Non-League and Academy football writer

Combined Counties Football League Premier Division North side Hilltop faced Deal Town (of the Isthmian League South East Division) on Sunday afternoon at Silver Jubilee Park, in an FA Cup extra preliminary round tie. Step 5 side Hilltop lost 2-0 away to Windsor & Eton, in their opening league match of the new season. Step 4 side Deal Town’s league season hasn’t started yet. This cup tie would finish 2-2, with Deal Town scoring two late goals, to make sure that there will be a replay next week (on Tuesday), in Kent.

Started a good pace, Deal Town would work the ball in to the Hilltop penalty area on a couple of occasions, with there being a couple of early goalscoring chances. Hilltop player Adnan Jamac would whip a free-kick effort wide of the Deal goal, from the edge of the Deal penalty area, with Hilltop having now started to play their game to good effect. There continued to be some good passages of play in this match, and after Nadeer Kahssay had done well to keep in a lofted pass towards the byline, he would pass the ball to Hussein Mahdi, who was on the left-hand side of the penalty area. Hussein Mahdi’s resulting low effort on goal was well pushed behind by Deal Town’s goalkeeper, James Tonkin.

In the 35th minute of this contest Hilltop would take the lead. A Hilltop forward move would result in the impressive Adnan Jamac getting to the ball between 15 and 20 yards out from the Deal goal. The Hilltop player would then hit a brilliant effort, with both power and swerve, and which saw the ball move, on its way high in to the goal, 1-0. Deal Town would start to create some decent chances towards the end of the first half. Shortly after Rory Smith had connected with a cross inside the centre of the Hilltop penalty area, his powerful headed effort would hit the goalkeeper’s left-hand post, with a defender then clearing the ball behind for a corner-kick. From the resulting corner-kick Ben Chapman would head an effort wide of the Hilltop goal.

Hilltop would start the second half of this cup tie really well. After Anis Assoweh’s excellent overhead kick effort, following a cross to the centre of the Deal box had been well parried by James Tonkin, Mohamed Hussein’s diving header on the follow-up would then go wide of the goal. However, in the 52nd minute of the match Hilltop would double their lead. Going forward with the ball at pace, Hussein Mahdi would receive the ball inside of Deal Town’s half of the pitch, before continuing forward with it for a bit, and then playing a through-ball pass towards the run of Nadeer Kahssay, just in behind of the Deal defence. The Hilltop forward was through on goal inside of the penalty area, before finishing low and well beyond James Tonkin, in to the goal, 2-0.

Deal Town needed a goal, but Hilltop’s defence was proving very effective. Deal did go close to getting a goal back in this tie, after a forward had met a cross from the left-hand side of the Hilltop box, which the goalkeeper had tried to stop. However, this powerful headed effort on goal was brilliantly read and blocked on the goal-line, by Hilltop defender Qusey Yislam. A couple of minutes later Deal Town’s captain – Macca Murray, would see his curling low free-kick effort (from the edge of the Hilltop box) be gathered by Hossam Hassan, in the Hilltop goal.

Hilltop did have chances to seal their place in the next qualifying round of the FA Cup, during the latter stages of this game. After Hilltop substitute Arale Mohamed had skilfully cut inside with the ball from the right-hand side of the pitch, he would then hit a low effort wide of the Deal goal. A couple of minutes later, and a Hilltop counter would result in Hilltop substitute Ali Mohamed passing the ball the short distance to Arale Mohamed on the left-hand side of the Deal box, his resulting curling effort was gathered by James Tonkin. 

Late on in the game (close to the 90th minute) and Deal Town’s slim chances of earning a replay were boosted, after Ali Mohamed was sent off for Hilltop. After being shown a straight red card for something that had happened inside of the Hilltop penalty area (I just missed what had happened), Deal Town were also awarded a penalty by the referee. Macca Murray would finish both powerfully and clinically in to roof of the goal, 2-1.

With Deal now really pushing a lot of their players in to Hilltop’s half of the pitch, Deal really tried to score a very late equaliser. In the 96th minute of this very eventful cup tie the away side would manage to do just that. Deal Town substitute Ife Oni would manage to get a looping forward ball, just in behind of the Hilltop defence. Now inside of their penalty area but still under pressure, Ife Oni’s effort on goal was well closed down and saved by Hossam Hassan. However, on the follow-up and in real style, considering he was off balance and having to adjust in order to get an effort away on goal, Deal player Owen Wilkinson would finish both powerfully and accurately in to the roof of the Hilltop goal, 2-2.

This was a really good and competitive cup tie. Of course Hilltop will be very disappointed that they were just unable to hold on to their lead in the final moments of the game, after a largely very impressive performance, both with and without the ball. But, real credit must go to step 4 side Deal Town, for showing great character to get back in to the game to make sure that there’ll be a replay, with it looking highly unlikely that they’d be able to achieve that just before the end of normal time.

There were some strong performances on both sides, and I must mention that fantastic opening goal of the game, by Adnan Jamac. Hilltop central-defender Kieran Marshall was outstanding both in the way in which he defended and read the game, and he was my player of the match, after an excellent performance. Unfortunately Kieran Marshall had to be substituted off late on (Hilltop were leading 2-0 at the time), but he was superb in everything that he did.