Deal Town v Glebe

Recap

The Hoops paid the price for failing to convert a number of gilt-edged first half chances into more than one goal at the Charles Ground on Saturday.
After taking a ninth-minute lead through Connor Coyne’s close-range header Deal then carved out three more excellent opportunities before the half hour mark but Sam Wilson, Ben Cardwell and Harris Rodgers were unable to provide a finishing touch to any of them.
So Glebe, very familiar opposition for the Hoops after the two sides met seven times last season, were able to reach the interval only one goal in arrears and the Chislehurst outfit then made the most of their good fortune by taking control of the game in the second half.
They almost equalised five minutes after the restart when Laurent Hamici thundered a shot against the Hoops’ crossbar and for much of the second half it was Glebe who looked the more threatening. But some dogged Deal defensive work, plus a couple of good saves by James Tonkin, meant the visitors had to wait until six minutes from time before grabbing the goal that their second-half efforts deserved when Danny Phillips fired in a low cross which substitute Adam Toubal turned home.
With their slim lead now gone, Deal managed to find another gear in the dying minutes and they twice went desperately close to snatching a winner. First, man-of-the-match Steve O’Brien lashed a volley against the underside of the bar, and then in injury-time substitute Andy Miller was inches away from scoring with a lob.
But it wasn’t to be, and Hoops’ manager Derek Hares admitted afterwards: “In the end 1-1 was probably a fair reflection of the game. I just think if we had taken our chances in the first half we would have won, but we didn’t and then Glebe came out strong in the second half.”
Deal: Tonkin, Hark, O’Brien, Bigginton, K Smith, Scott, Foster (C Miller 72), Cardwell (A Miller 66), Coyne, Wilson, Rodgers (Adams 80).