VETERAN striker Lee Wort’s first strike since his return to Sholing earned the Boatmen a berth in the Southampton Senior Cup semi-finals.
Wort took advantage of a calamitous mix up in the Hythe & Dibden defence to tap home to earn Sholing a semi-final against either Bashley or Fawley.
It was Wort’s first goal since his return to the red and white stipes since his glory-laden spell when Sholing lifted the FA Vase at Wembley.,
Wessex League side Hythe took the lead against the odds after the Boatmen dominated early possession.
Hythe were happy to sit back and soak up the home side’s pressure, intent on punishing Sholing on the break with the electric pace of Christos Papakonstantiou on the left-hand side.
Going a goal down didn’t faze Sholing at all — they continued to play patiently with good intensity, earning themselves several free-kicks in promising positions on the right and left wing — but Charlie Davis’ deliveries struggled to test Hythe keeper Luke Deacon.
The Boatmen continued to probe, and the away side eventually crumbled under the set-piece pressure. Deacon was called upon before Brad Targett, Sholing’s brightest player in the first-half, was free at the back-post to turn the ball home in the 28th minute, bringing the home side level.
The second-half restarted with similar intensity from Sholing, pushing and probing a resilient and resolute Hythe & Dibden defence.
Jake Hesketh beat two players and forced Deacon into another good save to keep the scores level for the away side, before the visitors had a shot rattle against the post.
Sholing’s Marvin McLean caused all sorts of problems for the visitors, beating his man on the left-wing and squaring it, but there was no-one in red and white to turn the ball home.
Paul Doswell’s men posed their most dangerous threats throughout the game with their set-pieces, often choosing to overload players into the box.
But it was a short corner routine that tricked the Hythe & Dibden back-line, who’s momentary lapse in concentration was pounced upon by Sholing’s all-time top goalscorer, Lee Wort.
