|
Club History Hythe Town Football Club was formed in August 1910 and started playing in the local junior leagues. After the First World War the club soon joined the Kent Amateur League with limited success. This continued until the 1970's when the club won the league title three times in succession and won the Kent Junior Cup. Hythe were granted senior status and elected to the Kent League in 1977, playing at the newly-acquired Reachfields, an old army training ground on the edge of the town’s firing ranges. The club were runners-up in the Kent League on three occasions but it was not until property developer Tony Walton took over Hythe Town in February 1988 that things really started to happen. That summer saw the ground developed to Southern League standard with seats and a social club, with viewing balconies, above new dressing rooms. Standing cover extended behind one goal and for the whole of the far side, and floodlights were installed. The ground capacity still remains at 3,000 with the majority under cover. The chairman proved to be a high-profile character who attracted much media attention with his high spending on the ground and team. Town won the Kent League title (as did the reserves in their division) by 14 points and set a league record of 133 goals. The club gained promotion to the Southern League. The next season saw another promotion as the main aim, but the club’s great run to the FA Vase semi-finals handicapped their league ambitions, with four games a week at times, and a sixth place finish. Hythe lost out to the eventual Vase winners Yeading, winning the home leg 3-2 in front of the club’s record attendance of 2,147, but cruelly losing the second leg 2-0 with the crucial goal coming from a big deflection. They did win the Eastern Professional Floodlight Cup at their first attempt. The following season was very similar, topping the table in November but runs in four cups again caused fixture congestion and a final placing of eighth. Hythe lost out to Trowbridge in a Vase quarter-final second replay, lost to Chelmsford City over two legs in the Southern League Cup final, but won the Kent Senior Trophy and retained the Eastern Professional Floodlight Cup. The club played 40 league games and 33 cup ties. In 1991/2 Hythe again topped the table in the early months but the money was beginning to run out. With little cup success, the exit from the Vase at Evesham United saw many of the team sold and their replacements could only finish thirteenth. Their two-and-a-half year sixteen match unbeaten run in the Floodlight Cup came to an end but the club did reach the final of the Kent Senior Cup, losing in extra-time to Bromley at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium. That match proved to be Walton’s last game, and he put the club into liquidation soon after. Supporters rallied round and entered a scratch side, as Hythe United, into the following season’s Kent County League and negotiated continued use of Reachfields Stadium. After three seasons the club regained senior status and in 1995 were elected back into the Kent League but the club would struggle for a number of seasons in the wrong half of the table. In 2001 Hythe dropped the “United” suffix, reverting to “Town” and in November 2002 appointed Paul Fisk as Manager. This proved a turning point and Hythe became a top six club. There was one exception, in 2005/6, when again the Vase was a distraction, winning five ties before going out to Winchester City in the fourth round, in front of 441 spectators at Reachfields. In season 2007/8 Hythe forced themselves to the top of the table in March and were considered to be favourites for the title. Disappointment was acute therefore when form was lost in the final weeks and the side not only slipped to fourth place, but also lost in the final of the League Cup. Despite this it had been a fine season, with four victories in the FA Cup including a fantastic win over Andy Hessenthaler’s Dover Athletic before a crowd of 1,109 at Reachfields, and achieving the important Ryman League ground grading. There was also the Golden Boot award to striker Mike Smissen who scored 48 goals during the season despite missing 7 games through injury. In season 2008/9 Town made their strongest bid yet for the title, but finished as runners-up after leading the table for much of the season. On the management side, Paul Fisk stepped down at the end of the season due to the illness of his wife Pam (who sadly passed away in May 2010). Paul’s assistant, Scott Porter took over as manager for the 2009-10 season with the help of Clive Cook and Martin Chandler. There were many good results but too many dropped points saw Hythe finish in third position. Town also progressed through three rounds of the FA Cup to be drawn against the full-time professionals of Woking who were relieved to escape with a replay after an exciting 2-2 draw at Reachfields. The replay was another tight match until the last few minutes when Woking scored three times to go through 5-1. The 2010/11 season was possibly the most successful in the history of the club, with Scott Porter and his management team, now including Nick Dent, leading the playing side to the Kent League Championship for the first time in over twenty years, and with it promotion to the Ryman League. After a 22 match unbeaten run in the new year, dropped points over Easter took the championship to the wire and the league was clinched in dramatic style on the last day of the season through a last minute equaliser at Tunbridge Wells. This amazing achievement was coupled with the club’s best ever F.A. Cup run, and the best for any Kent League side in over 50 years. Hythe negotiated their way through six rounds, including memorable wins over higher league opposition at Concord Rangers of the Ryman Premier and at home to Staines Town of the Blue Square Bet South. The prize was an away draw in the First Round Proper to League Two side Hereford United. It was one round too far on the pitch, the hosts comfortably winning 5-1. However, a first-half goal from Gary Mickelborough and a wonderful day out all round will live long in the memory of all who made the historic journey to Hereford. Hythe Town FC 2011/12 Team Photo - Click Here Ground details - Capacity 3,000 (2,400 under cover) - Record gate: 2,147 (versus Yeading 1990 F.A. Vase) Honours Board Kent League Champions – 1988/89, 2010/11 Kent League Runners-Up – 1978-79, 1982-83, 1984-85, 2008-09 Kent League Cup Runners-Up – 1987/88, 2007/08, 2010/11 Southern League Cup Runners-Up – 1990/91 Kent Senior Cup Runners-Up – 1991/92 Kent Senior Trophy Winners – 1990/91 Kent Senior Trophy Runners-Up – 2003/04 Eastern Professional Cup Winners - 1989/90, 1990/91 F.A. Cup - First Round Proper - 2010/11 F.A. Vase - Semi-finals - 1989/90 |
