'What if?': Flackwell Heath left to rue missed chances in FA Cup defeat at Maldon

Paul Shone and manager Chris Ayres

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Flackwell Heath assistant boss Paul Shone believes the club will look back on Saturday’s FA Cup final qualifying round defeat to Maldon & Tiptree as one of those ‘what if’ moments that come around in football from time to time.

The Heathens had their opportunities to potentially knock out their step 4 level rivals, but they just couldn’t grasp them at the Drewitt-Barlow Stadium.

Flackwell had reached the fourth qualifying round of the competition for the first time in 21 years and came up against a Maldon side playing at the same level as them in the Isthmian League North - but whose ambitions extend far beyond that if the calibre of player they’ve brought to the club is anything to go by.

Maldon shaded the opening 20 minutes or so and took the lead just after the half hour mark through former West Ham and Ipswich striker Freddie Sears. He headed home Courtney Senior’s cross at the near post to give Maldon an advantage they were ultimately able to protect. However, Flackwell came close to a leveller on several occasions, and Shone felt they should have at least forced a replay back at Wilks Park.

Their best chance arrived in the minutes before half-time when Zack Littlejohn was sent off conceding a penalty kick, however, Jack Shakespeare saw his spot kick saved by former Dagenham keeper Elliot Justham.

“These moments in football matches can change the landscape of the tie which it did,” said Shone. “We didn’t take that opportunity. Second half we dominated. They had a few chances as well because we were throwing bodies forward trying to get a goal, but we did dominate the second half, and we had three or four good chances.

“Did we deserve to win the game, probably not. A draw would have been a fair result for a replay. But as a team, we just didn’t do enough as a team to get ourselves over the line. It’s disappointing because it’s something we’ll look back and think ‘what a chance we had to get to the first-round proper’.”

He added: “The penalty, you’d back him to dispatch it no problem at all. But you look at the calibre of the players they’ve got in their side. Their goalkeeper has played in the Conference and Football League. They have high level individuals in their team.”

Harrison Mepham also had a great chance to equalise in the second half, while Flackwell also had a goal chalked off in the first half that Shone believes was very much onside. Had any of those opportunities hit the back of the net, the outcome might have been very different.”

Instead, Maldon managed to scrap their way through to the first round and they’ll travel to League 1 side Port Vale and a tie at Vale Park over the weekend of November 1.

Shone said: “We’re proud of the boys to have achieved what they’ve achieved. But like you say it’s one of those we’ll look back on and think ‘what if’. We could be talking differently about being in the first round.

“Not being bitter, I did watch it (the first-round draw). And I thought it might be soul destroying if they got a plum tie. But credit to them, the management team and the players. They were respectful and they praised us.

“We’ve gone there and gone toe-to-toe with them and their management team have said the best team they’ve played this season so far is us. We’ll take that on board and now we move on to our league campaign, catching up on the games we haven’t played and trying to get back up to be where we want to be in May.

“They look like a National League side, but we ran them close. In two- or three-years’ time I think they’ll be playing in the National League. That’s where I believe they’ll be.”

Flackwell can’t focus too long on ‘what might have been,’ however. They return to league action away to league leaders Biggleswade on Saturday and Shone is keen for them to start making up the ground they’ve lost on the top teams.

“We’ll go into our league matches with confidence, because it’s our bread and butter,” added Shone.

“The FA Cup has been a great distraction but we’re still within touching distance of the sides at the top. We have some games to make up now. Saturday is going to be a big test, they’re coming into it off the back of a draw against a very good Hitchin side, but we head into the game with a lot of confidence we can get a positive result.”