K Sports 2-2 Deal Town - Really pleased to get through, we were expecting a tough game and we certainly got it, says Deal Town coach Steve King

K Sports 2 – 2 Deal Town
Location	Cobdown Sports & Social Club, Station Road, Ditton, Aylesford, Kent ME20 6AU
Kickoff	07/02/2022 19:45

K SPORTS  2-2  DEAL TOWN
(after extra time – Deal Town win 3-1 on penalties)
Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Cup Third Round
Monday 7 February 2022
Stephen McCartney reports from Cobdown

DEAL TOWN coach Steve King says he’s feeling really pleased to get through to the Quarter-Finals of the Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Cup after his team held their nerve from the penalty spot.

 

Derek Hares’ men joined Crowborough Athletic, Holmesdale, Sheppey United and Sutton Athletic in the last eight, after they won 3-1 after eight penalties after the game was tied at two-all after extra time.

Deal Town arrived at Cobdown sitting in fourth-place in the Premier Division table, having collected 47 points from their 22 games.  They made a couple of changes to the side that beat relegation-threatened Rusthall 2-1 at home at the weekend.

Barry Morgan’s side, meanwhile, were in 12^th place in the table, having collected 32 points from their 25 games and suffered back-to-back home league defeats to Welling Town (4-3) and league leaders Chatham Town (6-0), but they showed good character tonight, after twice falling behind.

Ben Chapman notched his sixth goal of the season to give Deal Town the lead six minutes before the break before poor defending allowed the impressive Oliver Lankshear to take the game to extra-time.

Deal Town targetman Connor Coyne placed in his seventh goal of the season to give his side the lead during the first period of extra-time before K Sports winger Tariq Ibrahim delivered a headed equaliser following another set-piece, to score his sixth goal of the season.

“Really pleased to get through. We were expecting a tough game and we certainly got it,” said King.

“I thought we controlled periods of the game well but K Sports were always a threat and it could have gone either way.

“We knew it would be difficult with our captain and three top scorers all missing but the boys dug in and showed great character to get through.

“We have played a lot of football recently including some really big games and it looked like it may be a game too far tonight, but the boys never stopped working and got their rewards for that endeavour in the end.” 

Deal Town were over reliant on set-pieces during the 120 minutes of football on the artificial playing surface at Cobdown.

“We work hard on our set-pieces and have quite a lot of variety,” added King.

“We knew we could be a threat from them and on the whole our delivery was good. We obviously got the first goal direct from a set-piece and the second come from a second phase set-piece. We were missing a couple of our main threats in Billy Munday and Kane Smith tonight but we still looked dangerous.”

Left-wing-back Jack Penny swung in their first of 10 corners in from the right towards the back post where the unmarked Sam Wilson had to stretch to slide the ball harmlessly past the left-hand post inside the opening five minutes.

K Sports’ left-back Greg Smith clipped the ball into the penalty area for central midfielder Ziyad Ghali to get in behind the defence but his finish was poor from the corner of the six-yard box, lashing his shot over the top of the near post.

Deal Town’s right-back Jack Paxman launched six long throws into the K Sports penalty area during the first-half and Coyne and Wilson flicked their near-post headers wide.

Deal Town created an even better chance in the 15^th minute following a deep free-kick from holding midfielder Macauley Murray.  The ball sailed over towards Paxman in space at the far post but his downward header bounced into the grasp of goalkeeper Charlie Walker, diving to his left to hold.

The Paperboys were forced into making a tactical change in the 22^nd minute when Smith was forced off through injury, so Toby Sargeant came off the bench to make his debut, to replace Smith at right-back and Callum Thomas switched over to left-back.

Chapman picked the ball up in midfield and drove towards the edge of the K Sports penalty area but pulled his right-footed shot past the left-hand post from 25-yards.

K Sports’ central defender Stephane Nzimbakany pressed Wilson and made a vital block as a drilled shot from the corner of the box was heading towards the top near corner, only for Walker to push the ball around his near post.

Murray swung in the resulting corner from the left and Alfie Foster came up from the back to steer his free-header just past the post from inside the six-yard box.

Deal Town took a deserved lead, however, with 38 minutes and 45 seconds on the clock, inevitably from a set-piece.

Paxman launched his third long throw into the penalty area, Wilson flicked the ball on at the near post, Rene Rivera flicked the ball on in the middle and Chapman stabbed the ball over the line at the far post from a couple of yards out.

King said: “The boys did really well to keep the ball alive. A great flick and then Rene Rivera was very brave to win a header before Ben Chapman snuck in there. We said before the game that Ben would score, he always seems to in important cup games.”

Deal Town went close following a similar set-piece routine when Paxman’s fourth long throw was glanced on by Wilson at the near post and the ball was gathered comfortably by the former Gillingham goalkeeper as Deal Town went in to the interval with a deserved lead.

“I was pleased with the first-half but we knew we needed the second goal,” said King.

