Deal Town manager Steve King not reading anything into Canterbury City's FA Cup hiding ahead of derby

Deal boss Steve King isn’t reading anything into Canterbury City’s FA Cup mauling ahead of tonight’s derby.

City were hammered 10-0 last Wednesday in an FA Cup replay away to Southern Combination Premier Division Newham after a 1-1 draw in the original tie.

It was a defeat which raised a few eyebrows but Keith Bird’s team responded in the Southern Counties East Premier Division last weekend with a 3-2 win over Holmesdale which they will hope to build on.

The Hoops will visit Three Bridges in the FA Cup this Saturday after the league contest before they travel to Alfold the following weekend.

King, whose team have beaten Punjab and Glebe in their first two league fixtures, said: “Canterbury is a big local derby.

“They had a big defeat last week but we will not be reading anything into a cup result like that.

“They were good enough to draw with Newhaven in the first game. We will have two big cup games after that.

“If we can go into that with nine points from three games, that’s great. But we are certainly not taking anything for granted.

“I know a few of their players so they will have our absolute full respect.”