It was a poor performance from Whitstable who were easily beaten by a confident Hythe Town team. The home supporters might have expected better following three straight wins, but the loss of Ollie Rowe, who failed a late fitness test to join Ollie Gray on the injury list, seemed to disrupt the defence and Hythe took full advantage. A debatable penalty led to the opening goal and there were two more soft goals conceded before the break. Any thoughts of a second half comeback were soon dashed when another free header made it four soon after the restart. A good move allowed Alex Brown to complete his hat-trick and yet another defensive mix up led to the sixth with a quarter of the game still to play. Whitstable had more of the game and carved out some chances in the latter stages, but it was all too late to make a difference.

Hythe arrived at the Belmont a couple of points behind Whitstable with a game in hand, having beaten Herne Bay 1-0 in their previous game. Three consecutive wins against Sussex teams had lifted Whitstable into fourth spot. Injuries from the previous game meant manager Lloyd Blackman brought Tom Bryant and Reece Gillies back into the starting eleven in place of Rowe and Leo Mazzone. Heavy rain had fallen throughout the day, but the pitch was perfectly playable and 255 turned out to watch.

Hythe started positively and most of the early action was in the Whitstable half. Alex Brown had an effort blocked before Alex Flisher put the rebound wide, then Dan Eason had to be alert to collect the ball and deny Brown the chance to shoot. Whitstable had survived the early pressure including three corners and just begun to settle a little when Hythe took the lead with an 18th minute penalty. Tom Bryant was pressured by Tom Walmsley when trying to play out from the back so passed the ball back to Eason, but as Walmsley went down the assistant flagged and advised referee Peter Conn to award a penalty. The decision appeared harsh on Whitstable, but Flisher made no mistake from the spot and blasted the ball past Eason. Whitstable tried to respond and a low James Brown cross was stabbed towards goal by Simon Kabamba, but Nathan Harvey was able to collect the ball. Brown was perhaps unfortunate to be booked for handball when a clearance struck him as he turned away.

Reece Gillies, Tijan Jadama and Luke Medley all tried to test Harvey, but the Hythe goalkeeper remained untroubled, whilst at the other end Eason saved from Brown. In the 38th minute, Whitstable fell further behind when a Darren Oldaker free kick was only cleared to the edge of the box and played back in by Walmsley where it hit a defender and fell nicely for Brown to find the net. Things got worse three minutes later when a corner taken by Oldaker on the left was headed in by Brown at the near post. Liam Gillies forced Harvey to make a routine save just before the break when Hythe went in with a very comfortable looking three goal cushion.

Hythe started the second half brightly and it was no great surprise when they scored again in the 50th minute, but Whitstable will be disappointed that they had failed to learn from the first half as another Oldaker corner was headed in, this time by Liam Smith. Soon afterwards, four became five, when a quick break gave Brown the chance to score his hat-trick. Walmsley flicked a clearance into the path of Oldaker on the left and he found Brown free on the right with the time and space to fire past Eason. Lloyd Blackman tried to change things around, sending on Ryan Flack to play on the right with Medley on the left. Medley and Liam Gillies both had efforts saved, but in the 66th minute it was 6-0 when a long throw by Nick Dembele struck a Whitstable player and the rebound was tucked away by Walmsley.

The game was over, but at least Whitstable showed a little improvement in the remaining time when they created a few chances without managing to take any. The lively Liam Gillies made a good run before shooting just wide, Aaron Millbank saw his shot blocked and then a promising move down he left ended with Liam Gillies shooting over the top. In the closing minutes Victor Aiyelabola had a chance when a good Medley cross was cleared to him just inside the box, but he dragged his shot wide, then a Kabamba header across goal was hooked over by Jadama. Millbank glanced a header just wide and a Flack shot was blocked just before the final whistle confirmed a comprehensive win for the visitors.

Whitstable will be hoping for a better performance from the start when they travel to play Ashford Town (Middlesex) in the Buildbase FA Trophy on Saturday.

Whitstable	Data	Hythe
6	Shots on target	8
5	Shots off target	2
4	Shots blocked	3
1	Corners	9
10	Fouls conceded	13
1	Offside	5
0	Penalties	1

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Simon Kabamba, Tom Mills, James Brown (Ryan Flack 54), Luke Girt, Tom Bryant (c), Liam Gillies, Reece Gillies (Victor Aiyelabola 61), Aaron Millbank, Tijan Jadama, Luke Medley.
Subs (unused): Leo Mazzone, Muhammed Cham, Lewis Mitchell.
Yellow cards: Tom Bryant 17, Liam Gillies 75.

Hythe Town
Nathan Harvey, Liam Smith, Kaka Dembele, James Rogers, Dean Beckwith, Tom Wynter, Charlie Webster (c), Darren Oldaker (Morgan Williamson 84), Tom Walmsley, Alex Brown (Nick Dembele 59), Alex Flisher (Jarred Trespaderne 69).
Subs (unused): Ryan Botley, Nathan Gordon.
Goals: Alex Flisher (pen) 18, Alex Brown 38, 41, 54, Liam Smith 50, Tom Walmsley 66.
Yellow cards: Alex Brown 24, Tom Walmsley 72.

Attendance: 255
Referee: Peter Conn
Assistants: Simon Cutler & Michael Butcher