Hythe’s FA Trophy adventure ended in the fourth round - but only after giving favourites Chorley a scare. Jake Embery put the Isthmian South East side in front against their National League North opponents.
But the visitors levelled a minute before half-time through Jack Hazlehurst and Jack Sampson headed a second-half winner. Still, it’s been a memorable record run in the competition for Hythe, with the last-32 tie attracting a strong crowd of 730.
Fifty-two places separated the sides but you’d never have known it in a tight game on a difficult pitch at Reachfields. Chorley, fourth in National League North, didn’t look as big as expected, giving Hythe encouragement in the physical stakes, although match-winner Sampson was a giant.
And it was a battle, too, a proper old-school game that saw both sets of players giving everything. The hosts forced three successive corners in a bright start and went close to an early opener when Ethan Smith’s persistence down the right saw Johan Caney-Bryan meet his cross, with Chorley keeper Matt Unwin sticking out a leg to save.