HOOPS SHOOT DOWN BRIDGY
King admits he felt the dream was dead
DEAL boss Steve King thought his side were “dead and buried” when they trailed on penalties to Bridgwater United, yet the Hoops held their nerve in the shoot-out.
Two early strikes put the Southern Counties East outfit into a comfortable position but second-half goals either side of a red card for the visitors sent the match to spot-kicks. After Bridgwater Town spurned a chance to win the tie and make history, Ben Chapman squeezed his penalty into the bottom corner to send the Kent side into the quarters for the first time in 24 years.
It took just 89 seconds for Deal to break the deadlock thanks to Tom Chapman’s swerving effort. Taking aim from 25 yards out, he caught debutant goalkeeper Luke Purnell off guard with a shot that clipped the right post before flashing across the face of the goal and nestling in the bottom left corner.
The weight of expectation on Bridgwater, who have never progressed past the fifth round, was visible with Deal penning them in and forcing mistakes. They smelt blood and made good of their early dominance on
20 minutes, adding a second goal through Rory Smith.
A through ball down the right was squared into the box with Smith the first to find it at the near post, poking the ball into the roof of the net. After the hectic first half-hour, the hosts settled into the game but lacked intensity and struggled to test Deal’s reserve stopper James Tonkin.
Bridgwater were quick out of the blocks after the restart though and the pressure eventually produced a lifeline when Tonkin’s poor clearance landed at the feet of Ben Griffiths. The midfielder took one touch then whipped an effort above two Deal defenders and into the roof of the empty net from 35 yards out.
Five minutes later the hosts were handed another dose of good fortune, this time in the form of a second yellow card for Deal Town’s Macaulay Murray following a reckless sliding challenge on Jack Thorne. The numerical advantage only aided Bridgwater’s second-half dominance with substitute Jack Taylor testing Tonkin twice in quick succession before Bridgwater levelled on 69 minutes. Jay Murray’s cross from deep was perfectly diverted into the bottom corner by Thorne, sending most of the 445 in attendance at Fairfax Park into raptures.
The perfect comeback looked as if it had been completed minutes later when Taylor headed into the ground and beyond Tonkin at the back post. However, the linesman’s flag was raised as he reeled off in premature celebration. Deal surprisingly looked the more likely of the two sides to score as the game neared the final whistle. A scramble in the Bridgwater box during injury time pan
icked some home fans but Purnell was well-placed to quell the danger and ensure the game headed for penalties. Aaron Millbank saw his penalty saved by Purnell to give Bridgwater an early lead in the shootout, however, Thorne couldn’t convert when he had the chance to send the Robins through. Tonkin successfully scored Deal’s sixth spot-kick before displaying strong hands to deny Taylor. Purnell then guessed correctly but couldn’t stop Ben Chapman’s winning effort from crossing the line as the away side’s players and staff raced towards their travelling supporters in a mood of jubilation and relief. King heaped praise on shoot-out hero Tonkin afterwards when he said: “Our goalkeeper is cup-tied for the Vase so he comes in and plays, and [he] loves a penalty shootout. We secretly inside, with him in goal, thought he’d save one or two, he normally takes one – which he did. I was confident, I’ve taught the boy since he was 11 so we had a little inkling with him in goal.”