Rudi Blankson at the double as Horndean bounce back from first Wessex League home loss of season

Four days after a 1-0 loss to Premier Division promotion rivals Stoneham, Deans defeated Blackfield & Langley 2-0 at Five Heads Park.

Former Baffins Milton Rovers striker Blankson struck in each half to take his seasonal tally to 12.

He opened the scoring by bundling in a Chad Field cross from close range, while his second was a ‘lovely composed finish’ according to boss Michael Birmingham.

‘Blackfield came and set deep, a lot of teams are doing that to us, and we had to be patient,’ he added.

‘Blackfield only had two chances and one of them came after their player had rugby tackled Tom Jeffes which the ref missed.’

Ash Howes was recalled after a hamstring injury, while 33-goal top scorer Zack Willett and Sam Hookey were on the bench.

‘I’ve got to try and keep players fresh,’ said Birmingham. ‘It could be that some will be sitting on the bench for a few games.

‘It was nice to bounce back after a very disappointing performance against Stoneham. We were poor, but take nothing away from Stoneham - 100 per cent they deserved it.

‘We had a bit of a bug going through the camp and perhaps some people played who shouldn’t have played, and we got exposed.’

Centre half Luke Dempsey dropped out against Blackfield due to a slight ankle injury, but will be involved in Tuesday’s Portsmouth Senior Cup tie at home to Moneyfields.

Birmingham has at times used these sort of cup ties to give the club’s under-18s a chance of first team football.

Not this time. ‘I will be putting out a strong squad out of respect for Moneyfields and (their chairman) Pete Seiden. I expect Moneyfields will be going as strong as they can.’

Harry Jackson, who missed the Blackfield win through illness, could feature but the quarter-final could come too early for midfielder Ben Anderson (groin).