We have to be at our best to beat Ashford, says Deal Town boss Derek Hares

DEAL TOWN manager Derek Hares says he is expecting a tough game against Ashford Untied on Saturday.



Deal Town are anticipating a crowd of at least 200 for the visit of Paul Chambers’ side in an eagerly-anticipated FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie between the two Kent clubs.

Deal opened their Kent Hurlimann Football League campaign with a 5-1 home win over Holmesdale, but they suffered a 3-0 defeat at Lordswood last night.

Ashford United, who finished in fifth-place in the inaugural Kent Invicta League campaign, have played higher-league club’s in pre-season and Chambers’ side actually begin their campaign in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Reflecting on their opening two league games, Hares said: “One good, one bad!  Saturday was excellent to be honest. We played very well. I don’t think 5-1 flattered us!

“Last night, again we played very well first half, possibly should have been a couple goals up. Then we conceded two goals within a matter of minutes really.  That killed the game off and after that Lordswood were on top.

“I was disappointed with the result last night. The first half performance was good. I think whoever scored the first goal was likely to win because it was tight.”

Deal Town endured a miserable campaign last season, finishing second-from-bottom and suffering a fire at their ground at St Leonards Road.

“It was obviously a lot going on off the pitch and I think that affected what was going on, on the pitch if I’m absolutely honest,” admitted Hares.

“Our new chairman has revamped things at the club. He’s got more or less a new board and the focus now is more on the football as it has been for a long time.

“The thing is at the moment we have got a very young side, the youngest side we’ve had for a long time. There will be some ups and downs I’m sure.

Although Ashford United play one level underneath Deal Town, Hares still expects their opponents to be a tough nut to crack.

“That’s going to be an interesting game.  They’ve got aspirations of winning their league and getting back into the Kent League and they’ve got a lot of good, experienced players there, so it’s going to be a tough game,” warned Hares.

“You only have to look at their side. Although they lost 4-1 last night at Folkestone,  that’s no disgrace.  We played Folkestone a few weeks ago and Folkestone were a good side.

“They lost 5-1 (to Crawley Down Gatwick) on Saturday didn’t they, but you can’t read too much into that.  I’m sure they will give us a tough game.”

Deal Town will have to avoid slipping up on the potential banana skin against Kent Invicta League opposition.

Hares said: “To be honest I don’t think from my point of view I’m certainly not looking at them as the underdogs.  I know they’re going to give us a good game and we have to be at our best to win.”

Hares wants his players to learn from last night and take their chances against Ashford.

He said: “Saturday we played well in the first half and scored the goals. Last night we could have been two or three up at half-time but we didn’t take our chances and we conceded.

“Also we were without Liam Quinn last night and I think we missed him a bit to be fair.”

Hares revealed the influential former Dover Athletic, Whitstable Town and Ramsgate midfielder misses Saturday’s FA Cup tie as he is still away on holiday.

When asked what Quinn brings to the party, Hares said: “He just brings that experience and he’s just a good player. We’re lucky to have him.  We’ve also got some good youngsters there and I think we’ll be ok.”

The winner of Saturday’s FA Cup tie will scoop 1,000 in prize money.

The Deal Town boss said: “I don’t really think about the money side of it but the chairman and the directors will.  Both clubs would dearly like to win, obviously to progress and put a little bit of money in their pocket.

“Ashford get quite a good following from what I gather.  I’m expecting at least 200 fans on Saturday.”

When asked what kind of game he is expecting against Ashford, Hares replied, “A tough game. I think it will be close, a hard game. I know a lot of the players who are playing for them.  Mo Takaloo was playing for me for a couple of years at Deal but they’ve got a lot of experience.  They’ve probably got a team that’s better for the league they’re actually in, but I still feel if we play as we have done in pre-season, alright we lost last night, I think we’re ok.”

When asked what his aspirations are for the season ahead, Hares replied, “We’re a lot better than we were last year!  To be honest I’ve got no set targets. We don’t want to go through what we did last year and aim as high as we can.”

Visit Deal Town’s website:  www.pitchero.com/clubs/dealtown

Deal Town  v Ashford United
The FA Cup with Budweiser Extra Preliminary Round
Saturday 11^th August 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Charles Sports Ground, St Leonards Road, Deal, Kent CT14 9AU