A battling performance from Hythe saw them come away from high flying Corinthian-Casuals with a hard-earned point in a 0-0 draw on Saturday afternoon.

It was Hythe who took the initiative in the first half as dominated proceedings. Their first opportunity came after eight minutes as, the ever dangerous, Kieron Campbell ran in and unleashed a dipping attempt from 25 yards that rammed against the underside of the cross bar and out with Casuals keeper Danny Bracken well beaten. Ryan Palmer then fired a free-kick wide and with Hythe on the front foot Dean Grant broke in from the right but fired into the side netting. The Cannons were piling on the pressure as Palmer came in again from the right and shot towards the far post with Bracken pushing the ball wide for a corner with an outstretched hand.

The hosts had to wait until the 34th minute to have a meaningful effort as the ball came out to Max Oldham who forced Ryan Johnson to clear the ball off the line. At the other end Jordan Johnson-Palmer threaded a ball through to Grant who laid the ball off to Palmer whose shot was just wide. Then came a moment of controversy as Johnson-Palmer went into a challenge. To the astonishment of the crowd, the referee adjudged it to be a dangerous challenge and showed the Hythe midfielder a red card. It will be interesting to see what the film of the game shows. Casuals did have one more opportunity deep into injury time as the busy Oldham blasted over the bar.

The second half saw more from Casuals as both sides had some opportunities the settle the game. Another shot by Oldham, who was a thorn in the Cannons side throughout the game, went wide and then at the other end Zak Ansah received a ball from Campbell but he also shot wide. Casuals were being held by the Hythe defence who remained resolute. Jack Strange got his head to an incoming corner but headed wide and then Gabriel Odunaike shot into the arms of Hythe keeper Will Godmon. Hythe were still creating chances to snatch the points as a Palmer cross was headed over by the impressive Chris Kinnear. The last twenty minutes saw both sides try to prise an opening but both defences prevented any clear-cut chances. One more chance for the hosts as Nathan Daly crossed into Terry Murray in the 87th minute who headed wide.

The game ended in a draw which on balance was probably a fair reflection of the game. Hythe stay in eighth place and now prepare for next Saturday’s local derby at Ashford.

Team: Will Godmon, Jerald Aboagye, Charlie Webster, Ryan Johnson, Mitchell Dickenson, Jordan Johnson-Palmer, Chris Kinnear, Ryan Palmer, Dean Grant, Zak Ansah (Callum Emptage 69 mins), Kieron Campbell.

Attendance: 230