The players will want to put things right, says Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley

Thursday 13th September 2012

FOLKESTONE INVICTA bid to retain some interest in the cup competitions when they take on fellow Ryman League Division One South side Merstham in the FA Carlsberg Trophy Preliminary Round at Cheriton Road on Saturday.
Last weekend’s 3-2 defeat by lower league Badshot Lea that saw Invicta throw away a 2-0 half-time lead can be viewed as one of the club’s most disappointing results for several seasons.

And manager Neil Cugley has admitted that his side’s second half performance was ‘totally unacceptable.’

Cugley, who was speaking to www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk said: “They came out after the break and threw everything at us.

“They got right in our faces and I’m sorry to say that one or two of our players went missing when it mattered.”

He admitted that his failure to use any substitutes does leave him open to criticism, but said: “The eleven we had on the field should have been good enough to get us through the game – even after Badshot got back to 2-2.”

Cugley admits that his bench isn’t as strong as he would like but said: “They’re 18 and 19-year-olds – what would it have done for their confidence if they’d come on and made the kind of mistakes that cost us the game?”

Cugley did confess that he now wishes that he and assistant boss Mick Dix had looked at replacing one or two of the more obviously tired players and had given at least one of his substitutes – the popular Ryan Philpott – a chance to liven things up.

But Cugley should have better strength in the squad this weekend with recent signing from Horsham Reggie Savage likely to be included.

Some fans seemed more concerned over the loss of the £3,000 FA Cup prize money than the performance against Badshot and that prize money would undoubtedly have made the manager’s life easier over the coming weeks and months.

Whether he is able to keep Savage on a long-term basis is hard to say at this moment but Cugley added: “Reggie needs a club and needs to be putting himself in the shop window. I’ve not even had time to think about whether we can keep him for any length of time, but he’s obviously doing us a favour and, for the moment, it’s a situation that benefits both parties.”

Both Paul Jones and Josh Vincent were having injections hoped to settle their groin problems earlier this week, but neither is expected to be back for the FA Trophy tie.

“If we can get those two back and keep Reggie we’ll have a far stronger squad to play with” added Cugley.

Merstham, who are managed by former Bromley boss Hayden Bird, are currently fourteenth in the table with, surprisingly, just one win all season so far but Cugley says his side must not be fooled by those statistics.

“They’re a far better side than that!”

“They’ve got some very good players and are a quick, counter-attacking side who’ve caused us problems in the past.” he said – clearly reflecting on last season’s shock 4-0 home defeat at the hands of the Surrey outfit.

“We’ll have to play far better than we did in the second half last weekend if we want any kind of run in this competition” admitted the manager.

If a replay is needed that is likely to be next Tuesday at Moatside meaning postponement of Wednesday’s scheduled Ryman League Cup tie at home to Kingstonian.

Badshot Lea’s late smash and grab victory left everyone connected with Invicta shell-shocked and disgruntled supporters will join the manager who said: “Hopefully that was a one-off - and hopefully the players all feel that they let people down and will want to put things right.”

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

Folkestone Invicta v Merstham
The FA Carlsberg Trophy Preliminary Round
Saturday 15^th September 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU