By Kevin Redsull

Hythe Town manager Scott Porter got just the response he wanted from his players in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Eastbourne.

Porter (pictured) had lambasted his squad after the midweek home defeat by Ramsgate, but said after Saturday’s game: "It was important to get a reaction from the players on Saturday after the Ramsgate game, which was our worst performance at home for a long time, and all credit to the boys they produced it.

"The pitch was awful so we had to get it from back to front quicker than we normally would. It wasn’t a footballing pitch, it was just a case of digging in, doing a job and getting out of there with the three points."

This Saturday Hythe take on fellow Ryman League Division 1 South promotion challengers Sittingbourne in what Porter predicts will be a "proper Kent derby".

He added: "I watched them beat Ramsgate a couple of weeks ago and (joint managers) Jim and Danny Ward have got them working hard. We know it’s going to be a battle.

"But the boys know they owe our fans a good performance after the Ramsgate game and we need to transfer our away form to Reachfields.

"We want to go into the new year on an unbeaten run and, if we can do that, it will set us up nicely for the second half of the season."

Porter will be without Nick Barnes and Ronnie Dolan this weekend, while Taser Hassan is away on holiday, but Craig Thompson returns after his one-week loan appearance for Ashford United.