visit Dover Athletic for derby next up

The young guns stepped up for Chatham in their 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Horsham on Saturday.

Chats manager-chairman Kevin Hake travelled to Sussex to face one of the teams involved in a hotly-contested Isthmian Premier title race with a depleted side after an illness outbreak.

Kareem Isiaka - scored as Chatham’s depleted squad drew 1-1 at promotion-chasing Horsham last weekend. Picture: max.ephotography@outlook.com
Kareem Isiaka – scored as Chatham’s depleted squad drew 1-1 at promotion-chasing Horsham last weekend. Picture: max.ephotography@outlook.com

That meant Hake named six teenagers in his squad as forward Kareem Isiaka cancelled out the Hornets’ first-half strike from Jamie Yila’s deflected driven cross early after the restart, with debutant goalkeeper Henry Molyneux also making a superb reaction save to deny home midfielder Charlie Hester-Cook.

“We haven’t had much luck this season with injuries and, to top it off, we have had a big flu outbreak at the club, losing five players to it,” explained Hake.

“Looking at the positives, it has allowed us to look at the depth of the squad and get some youngsters up the pecking order.

“Six teenagers in the squad and four starting for the game at Horsham was promising.

“To play in the manner we did, the least we deserved was a point.”

Chatham boss Kevin Hake. Picture: Ian Scammell
Chatham boss Kevin Hake. Picture: Ian Scammell

Next up for the mid-table Chats is a derby trip to Dover on Saturday.

While Jake Leberl’s team are in the play-off spots, they have suffered a drastic dip in form of late.

They last won in the league at Crabble in mid-November, losing five times and drawing twice since.

Charlie Naylor - has now returned to Dover, having left them for Chatham last summer. Picture: Randolph File
Charlie Naylor – has now returned to Dover, having left them for Chatham last summer. Picture: Randolph File

Hake, whose side drew 1-1 against Dover at the Bauvill Stadium as striker George Nikaj cancelled out captain Jack Evans’ opener, said: “We now look to the Dover away game, which I very much look at like I did the Dulwich game last year or Dartford away this year.

“It’s one of those moments for me that we could have only dreamed of three years ago.

“We go into the game with our confidence being high and, if we perform like we did Saturday, then we are more than a match for anyone this season.”

Utility player Charlie Naylor has returned to Dover after he initially left the club for Chatham last summer.

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