Hythe Town manager Steve Watt stunned as linesman changes his mind over late equaliser after being challenged by Erith & Belvedere players

Hythe boss Steve Watt was sent off after player power saw a late equaliser controversially ruled out.

The Cannons thought they had secured a point at Erith & Belvedere on Saturday when Jack Steventon’s strike went in off Johan Caney-Bryan in the closing minutes.

The goal appeared to have been given only for the linesman to change his mind after being challenged by Deres players.

Watt’s reaction to the U-turn saw him sent to the stands by referee Redmond Egan and the match ended 1-0.

“The referee and the linesman are on their way back to the halfway line,” said Watt, whose side host Ashford in Isthmian South East tonight.

“The linesman then gets stopped and cornered by two of their players and I’m assuming the referee is going over to book them because you’re not allowed to surround officials.

“There’s been a big song and dance about that.

“The next thing I know, the linesman’s put his flag up and the goal is ruled out for offside.

“There’s a hundred ways that goal could have been disallowed, and you have to accept it, but the way it was done was extremely poor.

“I just said to the linesman we’ve been cheated out of a point and you can’t use that word, which I fully understand, but I wasn’t calling anyone a cheat, I was talking about the situation.

“The referee was excellent - he’s the best I’ve seen at this level.

“He was very good but that was just a mess at the end.

“It shouldn’t have mattered because we should have been four or five up but it’s really disappointing that with all the initiatives for respecting referees that two players getting in the linesman’s face should influence the result.

“I don’t blame the Erith & Belvedere players - that’s a natural reaction - but it’s led to a massive U-turn.

“It all happened