Hythe Town came away from Pilot Field with a 3-2 win in and eventful and entertaining against a lively Hastings United side on Saturday afternoon.
Hythe absorbed some early pressure from Hastings and in the eighth minute took the lead on the break as Darren Oldaker played the ball onto Ryan Palmer who placed his shot perfectly past Hastings keeper Charlie Horlock into the corner of the net. Another opportunity fell for the Cannons as Palmer had a run down the left leaving a number of home defenders in his wake. He crossed the ball over to Zak Ansah who couldn’t quite get his shot away at the far post. It was Hastings who were then to dominate the rest of the half. Their first chance came on 18 minutes as Davide Rodari cut in from the left but his right footed effort drifted wide. On 20 minutes a free kick from Jack Dixon was headed over by Dayshonne Godling from close range.
Hastings captain Sam Cruttwell then got into the action as firstly he had a shot blocked by Henry Arnold who did well to get his body in the way and then had a long-range effort that sailed over the bar. This was followed by a free-kick from Cruttwell that sailed into the arms of Hythe keeper Will Godmon. Hastings continued to press as Godmon held a shot from Golding and then one from Rodari. The Hythe keeper was then to excel himself as he made a fantastic save from a close-range attempt from Dixon. On the balance of play it was amazing that Hythe came in ahead at the break but Hastings has squandered a number of chances..
The second half was only one minute old when Oldaker put a ball into Chris Kinnear but his header went over the bar. However, it was the hosts who were to continue to get the more meaningful chances. Golding played the ball into Calum Davies but the Hythe defence cleared for a corner and then a free kick from Cruttwell went high and wide from the edge of the area. At the other end Oldaker ran in but his final effort also sailed over the bar. Hythe went two ahead on 67 minutes as Oldaker hit the perfect free-kick from 25 yards that curled into the top corner of the net.
Ansah broke in from the right but his final effort was well stopped by Horlock and then on 76 minutes Hastings pulled a goal back as confusion in the Hythe defence allowed Dixon to stroke the ball home. Hastings were now throwing everything into attack as they searched for the elusive equaliser. Firstly, Davies turned and shot straight at Godmon and then the referee saw an offence in the Hythe penalty area and controversially pointed to the penalty spot. However, the resultant penalty was blasted high over the bar by Dixon area allowing Hythe off the hook.
On 87 minutes as Hastings pushed everything forward, Hythe caught them on the break as Oldaker broke free and fed the ball through to Ansah who calmly placed his shot into the corner of the net to make it 3-1. To the amazement of the crowd, the referee play over ten minutes of injury time and five minutes in another controversial decision was made by the referee as he awarded another penalty for Hastings. This time Golding made no mistake with his kick as he sent Godmon the wrong way. Then came another decision that some could claim to be harsh as Hythe were reduced to ten men with Arnold sent off for throwing the ball at Golding in retaliation.
Hythe were to hang for all three points to narrow the gap between them and the play-offs to five points as they sit in seventh place. Hythe’s next game is at home Horsham next Saturday. Kick off is 3pm at Reachfields.
Team: Will Godmon, Michael Turner (Salvyn Kisitu 54 mins), Henry Arnold, Chris Kinnear, Ryan Johnson, Mitchell Dickenson, Ryan Palmer, Darren Oldaker, Zak Ansah, Jerson Dos Santos (Charlie Webster 54 mins), Kieron Campbell (Elliott Capel 90 mins).
Scorers: Hastings United – Jack Dixon 76 mins, Dajon Golding 90 mins (pen). Hythe Town – Ryan Palmer 8 mins, Darren Oldaker 67 mins, Zak Ansah 87 mins.
Attendance: 423