We have to go to Three Bridges and do a professional job, says Hythe Town boss Scott Porter

HYTHE TOWN boss Scott Porter says he will drum into his players the importance of winning their FA Cup tie at Three Bridges on Saturday.



Porter takes his side to their Ryman League Division One South rivals in The FA Cup Preliminary Round and the winners will be at home to Maidstone United in the next round two weeks later.

The Stones clinched promotion back in to the Ryman Premier League at the end of last season after finishing runners-up to Dulwich Hamlet and beating Folkestone Invicta and Faversham Town at home in the play-offs.

Maidstone United attracted a crowd of 709 to Reachfields Stadium when they last visited last January, with the Stones winning a seven-goal thriller.

But Porter admits getting past Three Bridges, who go into the game sitting slap bang in the middle of the table, will be a tough nut to crack.

“They try to play attacking football. They play a lot of people up top so it will be tough,” warned Porter.

“There’s no easy games in this league. I know it’s the Cup, that’s why it’s a tough league but we’ll go there and there’s a lot at stake because you’ve got Maidstone in the next tie. There’s a lot at stake and I’ll put that to the boys come Saturday.”

Hythe Town came away from local rivals Folkestone Invicta with a 1-1 draw on Bank Holiday Monday, courtesy of former Maidstone United striker Shaun Welford stabbing home Rhys Lawson’s centre.

Hythe are unbeaten on their travels but went down to their first league defeat of the season when Hastings United grabbed a 2-1 win at Reachfields Stadium last Saturday.

It was to be Terry White and Mark Stapley’s last game in caretaker charge of Hastings United, who appointed John Maggs as their new boss on Sunday, two months into his new job at Tonbridge Angels as general manager and groundsman at Longmead Stadium.

Tenth-placed Porter said: “We should be unbeaten.  We shouldn’t have lost on Saturday. It was a smash-and-grab by Hastings. We should’ve had the game wrapped up.

“It’s a long season. I don’t look at tables until you’ve played ten or fifteen games so we’ll assess it then really.”

Porter knows the importance of facing Maidstone United in the First Qualifying Round of The FA Cup on 14 September.

“That’s why we have to go to Three Bridges and do a professional job and be switched on. We’ll recover from the two games over the weekend and regroup Thursday with a nice easy session. We’ll go down to the spa for a nice light session, get the boys regrouped and we go again Saturday.”

Porter guided then Kent League side Hythe Town to The FA Cup First Round in November 2010 when they went down 5-1 away to then League Two side Hereford United.

“It’s a great competition, we’ve experienced it and we’d love to do it again so these things will be going through people’s minds on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a big crowd (against Maidstone) if we beat Three Bridges. Also for the boys I’ve brought in from Maidstone, it’s a big incentive there.”

Visit Hythe Town’s website: www.hythetownfc.co.uk

Three Bridges  v  Hythe Town
The FA Cup with Budweiser Preliminary Round
Saturday 31^st August 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Jubilee Field, Three Bridges Road, Three Bridges, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1LQ