Hythe Town 0-1 Whitehawk

Nine-man Whitehawk survived a late Hythe Town onslaught to earn a crucial three points on the road in Kent.

The hosts could have led after just 5 minutes with Chris Kinnear heading narrowly wide following an early corner. This was followed up a few minutes later by a fast-paced attack from the Cannons, but it ended with Tom Carlton shooting well over the bar.

The Hawks were dealt a blow after 16 minutes with captain Henry Muggeridge being unable to continue after sustaining a knee injury, with Rob Deda coming on to replace him. Both sides continued to trade attacks through the half, with the game being a physical affair with the referee letting quite a few questionable challenges go. Hythe looked quick on the break and 7 minutes from half time Charlie Webster forced a good save from James Broadbent.

The Hawks started the second half on the front foot, controlling possession and Lucas Rodrigues head wide from a David Martin cross.  The breakthrough came after 59 minutes.  A quickly taken free-kick by John Paul Kissock caught out the Hythe defence, for Duane Ofori-Acheampong to coolly finish past Ryan Nicholls.

The Hawks could have sealed the points nine minutes from time after a mazy run by David Martin saw him force a good save from Cannons keeper Nicholls. The task of seeing out a 1-0 scoreline became harder after 89 minutes as scorer Ofori-Acheampong was sent off for a second yellow card after words with the assistant referee. From the re-start Hawks were down to nine men as keeper Broadbent was harshly shown a straight red card after coming off his line to foul a Hythe attacker, despite covering defenders being in the area. From the resulting free-kick, stand in keeper Alfie Rogers made a fine save. The  Hawks survived a late flurry of long balls into the box, taking a huge three points back to Sussex.

Cannons: Nicholls, Cooper, Capel (Pickering 90’), Kinnear, Quinn, Rowe, Woollcott (Walmsley 80’), Carlton, Collin, Okoh (Bartlett 68’), Webster – Subs Not Used: Adonis-Taylor, Carney

Hawks: Broadbent, Walsh, Banya, Emberson, Lopata, Hamilton, Rodrigues, Kissock, Ofori-Acheampong, Muggeridge © (Deda 16’), Martin (Rogers 86’) – Subs Not Used: Robinson, Tighe, Unwin

Goals: Ofori-Acheampong 59’ (Whitehawk)

Yellow Cards: Cooper, Carlton (Hythe); Banya, Ofori-Acheampong (2), Martin (Whitehawk)

Red Cards: Ofori-Acheampong (Second Bookable Offence), Broadbent (Foul Tackle) – Both Whitehawk

Attendance: 229

Hawks Man of the Match: Luke Emberson