Hythe Town FC are obviously sorry that supporters of both clubs and neutrals were unable to get their football "fix" on Tuesday evening (27^th October) at Reachfields against Sittingbourne. There were several stories going around immediately after the postponement but despite these "Chinese whispers" the truth is as simple and straightforward as this.

Firstly, there never was any danger of the pitch being unplayable providing the weather forecast was anywhere near correct--which it was.

Secondly only one player had been tested for Covid19 at his workplace and despite having no symptoms whatsoever he received a positive result. On Monday Hythe Town FC contacted last Saturday’s opponents Haywards Heath and our next opponents Sittingbourne FC and put in a call to the league office who quoted the current FA advice which was to carry on playing whilst observing all of the precautions we have all become used to as a nation.

As an extra precaution our players took tests all of which so far have been negative, as have the tests taken by the affected player's family.

However the match referee, whilst complimenting the club on taking this stance pointed out that a number of players who had NOT received their results should according to the law of the land, and despite them not having any symptoms, have gone into isolation.

Of course, had they not taken this extra step all would have played against Sittingbourne and both the League and the FA would have been perfectly happy. Therefore, it was the players as a group wanting to make certain of things, and with the very best of intentions, that had created a situation that the referee felt powerless to ignore.

That is where we are currently, and we will report to the league who will make any decision based on the evidence put before them.

Haywards Heath Town 4 Hythe Town 2

Pitching In Isthmian League South-East

Saturday 24^th October 2020

A very off-colour Hythe Town suffered a surprise 4-2 defeat on Saturday at bottom off the table Haywards Heath Town on a damp and windy afternoon.

Hythe, who were unchanged, in fact started the brighter but it was the hosts who created the first opportunity on three minutes as Samual Ogunseye spun but turned his shot over the bar. The Cannons started to have the lions share of the game at this stage and had an attempt on eight minutes as Darren Oldaker, from the left, blasted across the face of goal. Oldaker was in the action again when he hit a rasping free-kick from 25 yards that was pushed around the post by Haywards Heath keeper Sam Freeman. The Cannons were increasing the pressure without breaking through with the next chance coming at the other end as Jordan Clark hit a dipping shot just over the cross bar.

Hythe at this time looked the more likely to break the deadlock as Oldaker crossed into Dean Beckwith whose shot was blocked by the defence. The hosts got their noses in front on 31 minutes as Clark had a shot blocked which came out to Kieran Rowe who stroked the ball home. However, the lead was only to last eight minutes as an Oldaker free kick from the left looped over to Beckwith who headed home his first Hythe goal. On the stroke of half-time the visitors found themselves behind as the defence failed to clear the ball and Michael Hill was on hand to thread the ball home to give Haywards Heath a 2-1 half time lead.

Things got worse ten minutes in the second half as Hill cut through the Hythe defence to slot the ball past Hythe keeper Nathan Harvey. It was now Haywards Heath who were on top as Hill unleashed a shot that drifted just wide. The game was put out of The Cannons’ reach on 68 minutes as a Rowe cross was not intercepted by the Hythe defence finding its way to Tom Gilbert to tap home from close range. Chances fell to Hythe for Frannie Collin and Nick Dembele with the latter forcing a save from Freeman. Deep into injury time Hythe got a consolation goal as a poor clearance from Freeman was intercepted by Nick Dembele who blasted home.

After such a good run of form, it was a very disappointing performance from Hythe but they have the opportunity to bounce straight back as they entertain Sittingbourne on Tuesday evening (October 27^th) – Kick off will be 7:45pm.

Team: Nathan Harvey, Liam Smith (Charlie Webster 68 mins), Nathan Gordon, James Rogers, Dean Beckwith, Tom Wynter, Kaka Dembele, Darren Oldaker, Tom Walmsley (Nick Dembele 68 mins), Alex Brown, Alex Flisher (Frannie Collin 61 mins).

Scorers: Haywards Heath Town - Kieran Rowe 31 mins, Michael Hill 45 & 55 mins, Tom Gilbert 68 mins. Hythe Town - Dean Beckwith 39 mins, Nick Dembele 90 mins

Attendance: 230

Although tickets for this away game are not expected to sell out, supporters are advised to go onto the Royston website by clicking here and make certain of their place to save a possible wasted journey. The club is running a small coach to Royston for players and officials but due to Covid restrictions we are unable to offer any spare seats to supporters. COULD ANY SUPPORTER WILLING TO CAR-SHARE please come up to the Club Office on Tuesday night and we will try and get as many as possible up to the game.

