Match Report: Dave Ring

Hythe & Dibden v Portland United

Saturday 13th September, (3:00pm)

Portland United endured a tough afternoon on the road as they slipped to a 4–1 defeat against Hythe & Dibden in Saturday’s league encounter. The loss marks a second setback to the Hampshire side this season, following August’s FA Cup exit at the hands of the same opponents.

The game began with Portland looking to establish themselves, but Hythe’s physicality and sharpness in the final third soon set the tone. The breakthrough came in the 25th minute when a looping header into the Blues’ box wasn’t dealt with, and striker Josh Batt reacted quickest to prod home from close range, giving the hosts the advantage.

Just as Portland were looking to regroup, Hythe doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. A well-timed through ball found Leon Bridges just outside the area, and he calmly placed his shot into the bottom-right corner, leaving Blues keeper Harry Foden with little chance. At the interval, the visitors found themselves with a mountain to climb at 2–0 down.

Any hopes of a second-half comeback were quickly dashed. Only six minutes after the restart, Hythe delivered a pinpoint cross from the right, and Trem Moore met it with a first-time finish that flew past Foden to make it 3–0.

The hosts continued to press and added a fourth midway through the half when Kenny Gatera latched onto a defence-splitting pass, slotting clinically to put the result beyond doubt.

Portland, to their credit, refused to give up and kept pushing forward. Their persistence was rewarded late on when Pat Jenkins struck six minutes from time, firing in a consolation goal to give the travelling supporters something to cheer. But it was too little, too late for the Blues, as Hythe saw out the game comfortably.

The defeat compounds a frustrating pattern for Portland against Hythe & Dibden, who had already ended their FA Cup campaign in early August with a 3–1 victory. Manager and players alike will now be looking for a strong response in their next fixture away at Fawley AFC in the Isuzu FA Vase next Saturday.

Portland United:
Harry Foden, James Coat, Callum Corbridge, Hayden Scott, Jamie Cleaver, Sam Gadsby, Archie Woolford, Josh Williams [C], Greg Borthwick, Remus Nixon, Patrick Jenkins.

Substitutes: Josh Camp, Marcus Smith, Connor Callow, Ben Moss, Jamie Symes.
Hythe & Dibden:
Luke Deacon, Sam Boon (C), Ethan Hartness, Rhys Crooks, Rob Flooks, Josh Batt, Kenny Gatera, Trem Moore, Kev Ngombi, Leon Borges, Keegan Kelly.

Substitutes:
Charlie Hewson, Tom Hobbs, Blue Sexton-Chadwick, Matt Warotner, Tom Rafferty

Referee: Omid Farjadpour.
Assistant Referee: Rudi Burton.
Assistant Referee: Steven Eccleston.
Observer: Philip Shephard.