Hythe Town made a slow start but eventually ended up deserved 3-2 winners at Three Bridges thanks to three fine goals on a sunny Saturday afternoon in West Sussex.

The hosts were the first to show as after just six minutes Brannon O’Neill turned and shot straight at Hythe keeper George Kamurasi and then Ibby Akanbi played the ball into O’Neill who again turned but this time scuffed his shot. The majority of the early pressure continued to come from Bridges as a dangerous cross from Nathan Simpson fell at the feet of O’Neill but the ball appeared to get stuck between his feet and he was unable to get his shot away. Another opportunity for Bridges saw Olu Oluwwatimilehin scoop the ball over the bar.

The Cannons had to wait until the 26th minute for their first effort as Jack Sammoutis, who is in a rich vein of form, blasted a free kick into a group of defenders and the ball went out for a corner. Zak Ansah was then to create two chances as just before the interval as firstly he moved in and shot straight at Bridges keeper Giovanni Porciatti and then he pounced onto a loose ball and forced Porciatti to tip the ball over the bar.

Hythe came into the second half with a new lease of life and were ahead on 47 minutes as a quick corner was played to Ansah who fed Sammoutis on the left-hand side of the penalty area. He fired the ball into the far corner from a very narrow-angle with his left foot. Hythe looked far more dangerous at this stage as Nigel Neita jinked into the penalty area and shot just over the target. However, Bridges did not lay down and die and were level on 58 minutes. Ibby came in from the right and chipped the ball over Kamurasi into the net.

The goal revived the hosts as on the hour a corner from O’Neill went through the defence to Bradley Peters who blasted over.  Then came a piece of Ansah magic on 69 minutes as from 35 yards the league’s leading scorer saw Porciatti off his line. He played a majestic lob that flew over the keeper and dipped under the bar and into the net to restore Hythe’s lead. The Cannons were now in control as Charlie Webster forced his way through but his final attempt was blocked by the Bridges keeper. On 77 minutes Hythe increased their lead as a neat ball from Kieron Campbell was played into Sammoutis who was in the same position as he was for the first goal but this time he used his right foot to slot the ball into the far corner.

Webster tried to emulate the earlier Ansah magic as he attempted a lob but his effort went just wide. Bridges did cause a scare five minutes into injury time as substitute Alex Laing was brought down in the Hythe penalty area. Up stepped Connor French who buried his kick into the corner just out of the reach of Kamurasi.  However, it was too little, too late and the Cannons held on for all three points.

The win takes Hythe up to third place as they now take a break from league action with a Velocity Trophy tie against Bognor Regis Town on Tuesday evening (23rd October 2018) at Reachfields with a 7:45 pm kick-off.

Team: George Kamurasi, Salvyn Kisitu, Charlie Webster (Josh Stirman 90 mins), Chris Kinnear, Nathan Daly, Mitchell Dickenson, Nigel Neita (Junior Aikhionbare 67 mins), Zach Fagan (Aziz Lyoubi 8 mins), Zak Ansah, Jack Sammoutis, Kieron Campbell.

Scorers: Three Bridges – Ibby Akanbi 58 mins Connor French 90 mins (pen). Hythe Town – Jack Sammoutis 47 & 77 mins, Zak Ansah 69 mins.

Attendance: 71