If we can go unbeaten it will be a good Christmas for us, says Hythe Town boss Scott Porter

HYTHE TOWN boss Scott Porter says everybody is looking forward to their Christmas cracker at neighbouring Folkestone Invicta on Boxing Day, writes Stephen McCartney.


Porter takes his side to Cheriton Road sitting in eighth place in the Ryman League Division One South table with 30 points from 21 games.

Neil Cugley’s Folkestone, meanwhile, lie in fourth place in the table with 42 points from 21 games and Porter is looking forward to the eagerly-awaited showdown.

“They’re our local rivals and this time last year they were two divisions difference, now they’re four places and 12 points, so it shows how far we’ve come as a club and as a tea in that short space of time,” said Porter.

“Once we got promoted and they got relegated (from the Ryman Premier League) it was one fixture everyone was looking at.

“It’s going to be a tough game.  They’re a decent side.  I’ve watched them a few times this year.  They’ve got established Ryman League players in their side, they’re a good side and we have to be on top of our game to get anything from the game.”

Porter added having former Folkestone players in his ranks will add spice to the crunch game.

He said: “There’s a few ex-players there and I was there when I was young.  I live around that area so there’s a lot going on the game and a lot of players who have played for Folkestone before and there’s a lot of stake and local bragging rights.”

Hythe then travel to Faversham Town on New Years’ Eve (1pm) before welcoming Ramsgate to Reachfields Stadium on 2 January (3pm).

Porter said: “We’ve got three tough games.  We’ve got three Kent derbies over Christmas and they’re always going to be tough as derbies are.

“We’re expecting three tough games and we all know we have to be on the best of our ability and our performances to get anything from these games.

“The pitches are going to get heavier and we’ve got a decent squad and everyone’s fit and everyone’s looking forward to them.

“If we can go unbeaten in those three games it will be a good Christmas for us.”

Porter reflected on last season and spoke about his aspirations for the New Year.

“You can see how far we’ve come in a very short space of time,” he said.

“We had all the FA Cup heroics and winning the Kent League last year and now we’re sitting in eighth in Ryman South.  You can’t ask for nothing more.  We’ve put in a lot of hard work and we’re getting our rewards at the moment.

“We just want to continue our good work really.  I’m not going to put pressure on my lads because they’ve had pressure in the last two years’ trying to get out of the Kent League.

“We know we’ve got a lot of hard work to do to get where we want to be and continue what we started this year already.

“We all know in this league if you can get a run together, who knows what may happen.”

Visit Hythe Town’s website: www.hythetownfc.co.uk  

Folkestone Invicta  v  Hythe Town
Ryman League Division One South
Boxing Day, Monday 26^th December 2011
Kick Off 1:00pm
At Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU