Velocity Wessex Premier football: Last-gasp Sam Boon strike seals thrilling Hythe & Dibden victory over United Services Portsmouth

Velocity Wessex Premier

United Services Portsmouth FC 1

Hythe & Dibden FC 2

Hythe & Dibden enjoyed a tremendous struggle against league rivals US Portsmouth, with a slice of fortune playing its part when an added time winner squeezed home at Victory Stadium.

There has been nothing between the two sides all season, with both entering the contest second and third-from-bottom on 17 points.

It looked as if matters would remain the same with seconds left, but Hythe pushed until the end, and fortune favoured the brave when a 95th-minute shot took a heavy deflection and trickled across the line.

Both sides managed to create and waste early chances, with the biggest of these coming after some great inter-play down the right by the hosts that ended with a glorious chance wasted from two yards out.

Around the half-hour mark, Marcel Laptas arrived a little late as he tried to tackle the USP number nine, Simon Woods, earning a yellow card.

However, some felt it could have been red, including Isaac Kamin, whose vehement appeals saw him enter referee Callum Allen’s notebook.

The booked player, Kamin, got his revenge after the restart, finishing well after Nath Clements’s sumptuous cross to give the hosts the lead.

The lead lasted just over 10 minutes when wretched defending at a set-piece resulted in the ball falling kindly for Ryan Harfield, who made no mistake.

Hythe pushed hard, and there were more than a few relieved faces among the Victory Stadium crowd when keeper Logan O’Donnell made a stunning triple save with eight minutes left.

However, there was nothing he could do in the 95th minute when Sam Boon’s strike took a hefty deflection, leaving the shot-stopper rooted to the spot as it rolled across the line, sparking wild Hythe celebrations as some of the devastated hosts collapsed to the floor.

Hythe are away in their next two games. First, in the Russell Cotes Cup, they face AFC Portchester today (Tuesday) at 7.45pm before taking on Sherborne Town on Saturday at 3pm.

Hythe & Dibden: L. Deacon, D. Wyatt, S. Boon, R. Crookes, J. Parker-Trott, J. Smith, M. Laptas, L. Gray, C. Prentice, C. Papakonstantinou, R. Batley. Subs: H. Fay, Y. Takada, L. Golding, R. Harfield, J. Scorey.