A second consecutive free weekend has been welcomed by Deal manager Steve King.

They lost their replayed FA Cup Preliminary Round game at division rivals Lydd 4-2 on Monday, having been handed a bye in the FA Vase last Saturday. They are without a match this Saturday once more with scheduled Southern Counties East Premier Division opponents Faversham in FA Cup action.

That’s welcome news for the Hoops, who have been plagued by injuries and unavailability.

“The bonus of the situation is we’re going to get to September 9 six games into the season where we will have played four league games,” said King.

“If we had played 10, we would have been in trouble.

“Obviously, we need to try and get people back fit. But Alfie Foster has finished his suspension and the cricket boys will be available.

“Alex Green - somehow - managed to get through 60 minutes on Monday. He perhaps shouldn’t have been on the football pitch.

“Hopefully, after a couple of weeks, he will start feeling fitter as well.”

Having seen the initial tie abandoned and ordered to be replayed after a serious injury to goalkeeper Henry Newcombe late on, Deal again fell behind.

King’s troops fought back well in the second half as midfielder Jack Hanson scored and forward Rory Smith converted a penalty but it was too little, too late.

The Hoops boss, who lost young frontman Lenny Atherton to injury in the first half, reflected: “I sound like a broken record but it was disappointing.

“Again, we were missing a ridiculous amount of bodies, although we had a few back which was helpful. But we lost players again and were down to the absolute bare bones.

“We were disappointed with the goals conceded - a couple from set-pieces - which is very unlike us. But when you make changes, the organisation we pride ourselves on goes out the window a bit, unfortunately.

“I was pleased with our second-half performance. We got a couple of goals and hit the post twice.

“They’re a very experienced side. Rogo [joint-boss James Rogers] came back in and played with Sam Adams and Ronnie Dolan - that’s three of their four in midfield who played in Isthmian Premier last season.

“Fair play to them.”

On the knock sustained by Atherton, on dual-registration from Folkestone, King revealed: “It was a knee injury.

“We need to assess that but he looked in a fair amount of pain.”

Young former Deal winger Troy Howard was at the double against his old club.

King conceded: “It’s frustrating for us when Troy scores a couple. But that sums it up.

“We cannot afford him with our wage structure, which is frustrating because we get some of the best crowds.

“It’s frustrating seeing one of yours, who you have brought up, score against you. But it’s the way we work.”

Howard got the better of Sam Hignett - someone teacher King knows well - who deputised for Newcombe in goal.

“I have known Sam for a long time,” he said. “I taught him.

“He did well but it’s difficult when you come into a side against a big, physical, side and we had some of our main headers of the ball not playing. Sam does a good job for the reserves.

“Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t bring in a goalkeeper because they needed to be registered for the first game.

“But overall, he did fine.”

Newcombe is still recovering from the injury he sustained earlier this month.

While King didn’t categorically rule out Newcombe returning for their league trip to Punjab, he is working on bringing in another keeper.

Asked if Newcombe could be back for their game on September 9, King said: “I would say it’s a possibility but it’s probably unlikely.

“I was working on a back-up plan on Tuesday morning. We certainly will not rush him.

“He’s not in a good way - despite some of the ridiculous comments on social media. His health is the main priority.

“Thankfully, there was no long-term damage. It’s just bad bruising in a delicate area so we’ll make sure he is fully recovered.

“We will look to bring somebody in.”