US Portsmouth boss ‘gutted’ after losing Wessex League promotion six-pointer to Hythe & Dibden

Former USP striker Michael Dark was among the scorers as the Watersiders sliced the gap on the leaders to just a point with a game in hand with a 3-2 success which, on the balance of play, was harsh on the hosts. All the goals came after Dec Seiden had seen an early penalty saved by the impressive Josh Cotton whose performance, according to Turnbull, was the difference between the two teams. US dominated the first 20 minutes, building from the back through midfield and using wing-backs Liam Kyle and Frankie Paige whenever possible. Some of their approach play would certainly not have looked out of place in the division above which US are trying to reach for the first time since the club entered the Wessex in 2004. Striker Andrew Todd - handed his first US start a week after coming on as a sub at former club Petersfield - saw an early shot blocked for a corner before he was brought down for a 17th minute penalty. Seiden had scored from 12 yards in the win at Petersfield but this time his effort was saved by Cotton diving to his left. Four minutes later, Hythe were ahead when Dark - who left US to sign for Hythe midway through th 2018/19 campaign - fired in from the edge of the penalty area. ‘The penalty was a turning point,’ said Turnbull. ‘Dec’s been outstanding recently but the miss certainly seemed to affect him. ‘I think Hythe only had five attacks all game and scored three goals. We had five attacks in the first 20 minutes. ‘I was gutted to lose. It was a real six-pointer - if we’d won we’d have been seven points ahead of them, which would have been a significant gap. But now we’re only one ahead. ‘Their keeper (Cotton) was the difference between no points and three points for us. I don’t know if he’s getting paid but if he is he certainly earned his money.’ Hythe doubled the lead within 30 seconds of the restart, two players challenging for possession on the edge of the penalty box and the ball rebounding into the path of the unmarked Charlie Crane who couldn’t miss from close range. After Todd had flicked a header from a free-kick against a post, USP got themselves back into it on 65 minutes when Todd and Seiden combined to set up James Franklyn for his 19th goal of the season. Turnbull pointed to his side’s ‘naivety’ in the fact they conceded a third within a minute of the kick-off for a second time in the half - sub Cain Prentice latching onto a long ball and sliding a shot past the onrushing Tom Price. Cotton produced a superb double save on 73 minutes, first getting down low to block Franklyn’s free-kick and then springing to his feet to push Harry Sargent’s follow-up header from within the six-yard area over the bar. ‘That was an unbelievable save,’ praised Turnbull. Hythe’s respite was brief - from the resultant flag-kick, skipper Tom Jeffes powerfully headed in at the near post. Cotton tipped over Bedford’s 25-yarder as US went in search of a leveller, but apart from that the nearest they came was when sub Phil Archibold’s inviting right-wing cross eluded everyone. After Prentice had hit the post in injury time from a rare Hythe breakaway, US defender Tom Cain was shown a straight red card for a foul. That was quite literally the last kick of the game as the player had hardly left the field when the final whistle blew. ‘The referee told me he didn’t really want to send him off, but he had no alternative,’ Turnbull revealed.