On Saturday, Hythe Town beat local rivals Ashford United to advance to the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy.
Hythe only made one change from their 6-0 win over Whitstable, with injured Charlie Webster being replaced by Nathan Gordon.
Ashford took only 18 seconds to take the lead, with Bradley Simms receiving the ball on the left-hand side, and crossing into Tashi Kwayle, whose header went into the back of the net.
Hythe dominated the chances for the next 25 minutes, before Johan Ter Horst sent a ball into the box for the Nuts and Bolts, with a scrambled shot from Jack Steventon grabbed by Nathan Harvey.
Hythe got their first significant chance on 28 minutes, with Alex Brown’s shot from Tom Walmsley’s pass deflected wide by Sam Mott in the Ashford goal.
On the half hour mark, Alex Flisher’s shot was parried by Mott, with Tariq Ossai clearing off the line just before Tom Walmsley could put it away.
The second half was very lively, with a ball from Alex Brown on 53 minutes falling to Tom Walmsley, whose shot went wide.
A minute later, Darren Oldaker’s cross headed wide by Tom Wynter. Two minutes prior to the hour mark, a ball into Ashford’s Josh Wisson was headed past the goal.
Ashford got their second goal after 70 minutes, with Thomas Fagg getting through one-on-one with Nathan Harvey, slotting past him to give Ashford an even greater advantage.
However, Hythe hadn’t been silenced yet, as two minutes after, an excellent ball into Tom Walmsley was headed into the goal to put Hythe back in the game. With one minute of normal time left to go, Tom Wynter’s looping header into the back of the net sent the match to penalties.
The first five penalties were all scored. Liam Smith, Alex Flisher, Darren Oldaker (who produced a cheeky Panenka), Kaka Dembele and James Rogers all put the ball into the net for Hythe, while Johan Ter Horst, Josh Wisson, Thomas Fagg, Aaron Condon and Bode Anidugbe all scored for Ashford.
Tom Wynter stepped up to take Hythe’s sixth spot-kick, but his shot was fired over the bar. Jack Steventon’s shot for Ashford also went over, before Nick Dembele and Ben Gorham both put the ball away for Hythe and Ashford respectively.
The eighth Hythe penalty was scored by Tom Walmsley, before Tom O’Connor’s shot for Ashford was saved by Nathan Harvey to knock the Nuts and Bolts out of the FA Trophy and send Hythe through to the Third Qualifying Round.
Hythe’s next match is on Saturday 24th October away to Haywards Heath Town, with the match kicking off at 3PM.
Hythe Town: Nathan Harvey, Liam Smith, Nathan Gordon, James Rogers, Dean Beckwith, Tom Wynter, Kaka Dembele, Darren Oldaker, Darren Walmsley, Alex Brown (Nick Dembele 79 mins), Alex Flisher.
Ashford United: Mott, Ossai, Simms, Wisson, Richardson, Gorham Anidugbe, Kwayle, Horst, Fagg, Steventon
Subs: Stone, Condon, Osinfolarin, Burdon, O’Connor, Hook
Scorers: Hythe Town – Darren Walmsley 72 mins, Tom Wynter 89 mins. Ashford United – Tasha Kwalye 1 min Tommie Fagg 70 mins
Attendance:388