Just a week ago Herne Bay overcame Hythe Town with ease in the Kent Senior Cup Second Round thanks to goals from Luis Medina, Jake Embery and Tom Carlton. For the third time in five weeks we meet again, this time in the Velocity Trophy, the Isthmian League Cup First Round with a home tie in the Second Round at stake against Bognor Regis Town or Whitehawk who also play this evening.

Hythe Town was formed in August 1910 and started playing in the local junior leagues. They were granted senior status and elected to the Kent League in 1977, winning the League title in 1988/89 by 14 points and setting a league record of 133 goals. Over the 12 seasons Herne Bay managed just five wins and seven draws against Hythe, the 12 defeats included 0-7 and 0-5 under Fred Saker. There was also a negative goal difference of 33. Town gained promotion to the Southern League but only lasted three seasons.

By 1991/92 the money was beginning to run out and the club was put into liquidation soon after. A scratch side, as Hythe United, went into the following season’s Kent County League and negotiated continued use of Reachfields Stadium. After three seasons the club regained senior status and in 1995 were elected back into the Kent League. Herne Bay had the best of the 12 encounters with ‘United’, winning eight and drawing one.

In 2001 Hythe dropped the “United” suffix, reverting to “Town”. The 2010/11 season was possibly the most successful in the history of the club, when they won the Kent League Championship for the first time in over twenty years (on goal difference ahead of Herne Bay), and with it promotion to the Isthmian League Division One South. There had been 20 clashes with ‘Town’ who won half of them with Bay winning five and drawing five. In 2012/13 Hythe reached the play-offs but were defeated 3-0 by Faversham Town in the semis and three seasons later there was a similar fate by the larger margin of 7-0 at Worthing. In 2017/18 Hythe were heading for the play-offs until the 90th minute of their last game, when Corinthian-Casuals equalised to take the Cannons place in the knock-outs.

In the league, this campaign, Hythe have won three, drawn one and lost one leaving them in fifth place with ten points, 13 positions and eight points above Herne Bay who are 18th. Zac Ansah has so far this season scored twelve league and cup goals.

The home league fixture is scheduled for Saturday 22/12/2018.