Almost a year into the job as first-team goalkeeper, Brandon Hall has earned praise from his manager ahead of tomorrow’s Sutton United match.
Although the former Charlton Athletic youth goalkeeper played Kent Senior Cup games and one league match against Dorchester Town in 2013/14, it was in last season’s home game against Sutton United, almost a year to the day, where he was handed the gloves on a regular basis.
That came about after Preston Edwards’ sending-off at Hayes & Yeading and Hall slotted into the side that kept a clean sheet, beating tomorrow’s opponents 3-0. He went on feature another 30 times last season and this summer was made the club’s No.1.
“Brandon’s a very, very good young goalkeeper, he’s very mature when you consider his age,” McMahon told FleetOnline. “He’s only 22 which is especially young for a keeper and he’s also ‘young’ in terms of the number of games he’s played.
“But he’s shown this season so far that his concentration levels are outstanding. When he’s had to make saves in these first few games, a lot of the times he’s been dormant, had nothing to do for a long spell in the game. But he still concentrates and makes crucial saves at the right time and pops up to claim crosses and break up attacks. He’s had a really good start to the season.”
Hall made a big difference at Margate at crucial stages in the match and is currently leading the fans’ man of the match vote. And the Fleet boss is sure his presence is helping a defence that has conceded fewer goals than any other team in the league. “Brandon made two cracking saves in the Margate game that were vital,” McMahon said. “One in the first half just before we scored and then another in the second from Danny Green.
“And we need him to do that because we’re not going to have it all our own way through the season. We’re going to need Brandon to continue performing well. It starts from him, then likewise the defence can feel comfortable and those five players are tasked with keeping the goals against column low which is the basis for any team’s success.”
