A scrambled injury-time equaliser by Whitstable’s Stuart West denied the Hoops victory in this FA Cup extra preliminary round tie and means the sides will have to meet again in Wednesday night’s replay at The Belmont.

Deal had led 2-0 at half-time against their Bostik League South East Division opponents and manager Derek Hares said: “I’m obviously disappointed that we lost a two-goal lead but I think this game showed that we are heading in the right direction. Whitstable won promotion from our league last season and came into this tie as favourites. But they know they have been in a game today and I think we will give another good account of ourselves on Wednesday, especially as we will have Steve Butcher, Lee Scott and Luke Bigginton all back and probably Charlie Walsh as well.”

The unavailability of Scott and Bigginton in particular proved crucial as far as Saturday’s game was concerned because, with stand-in centre-half Alfie Foster having to limp off after 35 minutes, the Hoops had to play all the second half with a makeshift defence.

Hares added: “The injuries we’ve got meant we had to make a lot of changes in key positions and I think that affected our performance in the second half. But when I look at the game as a whole ‘Tonks’ (James Tonkin) hardly had a full-blooded save to make and both their goals were scrambled affairs.”

At the other end it was the Hoops who always looked the more likely to score in the opening first 45 minutes and it was new signing Harris Rodgers who gave Deal the lead just two minutes after coming on for Foster. Whitstable ‘keeper Dan Eason could only parry Sam Wilson’s strike and Rodgers reacted quickest to score his first goal for the club.

And Rodgers was also involved in Deal’s second goal on the stroke of half-time. It looked as though Rodgers was fouled as he challenged for Wilson’s low cross, but while his team-mates appealed for a penalty Wilson showed a striker’s instinct to stab the loose ball home.

So the Hoops went in at the break with a two-goal cushion and Whitstable manager Scott Porter, whose side were playing their first competitive game of the season, could be plainly heard during the half-time interval making clear to his players what he thought of their distinctly “rusty” first half performance.

And the Oystermen did start the second half with more intent but they still needed the help of a 53rd-minute own goal to get back into the tie. When skipper James Morrish headed a deep cross back into the six-yard box Hoops’ midfielder Trinn Brisley could only divert the ball past Tonkin as he tried to deny Ricky Freeman a close-range chance.

It gave Whitstable just the encouragement they needed but Deal still continued to look dangerous on the break and Connor Coyne twice went close to converting right-wing crosses. And, with man-of-the-match Kane Smith holding the Hoops’ backline together in superb fashion, the start of injury-time arrived with Deal still in front. But they then conceded an unnecessary corner and paid the price when West bundled the ball home in amongst a melee of players.

Deal: Tonkin, Hark, O’Brien, Foster (Rodgers 35), K Smith, C Miller, Cardwell (Howard 78), Brisley (Alexander 65), Coyne, Wilson, Chapman.

Att: 187