Tickets are Adults £10 / Conc. (65+) £6 / U16's £2

Ground Details: Garden Walk, Royston, SG8 7HP. (113 miles)

M20, M25 through Dartford Tunnel and take J27 for M11 North towards Cambridge. On M11 take J10 for A505, signed Royston. Follow A505 towards Royston for 6 miles, after a ‘Weight Limit 7.5T’ sign leave the A505 by forking left, onto Newmarket Road. Follow to the A10, and turn right at the roundabout, onto A10, Melbourn Road,  towards Cambridge. Go over the next roundabout, following A10, and take the second right, into Garden Walk. Ground 100 yards on the left, street parking.

Hythe Town 2 Ashford United 2

Hythe won 7-6 on pens

Buildbase FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round

Saturday 17th October 2020

On Saturday, Hythe Town beat local rivals Ashford United to advance to the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. Hythe only made one change from their 6-0 win over Whitstable, with injured Charlie Webster being replaced by Nathan Gordon.

Ashford took only 18 seconds to take the lead, with Bradley Simms receiving the ball on the left-hand side, and crossing into Tashi Kwayle, whose header went into the back of the net. Hythe dominated the chances for the next 25 minutes, before Johan Ter Horst sent a ball into the box for the Nuts and Bolts, with a scrambled shot from Jack Steventon grabbed by Nathan Harvey. Hythe got their first significant chance on 28 minutes, with Alex Brown’s shot from Tom Walmsley’s pass deflected wide by Sam Mott in the Ashford goal. On the half hour mark, Alex Flisher’s shot was parried by Mott, with Tariq Ossai clearing off the line just before Tom Walmsley could put it away.

The second half was very lively, with a ball from Alex Brown on 53 minutes falling to Tom Walmsley, whose shot went wide. A minute later, Darren Oldaker’s cross headed wide by Tom Wynter. Two minutes prior to the hour mark, a ball into Ashford’s Josh Wisson was headed past the goal. Ashford got their second goal after 70 minutes, with Thomas Fagg getting through one-on-one with Nathan Harvey, slotting past him to give Ashford an even greater advantage. However, Hythe hadn’t been silenced yet, as two minutes after, an excellent ball into Tom Walmsley was headed into the goal to put Hythe back in the game. With one minute of normal time left to go, Tom Wynter’s looping header into the back of the net sent the match to penalties.

The first five penalties were all scored. Liam Smith, Alex Flisher, Darren Oldaker (who produced a cheeky Panenka), Kaka Dembele and James Rogers all put the ball into the net for Hythe, while Johan Ter Horst, Josh Wisson, Thomas Fagg, Aaron Condon and Bode Anidugbe all scored for Ashford. Tom Wynter stepped up to take Hythe’s sixth spot-kick, but his shot was fired over the bar. Jack Steventon’s shot for Ashford also went over, before Nick Dembele and Ben Gorham both put the ball away for Hythe and Ashford respectively. The eighth Hythe penalty was scored by Tom Walmsley, before Tom O’Connor’s shot for Ashford was saved by Nathan Harvey to knock the Nuts and Bolts out of the FA Trophy and send Hythe through to the Third Qualifying Round.

Hythe’s next match is on Saturday 24^th October away to Haywards Heath Town, with the match kicking off at 3PM.

Report by Tom Ellerby

Team: Nathan Harvey, Liam Smith, Nathan Gordon, James Rogers, Dean Beckwith, Tom Wynter, Kaka Dembele, Darren Oldaker, Tom Walmsley, Alex Brown (Nick Dembele 79 mins), Alex Flisher.

Scorers: Hythe Town - Tom Walmsley 72 mins, Tom Wynter 89 mins. Ashford United - Tasha Kwalye 1 min Tommie Fagg 70 mins

Attendance:388 

The club is required to undertake a Covid19 Risk Assessment in order to safely welcome spectators back into the stadium. It is now ready and can be accessed via this link. 

Signage and other measures are being put in place ready for next Tuesday's game against Deal (7.45pm KO). Spectators will be required to provide contact details so please arrive a little early to allow time for this and expect to see some necessary changes in the way we operate.

Scott Dance has volunteered to be our Covid Officer, for which we thank him. Scott is well known to many Hythe supporters and works for Kent Fire & Rescue, where he has carried out several of these assessments.