Scott Porter wants to see a big improvement from his players when Whitstable Town’s Bostik South East season begins on Sunday.

Whitstable scored a late equaliser against Southern Counties East, Premier Division side Deal Town to earn a replay in their FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round match.

Porter hopes that replay, which they won 4-3 on Wednesday, will help with his players’ match sharpness. Their league season gets underway with a trip to Cray Wanderers.

Speaking before that replay, Porter said: “We need to improve. There are no excuses for what we did on Saturday.

“You saw the difference in the match sharpness as they had two competitive games under their belt.

“Having the replay on Wednesday could work out well for us getting ready for our first league game of the season on Sunday.

“It will be tough against Cray Wanderers on Sunday. They are one of the favourites this season to go up.

“We are getting them watched in the week and we will do our homework on them. It’s important to do that for teams at this level and be prepared going into the games.

“It is difficult seeing other teams starting their league season and not being able to start yours. Hopefully we can go out and pick up three points on our trip there.”

Stuart West scored a last minute goal for Whitstable to give them a 2-2 draw at Deal Town.

Deal were 2-0 up going into half-time and Porter’s side managed to earn themselves a replay.

Porter said: “It was disappointing. It was not what I expected from my players and we were very poor in the first half. Deal deserved the lead going into the break.

“We did not do the jobs we have done for the last season. It was only one player different in the starting line-up from last year but we lacked the fitness and quality I expect from my players.

“I had a proper rant at the boys and the one positive to come out of it was that the players gave me a reaction. We showed a lot of belief and never say die attitude.”