A late equaliser denied Hythe Town three points on their opening home match of the season against Chipstead.
Having won their opening game against Godalming Town and going through preseason unbeaten, the Cannons came into their opening home game of the season in good spirits. Because of this, manager Clive Cook only made one change from the opening day win, replacing Dave Cook with Craig Cloke. They faced a Chipstead side who lost their opening game of the season by a narrow 2-1 margin to Lewes.
Despite the high paced opening fifteen minutes to the game, neither side was able to truly take control of the match. Hythe’s Sam Adam’s came close from distance, but his effort flew wide of Sheikh Ceesay’s goal and moments later Chipstead responded. Some good interplay between Raheem Sterling- Parker and Callum McLean allowed the former to hit a low shot which was well dealt with by Joe Mant.
After twenty minutes the game began to open up, and Chipstead thought they had scored the opener when Sterling- Parker flicked Ben Osman’s free kick past Mant, only for the goal to be called back for offside.
This seemed to wake the home side up, and soon after they began to create scoring chances for themselves. Frankie Sawyer Latched onto a through ball from midfield and took the ball past the goalkeeper, only for Erivaldo Felix to dramatically clear Sawyer’s shot off the line.
Despite this setback, Hythe finally broke the deadlock on 38 minutes when Chipstead failed to clear a corner from the left side. A cross from the edge of the penalty area found the head of Charlie Webster who beat Ceesay, giving the Kent side a 1-0 lead as the first half came to an end.
Half time 1-0
With both sides out for the second half, the only people missing were the referee and assistants to get the second period started. After a lengthy delay they returned, one of them having accidentally locked himself in the toilet, much to the amusement of many fans.
Chipstead started the second half as the better side, and their opening attack nearly resulted in a goal when Mario Qvassaca’s effort beat Joe Mant, only for Craig Cloke to prevent an equalising goal, clearing the shot off the line and away from danger.
Soon after Chris O’Flaherty found Qviassaca to give the midfielder another opportunity, but his effort flew wide, ending up closer to the corner flag than his initial target.
Hythe finally began to work their way back into the game later in the half. First Frankie Sawyer and Alfie May combined with the latter setting up his strike partner, only for Sawyer to hit a strike over.
With time running out, Chipstead threw every player forward in a desperate attempt to return to Surrey with a point, and this was proven when their left back popped up with a vital goal when Felix received a pass from Sterling Parker before sliding a shout out the reach of Joe Mant, securing the Chips’ first goal of the season.
Despite this disappointment, as the game entered injury time Mant became the hero, first denying Erivaldo Felix’s header from a cross before getting up quickly and denying the full back on the rebound, meaning the points were shared despite an eventful final five minutes.
With four points in the bag, Hythe now need to look forward to their next game at Sittingbourne int eh FA Cup. A win at their Kent rivals will send them into the first qualifying round of the world’s oldest knockout competition. They will then return to the league the following weekend as they host Horsham at Reachfields.
Full Time 1-1
Hythe Town: Mant, Parkinson, Burchell, Johnson, Cloke, Wilson, Saunders (Welch), Adams, Sawyer, May, Webster (Pogue)
Subs not used: Algar, Sprosen, Gillett
Chipstead: Ceesay, Smith, Felix, Martin, Betancourt, McLean, Qviassaca (Brown), Osman (O’Rourke), Sterling- Parker, Nelson (Wynter), O’Flaherty
Subs not used: Higgins
Referee: S Farrer
Assistants: J Owen, R King
Attendance: 188