Deal manager Derek Hares has praised Ben Cardwell after his return from injury - as the Hoops eye a semi-final spot.

The striker had been sidelined with a long-term knee problem but he started in their 4-0 defeat at Tunbridge Wells on Saturday in the Southern Counties East Premier Division as Deal rang the changes.

Cardwell made his comeback earlier this year, scoring off the bench in a win against Bearsted last month, but had been restricted to substitute appearances until the weekend.

But with the Hoops already having one eye on their SCEFL Challenge Cup quarter-final against Sheppey tonight at the Charles Sports Ground, Cardwell was given his chance at the Culverden Stadium.

“Ben Cardwell has done brilliantly for us in the last four or five weeks,” said Hares, whose team travel to 15th-placed Welling Town in the league this Saturday.

“He had a bad knee injury. That was probably his first start for about 17 months.”

Deal made seven changes, with only goalkeeper James Tonkin (away) unavailable.

Hares reflected: “It was a bad day at the office. We, obviously, made some changes with an eye on Tuesday’s game. The conditions were poor.

“Some lads needed a game, so we played them and rested a few others. They deserved to win but 2-0 probably would have been a fairer result.

“We didn’t play badly, they just played well.

“We didn’t have James Tonkin anyway. Kieron Hollier came in and played well, to be fair. He didn’t do anything wrong. We just decided to play a few that needed a game. But it was still a good side, so no excuses.

“We just didn’t want to pick up any injuries.”

The winner of the quarter-final between Deal and Sheppey is due to play Division 1 frontrunners Sutton Athletic in a two-legged semi-final.

Fourth-placed Deal played Sheppey, who are second in the table, just a fortnight ago in the league, with Warren Mfula scoring an early goal for the Ites which settled the game.

“If we can get to a cup final and finish fifth or six, that’s real progress for the club,” Hares added.

“But there’s a lot of football still to be played if that is to happen.”

Meanwhile, Deal have welcomed Charlie Smith to their board of directors.