We can mix it with the best of them, says Hythe Town boss Scott Porter

HYTHE TOWN boss Scott Porter says his side are looking forward to their historic first ever game in The FA Trophy against Burgess Hill Town on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.


The two sides met at Reachfields Stadium on 24 September when two goals from striker Brendon Cass wasn’t enough as the West Sussex side won the league game 3-2.

“They beat us down at our place and we owe them one, that’s what I’ll be telling the lads,” said Porter, 32, ahead of the FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round clash on Saturday.

“It’s a massive game for the football club.  It’s the first time of us being in the FA Trophy and there’s money at stake.

“You want to progress through as far as you can possibly can because of the big non-league club’s come in later so I’m looking to go as far as we can in that.

“We’ve got a home tie against a team in our division.  It’s a massive game for our football club and it’s a money earner and I want to do as much as I can to win that game.”

This will be the club’s first ever FA Trophy tie, as they clinched promotion from the Kent League at the end of last season.

Hythe are presently sitting in 12^th place in the Ryman League Division One South table thanks to four wins and two draws from their 12 games.

When asked about life in the Ryman League, Porter said, “Frustrating!  Reason being because I know the lads’ can put a great performance in.  We’ve played the likes of the Dulwich’s and the Maidstone’s, we’ve made them look very ordinary at times in certain parts of the game but it’s the mistakes you make, you get punished.

“I know we can mix it with the best of them, that’s the frustrating part of the way of my team is at the minute.

“We’re like Jekyll & Hyde, one week we’re good, one week we’re bad, but hopefully we can get a little run together.

“In this league you can always move up the table.  Any team can beat each other and that’s the great part about it – and we’re enjoying every moment of it.”

Hythe are the fourth best supported club in the division, with average crowds of 226 at Reachfields Stadium.

“They’ve been fantastic the crowds, I can’t praise the supporters’ enough,” said Porter.

“It gives everyone a lift when we see a lot of people around the terraces and considering where we are in the league we’re still trying to progress and everyone knows what we’re trying to do at the football club and with the crowds like that and hopefully they can come on Saturday.

“It will give us a big lift to go and progress in the FA Trophy because every person that comes through the gate helps an awful lot to the football club and we’re very grateful for that.

“It’s a massive day for the football club.  That’s how far we have come since I have been in charge.  We like the big Cup days, we all enjoy it and hopefully we can progress into the next round and the round after that.

“It’s a big day for us and we’re looking forward to it.”

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

Hythe Town  v  Burgess Hill Town
FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round
Saturday 22^nd October 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Reachfields Stadium, Fort Road, Hythe, Kent CT21 6JS