Teenager George Jenner scored the only goal in Deal’s weekend friendly win - and could yet have a role to play in manager Steve King’s first-team squad this season.

The 16-year-old struck his first senior goal at Crowborough Athletic and, while King admits it could be difficult for him to force his way into Deal’s first-team squad, going for Southern Counties East Premier Division promotion this term, Jenner could be an option if he continues to develop.

King, whose side won at Herne Bay on Tuesday night, said: “He has come off the bench against Minster and Gillingham.

“With a couple of people away, he did well in midfield.

“It’s very hard to force your way into the full squad. But he could be an option as the season goes on.

“He’s a strong boy, very fit, and we’ll see how he does, along with other promising youngsters we have got.”

The Hoops battled to victory against Crowborough amid windy conditions, despite ending the game with 10 players due to picking up some knocks.

“It was a proper game of football,” King reflected.

“It got a bit spicy, a couple of yellow cards were handed out.

“We had to play the last 15 minutes with 10 men because we didn’t want to risk anyone else. We actually scored with 10 men, which was nice, and we could have had another at the end.

“It was a test. We’ve planned the friendlies to give us different tests. It was another clean sheet for us and we played well.

“We picked up a few injuries, which is a bit frustrating, but we had done well on that front before then.

“Results don’t matter in pre-season but I would prefer to be winning games than losing.”

Normally, Deal would be without brothers Tom and Ben Chapman for much of pre-season due to cricket commitments. But the former has injured his hand playing cricket and faces an anxious wait to see if he’ll be fully fit for the start of the campaign.

With the start of the 2023/24 term less than a fortnight away, King revealed: “He will not feature in pre-season.

“He was in hospital again on Monday. We will take that one as it comes.

“As long as it’s safe for him to play, he will be out there.”

Deal, who won 1-0 at home against a Gillingham XI through midfielder Billy Munday’s strike last Tuesday, have been handed a tough start to their league season.

They begin with a long journey to Fisher next Saturday, host relegated VCD on Saturday, August 12 - a week after their FA Cup encounter at home to Guildford City - travel to Snodland four days later and also are due to visit another newly-promoted outfit, Lydd, on August Bank Holiday Monday.

King said: “It’s a very tough start but we’re taking a positive stance on that.

“Fisher away is always a difficult place to go and win. But we had to go there on a Tuesday night last season in March so we’ll take that on a Saturday.

“Come the 29th [of July], we will try and perform as best as we can and try to ensure we can get off to a winning start.”

Deal are at home to Division 1 Play-off Semi-Finalists Faversham Strike Force this Saturday (1pm kick-off) and host National League South Dover three days later in their last warm-up game.

New signing Rory Smith was among the scorers as they came out on top in a nine-goal game at Winch’s Field.

Two-goal Aaron Millbank also was on target against his former club, as were Alex Smith, Chapman and Josh Byford.