raynesparkvale180904

Coleman cuts the mustard as Invicta hit Vale for six

Folkestone Invicta knocked Combined Counties League hosts Raynes Park Vale for six in an easy F. A. Cup 1^st Qualifying Round win in Surrey as Martin Chandler (2), Luke Coleman (2), Simon Glover and James Dryden helped themselves to the goals on a rainy afternoon.

But victory came at a price as goalkeeper Tony Kessell was carried off with a suspected dislocated collar bone and striker Dryden played the final half hour of the match in goal.

Any long absence for Kessell would hit Invicta hard, but there were plenty of positives for the club’s boisterous travelling supporters.

Substitute Coleman for one will not forget this day as he became the youngest player ever to both appear and score for Folkestone Invicta in the F. A. Cup and he nearly had a hat-trick within ten minutes of coming on for the unfortunate Kessell.

At 16 years and 49 days, Coleman slots in behind John Ayling (16 years and 40 days) and Oliver Waters (16 years and 45 days) as Invicta’s youngest ever goalscorer in senior football. Ayling remains Invicta’s youngest ever senior player at 16 years and 19 days, with Coleman 16 days behind him after his substitute appearance at Billericay earlier this month.

Martin Chandler will also have taken a lot from this rout as he opened the closed the scoring to make amends for his penalty miss a year earlier when Invicta had made somewhat harder work of beating Raynes Park 2-0 on a much sunnier day at the same stage of the competition.

Invicta dominated from the start as Chandler took the ball on through the middle after just two minutes and hit the underside of the crossbar with a dipping shot from the edge of the penalty area, with goalkeeper Ed Cornwell keeping out Micheal Everitt’s headed rebound.

The visitors were close again a minute later when centre half Adam Flanagan’s header was tipped away one-handed by goalkeeper Cornwell following a long Dryden thrown from the right.

But the danger had not passed and referee Woodward from Seaford pointed to the penalty spot when Maciej Woznica fouled Glover. Memories of last season’s slip up at the other end must have been going through CHANDLER’s mind but they were soon banished as this time he converted his spot kick low to the goalkeeper’s right in the fifth minute.

Raynes Park threatened an instant reply but Kessell came out to save with his feet from Rawle Kendall when Woznica put him through.

It was soon to be one-way traffic again though as a low Dryden shot was saved by Cornwell after seven minutes.

Glover twice threatened to increase Invicta’s lead when he shot inches wide of the far post from the left hand side of the box after both 12 and 14 minutes.

Blond striker GLOVER was not to be denied though and he made it 2-0 after 16 minutes, this time from the right hand side, at the end of a good passing move also involving Dryden and Everitt.

Captain Scott Lindsey shot just over following a mazy run from Paul Lamb after a corner on the right in the 23^rd minute and Glover shot over from an angle after going round the goalkeeper when Chandler put him through in the 30^th minute in another flowing passing move also involving Mark Munday and Dryden.

Invicta were creating chances at will and replaced captain Lindsey (back injury) with John Walker after 34 minutes.

Goalkeeper Cornwell got across to deny Glover after 37 minutes when Everitt’s quick free kick sent Dryden away down the right to get the ball across and leave a gaping goal once again.

Invicta carried on where they had left off after the interval as Cornwell saved with his feet to deny Glover after 51 minutes and Lamb chipped at the goalkeeper after combining with Dryden a minute later.

It was 3-0 after 57 minutes when Everitt shot against the post after being put in down the left hand side and DRYDEN was there to tap the ball into an empty net.

Dryden then took over between the posts when Kessell suffered his injury in a seemingly innocuous challenge as he came out to save.

Dryden had previously gone in goal when Kevin Hudson got sent off in a Dr Martens League Premier Division match against Hednesford Town in September 2001, whilst centre half John Guest had donned the goalkeeper’s jersey for over half an hour at Ilkeston in October 2002. Defender Mark Towse had gone even further by playing two full games in goal at the end of the 2002-03 season.

COLEMAN was given his chance on Saturday and looks the real deal for Invicta. He struck within minutes of coming on when he got the final touch in the 67^th minute when Everitt’s shot appeared to be going in after both Flanagan and Glover had efforts on goal following a corner on the right which led to a Glover header being cleared off the line by Darren Dobinson.

COLEMAN struck again to make it 5-0 after 70 minutes when he showed great composure to go round Cornwell and score again when put through by Munday.

Coleman was denied a hat-trick as he curled his shot just wide of the post when Chandler put him through after 72 minutes.

Chandler completed the scoring in the 74^th minute when he drilled a low shot into the far corner of the net following a ball from Walker.

Stand-in goalkeeper Dryden touched a low shot by Woznica round the post for a corner after 80 minutes and Invicta gave a late cameo appearance to Lee Dyson in place of Guest who misses next Saturday’s trip to Eastleigh through suspension.

Everitt volleyed at Cornwell after 86 minutes from a Lamb ball as Invicta cruised through.

Raynes Park’s preparations for the tie had hardly been ideal as two players pulled out with food poisoning and one defender arrived at the ground a mere ten minutes before kick off.

RAYNES PARK VALE: Cornwell, Stevens, Perkins, Wheatley, Victor, Leworthy, Woznica, Heard (Vaughan 74 mins), Morris (Lemmie 50 mins), Kendall, Dobinson.  Unused subs: Breakell, Harkness.

FOLKESTONE INVICTA: Kessell (Coleman 63 mins), Watkins, Lamb, Flanagan, Guest (Dyson 81 mins), Lindsey (Walker 34 mins), Chandler, Munday, Dryden, Everitt, Glover. 

Attendance: 92.