“Their front players are lively and play the surface well. I was here when they beat Crowborough 5-0 the other week and a similar front line caused all sorts of problems. They score two goals a game at home so we knew we had a lot of work to do in the second half.”

Deal Town should have doubled their lead ten minutes into the second half from open play.

Murray played the ball out to winger Rivera, who raced to the by-line before putting in a low cross towards the back post.  Sargeant was marking Chapman at the far post and Chapman used his arm to control the ball and lacked power with a half-volley inside the six-yard box which was comfortably gathered by Walker, low to his left.

Every player was outside the K Sports penalty area when Penny swung a free-kick towards the far post from the right.  Chapman ran into the box and was left in space but steered his downward header into the ground and the ball bounced up and dropped over the crossbar from four-yards out.

K Sports started to get back into the game after the hour-mark and Lankshear drilled a 25-yarder, which took a deflection and was comfortably held by visiting goalkeeper James Tonkin at head height.

“We knew they would have a spell and it was frustrating that we missed a couple of good chances to go 2-0 in front,” said King.

“I thought they played really well in the last half hour and after the equaliser probably looked the more threatening. We looked a bit tired and got forced back. Rene Rivera remained our main threat but credit to them they were playing well.”

A long ball out of defence then released Lankshear down the right and once inside the box the attacker lacked composure and drilled his shot past the near post when he got in behind Penny.

K Sports went close to equalising in the 65^th minute when the impressive and pacey Ibrahim rode Joe Reeves’ sliding tackle in midfield before he was tackled just outside the penalty area.  The ball rolled out to Lankshear, who cut inside before drilling a right-footed shot which was comfortably saved by Tonkin at his near post.

K Sports goalkeeper Walker made a big save to prevent Deal Town killing off the game halfway through the second half.

Rivera whipped in a cross from the right towards the far post and Coyne took a touch inside the penalty area before drilling a right-footed shot which was blocked by Walker’s legs, as he spread himself to keep his side in the contest.

“It was a great save. He is a very good young goalkeeper and did well tonight. I thought it was a great touch from Coyney and he hit it well but the keeper made himself big and made a great save,” said King.

Miss-communication from Deal Town, however, gifted K Sports the equaliser with 23 minutes and 24 seconds on the clock.

Walker launched a big kick which was allowed to drop inside the Deal Town penalty area.  Goalkeeper Tonkin came out in an attempt to catch the long ball but his left-back Penny opted to head the ball outside the penalty area, with his goalkeeper out of position.

This left a gaping open goal and Lankshear accepted the gift by sweeping a first-time shot into the bottom left-hand corner from 25-yards.

King said: “That was very unlike us to concede a goal like that and I still felt reasonably comfortable at the time. I can't comment too much until I have watched it back tomorrow.”

The goal lifted K Sports’ spirits and they appeared to be the more likely side to go on and win the game in normal time.

Set-piece taker, Ghali swung in their fourth corner of the night which was met by a rising header from Harvey Killick at the back post but the ball looped over from three-yards out.

K Sports went agonisingly close to scoring the winner in the 38^th minute of the second half.

A big kick from Walker was cleared out to Lankshear who took a touch before drilling a right-footed drive towards the top right-hand corner from 35-yards, only for the ball to sail inches wide of the top of the upright.

“The boy was lively all night but I though we defended it well by forcing him wide and Tonks had it covered at the near post, it would have been some strike to score from that angle,” added King.

Neither side could find the winner so the game went into extra-time.

“It was going to be all about character. We were leggy and had boys out there struggling with knocks, but we asked them to keep working and give it their all,” said King.

“Tonight was about getting across the line, however we needed to do it. I have worked with these boys for a long time and know they will never give up and we needed that spirit in extra time.”

Ghali swung in the home side’s fifth corner of the night, which was cleared out to centre-half Jack Bray, whose cross-shot from 35-yards beat Tonkin only for the ball to kiss the top of the crossbar and drop behind for a goal-kick, after 105 seconds.

However, Deal Town took exactly eight minutes to take the lead for the second time on the night, following their eighth corner.

Joe Reeves, who replaced Paxman at half-time and played right-back, swung in a corner from the left and a couple of shots were blocked inside the penalty area.

The ball came back out to Reeves, who clipped the ball back into the penalty area and Coyne placed his right-footed shot across the flat-footed Walker to find the bottom far corner from 16-yards.

“It was a great goal, that is Coyney all over. He worked really hard tonight after a tough 90 minutes on Saturday where he also got a late winner. He scores so many goals like that and it was a crucial one. Full credit to him for his performance,” said King.

Max Niblett fed the ball into Wilson, who fed Coyne, whose right-footed deflected drive from 25-yards was comfortably gathered by the K Sports goalkeeper.

The home side created the last chance of the first period when Ghali drilled a free-kick into the Deal penalty area and Bray rose above Coyne at the back post to plant his header over the crossbar.

