On a warm sunny afternoon, both sets of supporters basked in the afternoon sunshine and awaited the proceedings to commence, the Anvils no doubt in trepidation whilst their opponents no doubt looked to possible rich pickings.

Hythe made the first noise with a couple of corners one of which centre back Craig Cloke nodded over, just after Shaun Welford gave a hint of what to expect with a header just over, he then broke through to set up Dan Stubbs but his shot was well handled by Anvil keeper Campbell - Rose.

For the Anvils apart from a few sorties upfield the game was turned on its head on 10 mins when homesters Wilfred Grimaud was involved in a scuffle with Hythe's Tommy Osborne ending with Grimaud being sent from the field of play after receiving a straight red for kicking his opponent. The home bench along with the rest of the Anvils supporters could not believe Grimaud’s reaction as yet again the Anvils had to play a crucial match with only 10 players on the pitch.

With a man advantage the visitors were not short of exploiting the situation, and come 18 James Morrish floated a cross into the Anvil box for the waiting Dan Stubbs to steer past keeper Campbell Rose. 0-1 Hythe.

Soon after Morrish crossed for a Stubbs header that was turned away by the keeper for a corner. Welford exploiting gaps in the Anvil rear guard then had a shot that sailed well wide, he again went near when getting on the end of a Craig Cloke free kick. In the lead up to halftime the Anvils rallied with a couple of John Lansdale free kicks plus the energetic Zak Afellows cutting inside to find a rare gap but the finish didn't match the build up. Stout Anvil defending kept the score down to just a single goal at halftime. HT 0-1 Hythe.

In the second period the visitors slipped into demolition mode, with first Campbell - Rose having to produce a flying save to keep out another Morrish strike and from the resulting corner Welford rose to head home. 0-2 Hythe.

For the Anvils their ability to attack severly restricted by the loss of Grimaud failed to make much headway against the uncompromising Hythe defenders, though Tom Bingham did have a half chance that keeper Dan Eason turned away for a corner, on the hour Tom Frankland replaced Romone McCrae, whilst in midfield Lansdale continued to wage a one man war against the visitors. Hythe's Welford continued to boss the game and on 54 he scrambled the ball home after a Stubbs corner had not been cleared. 0-3 Hythe.

Next on the list came another Morrish effort which was hacked away, however on 70 a defensive error let in Craig Thompson to open his account and Hythe's 4th of the afternoon. 0-4 Hythe.

Come 72 another Stubbs corner and Welford finish made it 0-5 Hythe. Lloyd Blackman replacing Welford then added his name to the scoresheet on 85 after juggling with the ball before smashing it into the net to end the game in the visitors favour. FT 0-6 Hythe.

The side looked quite good before madness struck on ten minutes, leaving us with just ten on the park yet again, after that we were always going to struggle against a side that were bigger, stronger and used the long ball with such great effect. Nice to see all those youngsters in the side (seven to be exact) which many supporters have been calling for, but Hythe Town proved that experience is key in these situations.

Team: Zane Campbell-Rose, Jamie Hills, Akwasi-Edusei, Ade Akandi, Bakari Sinclair-Smith, John Lansdale, Zak Afellous, Karl Akehurst, Wilfred Grimaud, Tom Bingham, Romone McCrae (Tom Frankland).

MOM: Zane Campbell-Rose. Attn: 81