Non-League and Academy football writer

After a quite incredible 2-2 draw on Sunday of last week, step 5 side Hilltop travelled to Kent, to face step 4 side Deal Town in this FA Cup extra preliminary round replay, at The Charles Sports Ground on Tuesday night. Hilltop were so unlucky not to win the game on Sunday, at Silver Jubilee Park, with Deal Town scoring two very late goals to make sure of a replay. The replay was won 4-1 by Deal Town however, in what was a very professional performance from the step 4 side, in front of over 500 spectators. I traveled to Kent, to report on this match.

Deal Town would start this cup tie strongly. In the opening minute of the game, and  following a Deal corner-kick the ball would fall to Rory Smith, inside the Hilltop box. Smith’s powerful effort would go over Hossam Hassan’s goal. Then, less than 30 seconds after Hilltop forward Drilon Krasniqi had appealed for a Hilltop penalty inside the Deal box, Deal would then counter forward with the ball at pace. Rory Smith would receive a short pass on the right-hand side of the Hilltop penalty area, but his powerful low effort would go across the face of the goal.

Deal Town continued to create chances and see significantly more of the ball, as the first half progressed. Shortly after Alfie Foster had nodded the ball over following Macauley Murray’s free-kick delivery in to the centre of the Hilltop penalty area, Jibril Mahdi would make an important goal-line block, following a low cross in to the away team’s box. And then on the follow-up, a Deal player would hit an effort over the goal. Hilltop would have to make a substitution, after their goalkeeper Hossam Hassan, had sustained an early injury, with Ahmed Omer replacing him in goal for the rest of the game.

Deal Town would continue to put pressure on Hilltop, who were defending well, making some good and decisive blocks inside of their penalty area. After Hilltop captain Mohamed Hussein had made a block to stop a Deal Town header from going in to the goal, on the edge of the Hiltop box from the resulting corner-kick, Rory Smith would hit a powerful low effort just wide. Once again, a powerful low Deal effort from Smith, would go just wide of the goal, after Hilltop had lost possession of the ball on the edge of their penalty area soon after. Not long before half-time a nicely worked move from Hilltop would see Hussein Mahdi pass the ball to Adnan Jamaac, on the edge of the Deal box. Adnan Jamaac would work the space to get an effort away. His powerful effort would deflect up off a Deal defender, as Drilon Krasniqi then got to the ball in the air, as his dipping header went just wide of the goal.

Right on the stroke of half-time Deal would take the lead in this match. Wesley Hennessey would get to a flick on inside the Hilltop penalty area, before finishing powerfully in to the goal, 1-0. Deal would continue to play well during the early stages of the second half. On 47 minutes they would double their lead in this match. With Rory Smith heading the ball in to the goal well, after meeting Wesley Hennessey’s fine cross from the left flank, in to the Hilltop box, 2-0.

Less than three minutes after Deal had got their second goal of the game, they would make it 3-0. Jack Paxman did well to keep Ashley Miller’s pass in on the byline, as his resulting ball across goal wasn’t cleared away, with it falling for Ashley Miller, who finished well in to the goal, 3-0. Hilltop did respond well, playing some good passing football. And with the game almost seeming out of sight following that third goal of the game, Hilltop would catch Deal out. A well worked move would result in the impressive Hussein Mahdi receiving the ball on the edge of the Deal penalty area, and his well hit resulting effort had a lot of pace and power on it, as it found the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, 3-1.

Hilltop continued to improve during the latter stages of the game, with Deal trying to counter forward with the ball. After Ahmed Omer had done well to push a good Deal free-kick effort away from his goal, from the edge of the Hilltop box, Deal would add a late fourth goal, in the 95th minute of the game. Ife Oni had done well to get to a lobbed pass in behind of the Hilltop defence, and to the right-hand side of the penalty area. The Deal Town substitute would then play the ball across to another substitute in Alex Smith, in the centre of the box. Alex Smith’s powerful first time effort would go in to the middle of the goal, 4-1.

This was a very good performance from Deal Town, against a very good step 5 side in Hilltop, who came so, so close to beating Deal on Sunday. Deal Town were deserved winners on Tuesday, with players such as Wesley Hennessey, Rory Smith and Ashley Miller all impressing greatly on the day. The tireless and influential Ashley Miller was however, my overall player of the match. For Hilltop, who have a lot to be proud of, I thought that their best player in this cup tie was Hussein Mahdi. He got forward well with the ball, showing impressive skill on the ball and also scoring a well taken goal. I will be attending the Somali British Champions League final on Sunday, between Hilltop and FC Olympia.