Manager Tim Dixon believes Hythe Town go to Ebbsfleet United on Saturday as massive underdogs in the FA Cup tie.

“We’ve got to be a lot more switched on for Saturday, or we’ll be punished severely”, said Hythe Town manager, Tim Dixon, on Tuesday night, following a 2-2 draw with Walton Casuals, which has seen Hythe drop to 23rd place in Ryman One South.

Jordan Wells’ 93rd minute equaliser rescued a point for 10-man Hythe after conceding two sloppy goals following their 53rd minute opener from a Phil Stevenson penalty. Despite having the extra man, Dan Eason was rarely tested outside of the two goals, as the majority of Walton’s efforts flew into the netting behind his goal, and they were made to pay by Wells’ late goal.

Dixon said that he was both relieved about the point, but angry that his team hadn’t defended their lead. On the night, he added, “I said at half-time that I thought one goal would win this. It’s criminal though to concede so soon after scoring, but we’ve let the lad run through straight from the kick-off. It’s one of the poorest goals we’ve conceded this season; and we’ve conceded some bad ones! It was a catalogue of errors that shouldn’t happen at this level of football.”

“Both goals were down to us tonight, but hats off to my boys and their never-say-die attitude. It would have been a travesty if we had come away with nothing. We’ve got to learn the lessons quickly. It was difficult, down to ten men, but the lads dug in to get the point.”

Now, the Cannons face a trip to Vanarama Conference South Ebbsfleet United in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup; a competition in which both sides have a rich recent history.

Dixon explained, “we are massive underdogs. The only pressure on us is to go there, give a good performance and keep the name of Hythe Town reputable. We don’t want to go there and get hammered; we don’t have that philosophy, so we’re going to go there and make it as hard for them as possible.”

With 64 places separating the two sides – Ebbsfleet currently sitting in 5th in the Conference South table – Hythe will be hoping for something similar to the run from 2010/11. Then, the Cannons defeated Conference South opponents in Staines Town on their way to the First Round Proper, and a memorable day out at Hereford United.

Ebbsfleet have also had their First Round experiences; in 2012/13, returning from a 4-2 reverse at Carlisle United, and also in 2010/11, losing out in a televised replay 3-2 to AFC Wimbledon.

While this is the ‘Fleet’s first foray into the FA Cup this season, Hythe have already overcome South East Counties Lordswood 2-0 at home in a replay, after a 2-2 draw at Martin Grove, and Ryman South Whitstable Town 4-0 at Reachfields. However, both of Hythe’s league wins this season have come on the road, so Dixon can afford to believe in the miracle of the Cup.

He added, “hopefully they will be at their worst, we will be at our best, and you never know in football. FA Cup games are one-off; that’s why you’ve had so many giant-killings over the years. All of a sudden, ‘David’s’ can become ‘Goliath’s’, and we’ve got to make sure we were much better than tonight, and be a bit more professional and disciplined.”

Craig Thompson and Josh Burchell are back from suspension for Hythe to strengthen the side, and Lewis Mingle is back from holiday on Thursday, so Dixon said they would have to assess his fitness ahead of the game. Unfortunately, Craig Cloke has just found out he has a hairline crack in his fibula, so he’s looking at 4-6 weeks or so out.

Ebbsfleet will be boosted by the availability of first-choice goalkeeper, Preston Edwards, after the appeal against his red card against Hayes & Yeading was overturned at an FA hearing this week. This leaves ‘Fleet manager, Steve Brown, with a choice of recalling Edwards, having left him out for the 3-0 win against Sutton United, or playing understudy Brandon Hall instead.

One man who won’t be lining up against Hythe is midfielder Tommy Fraser, who has left Ebbsfleet this week by mutual consent; looking for a club closer to his Brighton home having become a father for the first time.