Proud Deal boss Steve King went through plenty of emotions in their FA Cup third qualifying round exit at Chatham on Saturday.
The Isthmian South East side bowed out as they put in a plucky performance in a 3-1 loss at the Bauvill Stadium.
Striker Rory Smith put Deal into a surprise sixth-minute lead but two-goal striker Stanley Oldfield and defender Alex Giles put the full-time Isthmian Premier high-fliers into a 3-1 half-time advantage.
With a shortage of defensive options on the substitutes’ bench, it could have easily got much worse for King’s team after the interval, although they edged the second period and were unlucky not to set up a grandstand finish.
King said: “I’ve probably gone through a lot of emotions in the game!
“We came here with a game-plan to try and get at them where we could, and not just be a sitting duck. It’s always hard when you go away to higher-league opposition because you have to show them respect but, also, you want to cause them problems.
“For 15 minutes, we did that really well. We got the goal, which I felt we deserved and then we have been undone by two set-pieces.
Report: Chatham 3-1 Deal
“They, obviously, are going to have a spell. At half-time, you’re thinking ‘Okay, this could be a tough afternoon’ - we already had a game like that earlier this season where it sort of fell apart for us (losing 6-1 at Faversham) - but we played really well in the second half.
“We probably deserved a goal in the second half. Did we deserve two? Probably not.
“But if we got one, anything can happen.
“We have got a bit to learn because I felt we looked a bit soft at the end of the first half but, if you had offered me the performance before the game, I would have taken it - not the result because
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