Deal Town vs Glebe FC

Recap

FA Cup Preliminary Round

If the Hoops want to progress further in this season’s Emirates FA Cup they will again have to do so by the “replay route” following Saturday’s preliminary round draw with Glebe.

The re-match will be at Chislehurst on Tuesday where Derek Hares and his side will be hoping that the tie follows the pattern of what happened in the previous round against Corinthian when, after surrendering a 2-0 half-time lead in their first meeting, Deal eventually came out on top in the replay.

And, although the Hoops won’t have “home advantage” on this occasion, as they did in the Corinthian replay, Hares will be able to call upon Charlie Walsh and Joe Reeves following the completion of their three-match suspensions while Sam Wilson should also be available again after being ruled out of Saturday’s tie by work commitments.

Hares said: “It was a fair result in the end and we are still not out of it, but I’m just disappointed that once again we couldn’t hold on to a 2-0 lead. I think we were worthy of that at half-time but in the second half we suffered from our same old problem of not defending properly at set pieces.”

That familiar failing resurfaced within three minutes of the restart after Glebe were awarded a free-kick 30-yards out  near their right touchline. Dan Gunner curled in a cross which the Hoops defence failed to Deal with and the ball ended up after one bounce in the far corner.

It was obviously just the boost Glebe were looking for as they tried to repair the damage from the first half, while from Deal’s viewpoint worse was to follow only three minutes later when they allowed a long throw-in to reach Arlie Desanges who then produced a sharp turn and strike past James Tonkin.

So it was suddenly “all square” again after a first half that had saw the Hoops build an apparently solid platform from which to go on and book their place in the next round. They were given a “flying start” by Harry Alexander who, following a long clearance by Tonkin, used his pace to cut through the Glebe defence and score after just five minutes.

And the visitors, who last season knocked Deal out of the FA Vase in a replay at the Charles Ground, fell further behind just before the half hour mark when the Hoops produced the best move of the match. Alexander and Andy Miller combined neatly before the latter’s cross saw Ryan Philpott’s close-range effort blocked by Glebe keeper Dean Nash, but Steve O’Brien was on hand to scramble the loose ball over the line.

Nash, who had earlier palmed away a fierce strike from Philpott, then kept Glebe in the tie two minutes before the break when he used his knees to block Alexander’s low drive. A third Deal goal then may well have proved decisive, but instead Glebe took control in the second half to earn a deserved second chance.

Finally, a mention for referee Lee Martin-Cramp and his assistants who all contributed positively to another entertaining cup tie at the Charles Ground.

Deal: Tonkin, Hark, O’Brien, Connolly, Smith, Bigginton, Miller, Philpott (Coyne 71), Alexander (Taderara), Adams (Gregory 76).

Attendance: 121