Midfielder Alex Brown is staying at Hythe after rejecting the chance to move on.

Brown was wanted by Isthmian South East rivals Sittingbourne but will remain at Reachfields.

That’s good news for manager James Rogers, with captain Charlie Webster expected to miss the rest of the season through injury.

Brown, who’s recently recovered from a knee injury, scored against Sittingbourne at the end of January.

A move to Woodstock would have seen him link up with former Hythe and Maidstone team-mate Alex Flisher but the Cannons have kept their man.

Rogers, whose side visit leaders Hastings on Saturday, said: “We had a seven-day approach from Sittingbourne but we spoke to Browny and he’s a player we wanted to keep, especially with Charlie Webster probably out for the rest of the season.

"We’ve managed to keep him, which is a big plus for us.”

Brown’s decision to stay completes a good week for Hythe.

Buoyed by their penalty shoot-out win at Ramsgate in the Kent Senior Cup second round, they ended a nine-game winless run in the league with a 2-1 success over Faversham.

Young forward Riley Alford scored both goals as Hythe moved up to 15th, three points clear of the bottom two.

“It’s weird how football works because the first half was probably the worst we’ve played since I’ve been in charge,” said Rogers, who saw Brown and Jack Mayhew accidentally floored by team-mate George Crimmen within two minutes of each other.

“The second half was much better, and we created a lot more chances.

“Performance-wise, it wasn’t our best but we got three points and that’s all that mattered.

“Did we deserve to win? That’s debatable but we’ve had it ourselves in the last five or six weeks where we’ve played well and been the better side and got nothing out of it.

“They’re a big side and we were definitely second-best in the first half but we’ve got our two goals in the second half.

“They’ve got one back, which was poor on our behalf, because it could have been stopped, but I’m just pleased to win.”

Two-goal Alford is proving quite a find after signing from Reachfields tenants Ashford FC, who play in the Kent County League.

“He offers us something different,” said Rogers.

“He’s a bit more direct than our other wide players, he’ll make those runs in between defenders and full-backs and get on the end of them. They were two good finishes.

“Ashford FC groundshare at Hythe, we took a punt on him when the budget was cut and he’s done really well.”

Hythe are looking forward to testing themselves in front of a four-figure crowd at Hastings.

The U’s are six points clear at the top after winning 2-1 at Ashford last weekend.

“It will be a difficult game but we go there as underdogs with nothing to lose and we can have a go," said Rogers.

“For me, the young lads we’ve got should enjoy playing in front of a big crowd.

“It’s not every week you get to play in front of 1,000-plus at this level.”