Kentish Football 
Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley has four players missing for season opener
Friday 19th August 2011
FOLKESTONE INVICTA kick-off their Ryman League Division One South season tomorrow with an attractive home game against a Walton & Hersham side that manager Neil Cugley believes will be among the frontrunners for the league title, writes Mick Cork.
“We’re all really looking forward to it now, though we have four players unavailable for Saturday for various reasons so really down to the bones” the manager told www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk.
“Josh Burchell has a one game ban and Darren Smith starts a three match suspension while Paul Jones was committed to going to a wedding this weekend before he started playing football again and Roland Edge is out of the country.”
But keeper Jack Delo who picked up a knee injury in Friday’s 3-1 win over Ryman Premier League side Billericay Town is expected to be fit to play.
Like every one of the rest of the side that will take the field against Walton, Delo missed Monday’s 6-0 hammering at Ashford United where Cugley’s team selection disappointed many of the visiting fans.
But Cugley defended the side he put out saying: “With those four players unavailable this weekend we just couldn’t risk any more injuries.
“It was very disappointing that none of the largely untried lads we brought in did anything like enough to stake a genuine claim for a place in the starting eleven for Saturday.”
The only exception to that was young striker Richard Atkins, a former Invicta youth player who has now returned from university and also impressed in his brief appearances in earlier games.
“I really like him. I like the way he plays and I like his attitude. He’ll be in the squad next Tuesday, but unfortunately he too has other commitments this weekend.”
Burchell, Edge and Jones will also be available for the midweek trip to Corinthian Casuals, easing Cugley’s problems.
But newcomers Ryan Moreby, Matt Hollyoak, Luke Blewden and Stuart King all make their competitive debuts.
Folkestone also welcome back outstanding centre back Liam Friend who has committed himself to Invicta after playing a couple of pre-season games at Margate.
Fellow defender Liam Dickson, who didn’t play on Monday because he is working up country, will also come back into the squad while others such as James Dryden and Jason Sowle look likely to be on the bench.
A goal down by half-time at Homelands on Monday, Invicta rang the changes in the second half but conceded five more goals at regular intervals and eventually lost 6-0 to the Kent Invicta League side.
Cugley said: “It was very disappointing, but none of those players can now say they’ve not had the chance to show us what they can do. On that evidence, though, no-one (apart from Atkins) did well enough to suggest they are ready for a place in our first choice eleven.”
Tomorrow’s opponents Walton & Hersham have won only one of their seven pre-season games, albeit that against Blue Square South opposition in near neighbours Kingstonian (2-1).
Of their other six games they drew three and lost three, mostly though against reasonable standard opponents.
Folkestone won four, drew one and lost three of their eight friendlies.
“They (Walton & Hersham) will definitely be one of the better sides in our division” reckoned Invicta boss Neil Cugley.
“But we’re up for it. We’ll need to play with plenty of passion but I’m really hoping that we can get a result.”
Article courtesy of Mick Cork – www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk
Folkestone Invicta v Walton & Hersham
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 20th August 2011
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd