Hythe Town 5-3 Lewisham Borough - We have to defend better, admits Fisk - EXCLUSIVE

HYTHE TOWN 5-3 LEWISHAM BOROUGH
Pre-Season Friendly
Sunday 29^th July 2007
Stephen McCartney reports from Reachfields Stadium

Paul Fisk, the manager of Kent League side Hythe Town, bemoaned his side’s defensive frailties as they leaked three goals against Kent County League premier division opponents, Lewisham Borough, today.

Hythe deserved their 2-0 lead after 54 minutes through Lee Winfield and Michael Smissen, before a lack of concentration allowed their lower league visitors’ to fight back.

Lewisham Borough striker, Marcus Wilson, scored the first of his two goals, after 57 minutes, before Hythe raced into a 4-1 lead, through Will Dunlop and Aiden Pursglove.

But the south Londoners turned the game on its head, by scoring two goals within a minute, from the penalty spot from central midfielder, Steve Evans, and Wilson, scoring his second.

Left-sided midfielder Winfield netted his second of the game with thirteen minutes remaining - as six goals were scored during the last thirty minutes of this pre-season friendly at Reachfields Stadium.

Hythe stamped their authority on the game, creating a whole host of early chances, as Lewisham found the going tough.

An offside flag saved Pursglove’s blushes after he sent his right-footed volley over, after a well-worked free-kick routine from former Ashford Town defenders, Ian Ross and Barry Crawford.

And they should have scored after ten minutes but Smissen won a header ahead of his team-mate, former Folkestone Invicta reserve team defender, Sam Marsh, but nodded wide of the right post, following Jason Brazier’s set-piece.

Lewisham, however, started to grow in confidence, and their first shot on goal arrived after fourteen minutes.

Evans’ unleashed a right-footed drive from 35-yards, which flashed just past the foot of the left-upright.

And striker Neil Simpson lashed well wide of the left-post from 25-yards before Hythe goalkeeper, John Sparks, coming in for the holidaying Paul Hyde, was tested in the 21^st minute, when he made a low smart save to his right to prevent Darryl Queeley scoring with a 30-yard right-footed drive.

Visiting goalkeeper, John Henry, made a string of fine saves throughout the game, the first coming on the half-hour mark.

Jason Brazier slipped a low pass into Ian Hayes’ path, through a crowd of defenders, and Hayes was denied by the goalkeeper, who parried the shot.

Hayes, the right-sided midfielder, had a second bite of the cherry, however, but Jamie Fairman was on hand to clear the ball off the line.

Henry made a double save after 32 minutes, making a close-range reaction save to deny Smissen, and then palming Pursglove’s shot, from the left-hand side of the penalty area, around his post.

But he was beaten four minutes later when Winfield drilled his shot through a crowd of players, from six-yards, following Ross’ flag-kick from the right.

Smissen, the former Dover Athletic striker, squandered a couple of late first-half chances, as Hythe had to settle for just a 1-0 lead at the break.

Winfield came close to doubling the home side’s lead within the first two minutes of the second half, drilling a right-footed shot past the foot of the near post, after bursting into the box.

Then, after a knock-down from Smissen, Crawford tried his luck from 25-yards, which was off-target.

But it was no surprise when Hythe, who finished last season’s campaign in sixth place, enjoyed a deserved two-goal advantage, nine minutes into the second half.

A fine solo run from Smissen ended with the striker firing a left-footed shot from 25-yards across the goalkeeper to find the bottom right-hand corner.

But Lewisham pulled a goal back, within three minutes, as Evans slipped the ball into the path of nippy striker, Wilson, who rolled the ball past the advancing Sparks and into the bottom right-hand corner.

Pursglove latched onto a defensive splitting ball over the top from Brazier, but his fierce drive was beaten out by man-of-the-match Henry.

But substitute Dunlop made it 3-1 after 63 minutes, drilling his angled shot from eight-yards, past the goalkeeper after Smissen’s 19-yard free-kick was drilled into the wall.

And persistence from another former Dover Athletic player, Dale Skelton, helped Hythe to make it 4-1 just three minutes later.

Skelton burst into the penalty box before squaring the ball to Pursglove, whose right-footed shot from twelve-yards flew into the far corner.

Evans sent Sparks the wrong way from the penalty spot with 21 minutes remaining, and Hythe were thinking the worse when their visitors scored another within a minute, Wilson captalised on poor defending, to fire into the bottom left-hand corner.

Winfield smashed home his second of the game after 77 minutes with a fierce right-footed thunderbolt from 25-yards to score Hythe’s fifth goal of the match.

And substitute Darren Walmsley had to endure laughter from his team-mates in the dug-out, late on.

Following a chipped far-post cross from Ross, Walmsley managed to direct his six-yard header against the near post, with an open goal gaping in front of him.

But Fisk admitted EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards that his side have to defend better.

“I learned we could be a bit better defensively, but overall, I’m pleased,” he said.

“I’m pleased with scoring five goals, hitting the post, so pleased that we’re scoring goals and just need to shape things up a bit defensively.”

Fisk, who made a total of five changes during the second half, felt these changes helped the south London side to claw their way back into the game.

He said: “The changes don’t help. You make a lot of changes and it takes ten minutes for the team to settle back down and we let goals in.”

Anthony Sands, the player-manager of Lewisham Borough, was also unhappy with his side’s defending.

He said: “We let ourselves down defensively today I thought. Gave away a lot of very poor goals.

“Even though we’ve played the teams from the league above, Deal, Erith & Belvedere, Thamesmead and Hythe, I think today we let ourselves down badly out of the four games.

“But I still see enough, we’ve still come down here and scored three goals.”

Hythe Town: John Sparks, Dan Fisk (John Walker 57), Ian Ross, Barry Crawford, Sam Marsh (Will Dunlop 62), Dale Skelton, Ian Hayes (Joe Neilson 57), Jason Brazier (Ben Luckham 69), Michael Smissen, Aiden Pursglove (Darren Walmsley 69), Lee Winfield.
Subs: Joe Bullard, Ben Williams, Matt Fellows.

Goals: Lee Winfield 36, 77, Michael Smissen 54, Will Dunlop 63, Aiden Pursglove 66

Lewisham Borough: John Henry, Jamie Fairman, Jamie Smith (Anthony Sands 69), Sheldon Brown, Sam Musandi (Martin West 45), Gavin Kinghorn (Siao Blackwood 67), Darryl Queeley (Lambert Tsemzang 74), Steve Evans (Sam Musandi 87), Kyle Dimitri, Neil Simpson (Paul Palmer 53), Marcus Wilson.

Booked: Paul Palmer 90

Goals: Marcus Wilson 57, 70 Steve Evans 69 (pen)

Attendance: 95
Referee: Mr Leigh Austin (Ashford)
Assistants: Mr Brian Budd (Canterbury) & Mr Mark Graves (Margate)