Whyteleafe 1-2 Folkestone Invicta - My players put a shirt on with a lot of pride, says Neil Cugley

WHYTELEAFE  1-2  FOLKESTONE INVICTA
FA Cup with Budweiser Preliminary Round Replay
Tuesday 6^th September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Church Road

FOLKESTONE INVICTA manager Neil Cugley praised striker Stuart King as his two goals sealed victory over a Whyteleafe side that they have faced for the third time in ten days.

Invicta can now look forward to a home FA Cup First Qualifying Round tie against Brighton-based side Whitehawk (who beat Ramsgate 1-0 in their replay at Southwood Stadium tonight) on 17 September, after two-goal hero King passed himself fit following a fitness test on his hamstring just before tonight’s replay at Church Road.

“I think Whyteleafe are alright,” Cugley said afterwards.  “I think they’re a handful up front.  You never sit there really comfy.  Again, a different keeper today, but he’s played well and he’s kept them in it really.

“But you never know with them because they’re so quick on the break.  I don’t think they had a shot second half but you sit there never comfy really.”

The match was in doubt after a heavy downpour at around five o’clock, but the sterling efforts from the groundsman, where he cleared standing water in two areas of the pitch, ensured the game went ahead.

Folkestone arrived at the ground at 6:20pm and there were still doubts with the game going ahead, until match referee Mr Mark Tweed decided the pitch was playable half-an-hour later.

Cugley said: “It shouldn’t even been in doubt!  I don’t know why the referee got so involved in worrying about the pitch.  It was always alright.  It made for a great game.  I think players’ love these conditions because it keeps the ball moving, it’s end-to-end, it’s lively and I’m really pleased with the players’.  They stuck to it, at it for the last few games, they’ve really dug in for us.  We could’ve so easily gone out Saturday (Frankie Chappell scored the equaliser with only two minutes left), with a lot of players going down injured but they kept battling away for me.”

Cugley was without strikers Paul Jones (ankle) and Richard Atkins (broken collarbone) and defender Liam Dickson (work commitments), but he was still able to put out a strong enough side against their Ryman League Division One South rivals.

And the Kent side created the game’s first real opening when Ryan Moreby teed up midfield playmaker Darren Smith, whose angled right-footed drive flashed past the far post from 25-yards in the fourteenth minute.

Whyteleafe, who haven’t won at home so far this season, then created a flurry of chances.

Striker Fabian Batchelor – who was wearing the number 6 shirt – shrugged off Moreby before looping a right-footed shot from 35-yards wide in the 24^th minute, before he sent another effort over just two minutes later.

The impressive Jay Garrick then cut the ball back from the right by-line, but winger Kwabena Agyei chipped a right-footed effort over.

However, it was Folkestone Invicta who opened the scoring in the 29^th minute, with a quality move.

King played the ball to Smith – who was on the edge of the D – and he swept the ball back to King who drove a low right-footed shot across the goalkeeper and into the bottom far corner from ten-yards.

“He (King) wasn’t even in the starting (line-up) when we got here and then he had a warm up and he said ‘I’ll give it a go’, so pleased he’s played in the end,” said Cugley.

“I always thought those two would link up well because Smudge has got a good football brain and a lot of experience and Kingy has got that little bit of quality in and around the box.”

But the 22-year-old striker is shortly expected to be on the sidelines for a month, as Cugley explained.  “He’s still a bit tight.  Hopefully he’ll play Saturday and then he’s got an operation on his arm so he’ll be out for a month so that will be disappointing for us, but we knew that when we signed him.”

But the lead only lasted 173 seconds, as Whyteleafe equalised through Garrick’s fourth goal of the season.

Scott Simpson played a defence splitting diagonal pass to Jerome Ingram on the right and his low cross flashed across the face of goal, but this was picked up by Simpson on the left whose low centre was flicked on by Batchelor at the near post and Garrick’s initial right-footed shot on the turn was blocked by Jack Delo’s legs, but the Whyteleafe striker steered his left-footed follow up into the bottom left-hand corner from inside the six-yard box.

A disappointed Cugley said: “I thought we defended really well, as I said, they’re a handful up front.  They’ve got the lad up front (Garrick), he is a player destined to play at a better standard really.  He’s been a big handful in all the (three) games, I thought he done well.  But I thought apart from the goal, where we got turned a bit, I thought we defended really well.”

Whyteleafe squandered an excellent chance to take the lead within two minutes, as Ingram’s diagonal pass found an unmarked Simpson at the far post, but all the winger could do was slam his shot past the near post.

Garrick had the half’s last chance when he cut inside from the left and unleashed a low right-footed curler, which was comfortably dealt with by visiting keeper Delo.

Whyteleafe created an early second half chance, but Simpson’s right-footed shot from the edge of the box (after Folkestone had dealt with Agyei’s corner from the right) sailed over Delo’s crossbar.

The game then turned into a midfield stalemate, before the game sprung into life during the final twenty minutes.

“The one thing we’ve shown we’ve got that battling way about us and that’s always pleasing,” said Cugley.

“We’ve had some hard games just recently, we’ve had a lot of injury problems during the games and we’ve stuck to the task really well.  I think we deserved the win, nobody cannot say that.”

Folkestone had penalty appeals turned down when King’s shot blasted against Fred Fleming’s arm inside the penalty box after Josh Burchell (who was later forced off with an ankle injury) played the ball through to James Everitt (courtesy of King’s dummy).

But Folkestone Invicta scored the winning goal with twelve minutes left, courtesy of King’s sixth goal of the season.

Roland Edge drilled a shot towards goal from the left, which deflected off Fleming and looped up towards goal, which wrong-footed Whyteleafe’s third keeper in six games, Ricky Borrett, but he did well to palm the ball up into the air and King smashed it home into the bottom left-had corner from just a yard out.

“I don’t think he played that well, but then he gets two goals so it’s a good thing for a striker,” Cugley said of his two-goal hero.

“I just think if he can just learn when to pop the ball off a little bit more, he can make himself a better player.

“His goalscoring isn’t a question, but what he’s got to learn is when sometimes we’re on the break, we give it to him and he loses it then it causes a problem, but if he learns that, he’s still at the age, I can’t see why he can’t play at a lot higher standard.”

Folkestone ended the game on the front foot, as Borrrett made a number of fine saves.

King cut a free-kick back into Edge’s path and the Folkestone midfielder smashed a low shot towards goal, from the edge of the box, but the Whyteleafe keeper saved low to his right at the second attempt.

Borrett excelled at the end of the game, making three diving saves.

A flick from Smith released James Everitt through on goal and his right-footed shot across the keeper was palmed away by the diving keeper, who swiftly repeated the same action to deny Smith from scoring with a right-footed effort from 25-yards.

Substitute Andrew Miller then exchanged a one-two with Smith and drilled a low left-footed shot across the keeper but the ball flashed agonisingly past the foot of the far post.

Smith was denied again as his right-footed chip from 25-yards was tipped over by the agile Whyteleafe stopper.

There will be no Kent derby against Ramsgate in the next round of the FA Cup, as Whitehawk’s Sam Gargan scored the only goal six minutes into the second half at Southwood Stadium tonight.

“I think they’re going to be a really hard game,” warned Cugley, whose side have banked £1,500 in prize money tonight.

“I think it’s Whitehawk, Bognor and Maidstone who will be the three at the end so that’s the sort of side we’ve got to set our standards against, so it will be interesting and obviously we’re delighted to get through.

“Everyone knows the (financial) problems we’ve had at the club and this is the first year where you feel a little bit more relaxed and look like you can enjoy yourselves.  I’m really enjoying it, loving it, loving it.  I just feel like you can score at any time.  We might let one in but what the heck, it don’t matter!

“It is enjoyable because we haven’t got the problems with monies and things like that in the background, like we used to have.  People don’t understand it has been real hard for the last couple of years’ at Folkestone.  Now we’re building a club really, we’re trying to get younger players – I think the average age must be 22.

“I think they put a shirt on with a lot of pride and they’re not on mega money and I think that shows and they have a good, old go.”

Whyteleafe: Ricky Borrett, Don Livell, James Brockhurst, Fred Fleming, Dan Aldous, Fabian Batchelor (Hiram Laud-Anderson 86), Jerome Ingram, Alec Brown, Jay Garrick (Greg Clarke 84), Kwabena Agyei, Scott Simpson (Ryan Thomas 61).
Subs: Sam Marks, Ashley Henry-Brown

Goal: Jay Garrick 32

Booked: Jerome Ingram 62, Kwabena Agyei 90

Folkestone Invicta: Jack Delo, Josh Vincent, Josh Burchell (Andrew Miller 87), Liam Friend, Frankie Chappell, Darren Smith, James Everitt, Stuart King, Ryan Moreby (Luke Blewden 63), Micheal Everitt. 
Subs: Niall Jackson, Roy Guiver, Roddy Hayward.

Goals: Stuart King 29, 78

Attendance: 90
Referee: Mr Mark Tweed (Maida Vale, London W9)
Assistants: Mr Roger Wells (Coulsdon, Surrey) & Mr Peter Critchlow (Carshalton, Surrey)