We feel we've not played consistenlty well for 90 minutes, says Neil Cugley

FOLKESTONE INVICTA boss Neil Cugley hopes his wafer thin squad can cope with playing two games in three days.



They booked their place in the First Qualifying Round of The FA Cup following their comfortable 3-1 win at Herne Bay yesterday.

Former Bay players Stuart King and Darren Marsden (penalty) scored to give Cugley’s men a 2-0 advantage at the break and Herne Bay right-back Joe Nelder scored an own goal five minutes after the break to end the game as a contest.

Their Ryman League Division One South rivals pulled a goal back through former Tunbridge Wells target-man Andy Irvine in the final seventeen minutes but Folkestone claimed the Kentish bragging rights and more importantly the £1,750 prize money.

Folkestone Invicta will travel to the winner of the Badshot Lea-Egham Town tie, which takes place later today in the First Qualifying Round and will fancy their chances to win and pick up another £3,000 for the club’s coffers, which could go towards increasing their current eleven man squad, with untried youngsters on the bench.

If Badshot Lea progress then the game will be played at Godlaming Town’s ground, with Sunday 9 September the likely date.

Cugley takes his side to Chipstead tomorrow and then they welcome Eastbourne Town to Cheriton Road next Saturday.

Former Bromley striker Mark Tompkins stepped down as Chipstead’s manager following the first game of the new season citing personal reasons after establishing the Surrey outfit as a top-half side.

The former Erith Town boss revealed he is getting married soon and is moving house and wants time away from the game to recharge his batteries.

Cugley, 55, said: “They’ve improved a lot Chipstead over the last couple of years.  The manager (Tompkins) has done a good job over there.

“It’s not an easy place to go but the pitch is mostly nice. We’ll be alright. Hopefully get no injuries.”

Cugley added: “It’s going to be hard because we’ve got such a small squad.   I’ll be absolutely delighted if we go up there and win because that will give us a few days off and get ready for Saturday.”

Looking further ahead to the visit from Eastbourne Town, who welcome Herne Bay tomorrow, the Folkestone Invicta boss added: “Very good side.  They won’t be far away.  They’ve signed a couple of lads from Eastbourne Borough and it will be a hard, hard test. 

“That will be a good game. Hopefully get a win at Chipstead and then get ready for that one.”

Despite his side winning his first three games of the new season, Cugley warns that there’s more to come from the boys in amber and black stripes.

When asked about the mood in the camp, Cugley replied, “We’re not as high as we were because we feel like we’ve not played that well consistently over 90 minutes so we’ve had a bit of a ding-dong with each other,  a bit of a moan-up, but that’s good to have I think when you’re winning.”

Folkestone Invicta are in sixth-place in the table, Chipstead are in eleventh-place and Eastbourne Town fourth.

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

Chipstead  v  Folkestone Invicta
Ryman League Division One South
Bank Holiday Monday 27^th August 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at High Road, Chipstead, Surrey CR5 3SF