Hares and King decided to bring on Sam Gibson at the interval and played the second period with five men across the back in a bid to protect their slender lead.

Gibson had a chance following Deal Town’s ninth corner of the game but steered his header past the post at the far post after Penny’s corner from the right.

Fellow substitute Ben Cardwell had three Paperboys swarming around him by the time his shot on the turn from just outside the penalty area was comfortably saved by Walker.

K Sports grabbed the equaliser with three minutes and 10 seconds on the clock with a set-piece routine of their own.

Killick launched a long throw in from the right and Tonkin parried Nzimbakany’s drilled volley high to his right and the ball dropped down for Ibrahim to rise to bury his header into the roof of the net from close range in the centre of the goal.

“Another sloppy one from us. The ball seemed to drop after we lost the first contact and Tonks made a great save but it unfortunately dropped straight to their lad,” said King.

“We are disappointed with the two goals we conceded but I need to watch them back and then we will talk about them at training on Thursday.”

Neither side could the decisive winner after that, so the game was settled by eight penalties in the shoot-out.

Deal Town went first and Reeves’ right-footed penalty was pushed around the post by Walker, who smothered the shot beside the post to prevent the ball finding the bottom right-hand corner.

K Sports also had their first spot-kick saved by Tonkin, who smothered the ball to his left to deny Ghali.

Rivera drilled his right-footed penalty into the roof of the net straight down the middle as Walker went to his right.

K Sports’ holding midfielder Kwasi Amoah received a slice of luck as his right-footed penalty crept into the bottom left-hand corner, despite Tonkin guessing the right way and almost keeping the ball out.

Penny drilled his left-footed penalty past the diving Walker to give Deal Town a 2-1 lead.

Luke Frost, who entered the game halfway through extra-time stepped up and lashed his right-footed penalty into orbit as his attempt towards the roof of the net went horribly wrong.

Deal Town goalkeeper Tonkin drilled his right-footed penalty into the top right hand corner, leaving his opposite number well beaten.

Thomas drilled his right-footed penalty into orbit too, as Deal Town progressed, much to the delight of the large Deal contingent in the crowd of 136.

King said: “Obviously pleased to win! Because the Vase went straight to penalties this year we have been practising them for the last couple of months so we were confident in our order and the players who were going to step up.

“Tonks loves a penalty shoot-out as well and made a great save after our early miss. Our other penalties were excellent and it was a moment of relief when we went through.”

Both sides return to league action on Saturday and both are away from home.  Morgan takes K Sports to Bearsted, while Deal Town travel to Crowborough Athletic.

King said: “Another tough one. Crowborough have had a great season after a tough start. Sean Muggeridge has been in this league as long as we have and we always have close competitive games.

“I know they have quite a young side but have lots of energy and quality and we will need to pick ourselves up and go again. We will be fully prepared and will be in Thursday to get ready for another big week.

“We have 16 games to go in the league to pick up as many points as possible and a Quarter Final to look forward to. We are delighted with how the season has gone so far but want to keep going.

“Other than two or three new signings this is the same side that we have had for the last three years so it is a sign of our progress that we have moved from being a top 10 team into the top four or five currently.

“We have a lot of tough fixtures to come but look forward to them and we will try and finish as high as we can. If we can progress further in this competition too that would be brilliant.”

King, meanwhile, thanked the travelling contingent that attended the game.

“A massive thank you to all of our supporters who travelled. We bought a coach and had at least 70-80 fans cheering us on. It makes a huge difference along with our excellent home crowds. They made a real difference tonight when the legs were starting to go so a massive thank you to them all.”

K Sports' manager Barry Morgan said it was a shame that his side exited the Challenge Cup.

K Sports: Charlie Walker, Callum Thomas, Greg Smith (Toby Sargeant 22), Kwasi Amoah, Jack Bray, Stephane Nzimbakany, Tariq Ibrahim, Ziyad Ghali, Oliver Lankshear, Herve Mbongue (Luke Frost 106), Harvey Killick.
Subs: Martin Youngah, Noah Hamelberg, Richard Nunn

Goals: Oliver Lankshear 69, Tariq Ibrahim 109

Booked: Tariq Ibrahim 90, Toby Sargeant 117

Deal Town: James Tonkin, Jack Paxman (Joe Reeves 46), Jack Penny, Macauley Murray (Ben Cardwell 89), Liam Hark, Alfie Foster, Max Niblett, Sam Wilson, Connor Coyne (Sam Gibson 106), Ben Chapman, Rene Rivera.
Subs: John Brayne, Kieron Hollier

Goals: Ben Chapman 39, Connor Coyne 99

Booked: Jack Paxman 17, Macauley Murray 68, Sam Wilson 82

Attendance: 136
Referee: Mr Joshua Gilham
Assistants: Mr Stephen Luke & Mr Paul Webb