Dulwich Hamlet can hurt you on the breakways, warns Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley

FOLKESTONE INVICTA boss Neil Cugley says his side will have to be defensively switched on when they face title chasing Dulwich Hamlet tomorrow.



The south London outfit arrive at Cheriton Road sitting in third-place in the Ryman League Division One South table, with 67 points from 31 games, but they have only conceded 20 league goals.

Folkestone Invicta, meanwhile, are in fifth-place in the table, with 55 points from 30 games and wins over Dulwich Hamlet and away to fourth-placed Maidstone United next Wednesday will give the Kent club a chance to seal a play-off place at the end of the season.

“Dulwich are a good side, they beat us 5-2 up there, they’ve got some good forwards and to be fair they’ve got the meanest defence in the league so it will be a tough game,” said Cugley.

“I think it will be an enjoyable game. They play football the right way, so it should be a good game.”

Folkestone Invicta’s home game against Walton Casuals on Wednesday night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and has already been re-arranged for 28 March.
 
Cugley said: “We would have liked to have played and tried to win the game as it would have put us in a stronger position.

“It saved the pitch, the pitch looks lovely for the game against Dulwich.”

When asked what he is expecting against Gavin Rose’s talented side tomorrow, Cugley said: “You have to be careful on the counter attack really against them as they’ve got a lot of pace and they can hurt you on the breakaway and that’s what they did up there.  We lost 5-2 and two or three of their gaols were literally on the break so you have got to be switched on.

“We have to make ourselves a lot harder (to beat) than we were up there.

“Their goalie is very good, Francis Duku, their centre half is a very experienced player.  We’ll go and test them.  We only play a certain way now to obviously try and score some goals so it should be an entertaining game.”

Looking ahead to the crunch game at Maidstone United at Bourne Park next Wednesday, Cugley said: “They’re two important games, but there’s still a long way to go., there’s ten games to go.  Hopefully we can pick points up in these two games but what will be will be.  We’ve got enough games after that as well to get back up there.

“It will be hard.  Maidstone are a  difficult side again, with good players.  They’re not too much to choose between us, Maidstone, your Worthing’s, Chipstead’s, Hythe and all that – they’re all the same.”

Bognor Regis Town (68 points), Whitehawk (67), Dulwich Hamlet (67), Maidstone United (56) and Folkestone Invicta (55) are the top five sides, with Worthing (54) waiting in the wings if either of the Kent sides slip up.

"The top three will stay as the top three and it’s down to us to get enough wins to try and get into the play-offs,” said Cugley.

Folkestone sealed promotion out of this division two years’ ago after they finished runners-up to Croydon Athletic, thus securing home advantage in the play-offs and wins over Leatherhead and Godalming Town secured promotion into the Ryman Premier League, where they stayed for just one season, finishing bottom.

Folkestone are likely to play both play-off games away from home, if they are to win promotion this time around.

Cugley said: “You know the rules, before we were at home both times as we finished second.  If we’re fourth or fifth we’ll be playing away, we know that.  We just like to get in them if we can. 

“It’s the longer term plan at Folkestone.  It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t, but we’ll do our best to get in them.”

Visit Folkestone Invicta’s website: www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk  

Folkestone Invicta  v  Dulwich Hamlet
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 10^th March 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU