Home   Hythe   Sport   Article

Hythe Town manager Steve Watt will soon stamp out soft goals

Steve Watt is confident it won’t take much to address Hythe’s defensive issues.

The Cannons have conceded a number of soft goals this season - a theme that continued in their FA Trophy first qualifying round exit at Welwyn Garden on Saturday.

Hythe Town manager Steve Watt Picture: Barry Goodwin
Hythe Town manager Steve Watt Picture: Barry Goodwin

They went out 4-1 on penalties after a 3-3 draw during which they twice led.

Watt had no complaints with the defeat but wants his team tighten up whenever they next play.

Last night’s Isthmian South East game at Faversham was postponed due to the fuel problems and they’re currently without a league game until October 16, but could try to bring one forward to October 9.

“Conceding easy goals has been the story of our season,” said Cannons boss Watt.

“Teams don’t seem to be having to work to score goals against us, which is concerning, but I’m more than happy with the way we’re playing.

“It frustrates me because my teams are always built to be hard to beat and you could argue we have been because we’ve only lost three games inside 90 minutes this season, two in the league and one in the FA Cup.

“But it’s the manner of goals we’re conceding that’s frustrating, they’re not worldies or goals where teams have really broken us down.

"They’re coming from basic defensive errors, like giving away soft free-kicks, and then you’re inviting balls into your box.

"Everyone knows at our level that set-pieces play a big part in how games are decided but also how seasons are decided. It’s frustrating but it’s not a major issue.

"Where we’re talking about basic mistakes, it just needs tweaking here and there and we’ll be fine. It won’t take much to fix it.”

Hythe led twice at Welwyn Garden - Tom Walmsley and Kane Phillip the scorers - while DJ Oldaker had a goal controversially ruled out that would have given them a 3-1 lead.

The hosts went on to lead 3-2, with Liam Smith’s injury-time header taking the tie to penalties.

Watt said: “It was an even game between two evenly matched sides.

"We had the best of the first half and they had the best of the second half.

"I don’t think they’d have had any complaints if we’d won and, likewise, I’ve no complaints that they won.

"The referee couldn’t tell me why he’d disallowed DJ’s goal - a cross was cleared and he volleyed it into the bottom corner.

"He said there must have been a foul but couldn’t tell me who by.

"That would have put us 3-1 up and you could argue that played a factor in the result but I’m not one for making excuses - we were still winning at the time.”

Read more: The latest sports news in Kent

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More