Kent League pacesetters Hythe Town suffered a surprise 4-1 defeat at Erith Town on Saturday.

Paul Fisk's side were undone by the Kent League's leading scorer Marcus Cassius, who bagged a superb hat-trick for the Dockers.

Cassius gave Erith a 1-0 half-time lead and then Dean Burns made it 2-0 before Cassius struck again midway through the second half.

Top scorer Dave Cook pulled one back for Hythe with five minutes left, only for Cassius to strike again 60 seconds later.

The only saving grace for Fisk was that their nearest challengers, Holmesdale, also lost, going down 1-0 at lowly Lordswood.

Hythe are in action again on Tuesday night when they take on Slade Green at home in the first leg of their Premier Division Cup quarter-final.