FA Vase first-round qualifying: Brilliant Brockenhurst punish Hythe & Dibden in FA Vase victory

FA Vase first-round qualifying

Hythe & Dibden FC 2

Brockenhurst FC 6

BROCKENHURST were ruthless while dispatching Hythe & Dibden, knocking them out of the FA Vase by a colossally lopsided 6-2 scoreline.

The Badgers scored early and never looked back, with Tiago Moreno bagging a hat-trick, Dylan Walker hitting the back of the net twice, while Ryan King grabbed the final goal.

Hythe kept plugging away throughout, scoring in each half through Louie Thompson and Sam Lewis.

With a challenging game expected, the travelling Badgers crowd were more than happy to see a Hythe defender make a mistake in his own box, with Moreno gleefully sweeping the ball home with two minutes on the clock.

The visitors were on fire, and Walker went close multiple times, before in the 19th minute he finally beat Shea Woodsford off an assist from right-back J.J. Burgess.

The hosts began to hold their own, fashioning decent chances, but Brockenhurst made it 3-0 after Moreno pounced on another loose ball after the keeper spilt Adams’s well-hit free-kick.

With 36 minutes played, Hythe were rewarded for their stubborn resistance when Cain Prentice delivered a glorious cross to Louis Thompson, who had the simple task of turning the ball home.

Refusing to let the hosts have the final say in the first half, Brock restored their three-goal cushion when sloppy marking allowed Walker to grab his second after multiple defenders missed the cross.

Hythe’s long-time manager, Terry Cox, clearly unhappy with the performance, made five substitutions during the break.

The changes bore fruit, with the Hythe press causing some issues for the visitors before substitute Sam Lewis fired home with 10 minutes of the half played.

Brockenhurst keeper Will Butler had to be alert to push a shot around his post, but before long, the Badgers were back in control.

Left-winger Moreno, showing an excellent knack for being in the right place at the right time, linked up well with Luke Gray before getting onto another rebound, sitting the keeper down and shooting into an empty net.

Keeper Woodsford’s afternoon went from bad to worse after a tame effort at stopping Ryan King’s shot led to the sixth goal.

There was still time for a second yellow card for Hythe & Dibden’s Kenny Gatera, and the final whistle could not come soon enough for the hosts.

Brockenhurst host United Services Portsmouth at the Meadens Skoda Arena on Saturday at 3pm. At the same time, Hythe & Dibden host Downton at the Hythe Garages Stadium.

Brockenhurst: W. Butler, J.J. Burgess, E. Pearce-Eavis, B. Channell, J. Francis, C. Burns, R. Taylor, L. Gray, D. Walker, J. Adams, T. Moreno. Subs: R. Drake, R. King, N. McCarthy-Gardiner, L. Simpson, J. Taylor.

Hythe & Dibden: S. Woodsford, D. Wyatt, S. Boon, R. Crookes, K. Gatera, R. Batley, L. Thompson, J. Scorey, C. Prentice, D. Hacon, O. Bradley. Subs: R. Harfield, M. Laptas, S. Lewis, Z. Willis, T. Lycett.