It may be August and supposedly high summer, but on a day when the weather took a soggy turn for January, no amount of rain could spoil the parade as Lydd Town made FA Cup history.
The ‘Lydders’ may have lost their first league match after winning promotion in last season’s play-offs but made history last Saturday when beating Camberley Town 1-0 in their first ever appearance in the Emirates FA Cup. With newly signed player-manager James Rogers dictating play from the dug-out the home team put up a great display for a good early-season crowd in wet and windy conditions that tested both sides.
In this tightly contested extra-preliminary FA Cup match Lydd created chances with Troy Howard and Kenny Pogue combining well to threaten the Surrey visitors on several occasions. The decisive goal came in the 70th minute when Howard ran onto a pass from last season’s top scorer, Luke Burdon, to slot the ball past Camberley keeper Dawid Gorski.
Despite a nail-biting nine minutes of added time, the Lydders held on to earn their place in the next round against Deal Town on August 19.
Lydd Town skipper Ryan Smith felt his team had opportunities to score more, but with new signings on and off the pitch, the team has yet to get into their stride.
He told Rye News: “We’ve made some good signings during the summer, including Stephen Okoh, former Ashford United, Margate, and Whitstable Town midfielder, and Charlie Dickens, also from Ashford United, a player with bags of experience including time at Faversham and Chatham Town.”
James Rogers joins as player-manager following the resignation of Mickey Doyle who had masterminded the team’s promotion last season. His departure was purely for reasons outside football, but he was present last week to witness his team make their first-ever appearance in the FA Cup.
Rogers, a former player with Dover, Margate, and Maidstone, moves to Lydd after time as manager of Hythe Town. He said: “We’ve got a good team, a very supportive board, a great crowd of supporters, and I’m very positive about the season ahead. A lot of the players, including the new signings, have played together before, and many of us have been good mates for years. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The ‘Lydders’ next home game is against Faversham Town on Wednesday, August 16 with an evening kick-off of 7:45pm.
Image Credits: Chris Lawson , John Botten .