Invicta target successive wins

Folkestone Invicta will be hoping to keep their midweek form going when they entertain Walton Casuals in Ryman South on Saturday, writes Mick Cork.

Tuesday’s 5-0 hammering of Sittingbourne – with one more effort from Stuart King ruled out after being clawed back from a long way over the line – came thanks to an astonishing four-goal burst by lively forward Dane Luchford and a first goal since last season by second half substitute Johan Ter Horst.

Manager Neil Cugley's team now face the side immediately below them at the Fullicks Stadium and he's looking forward to the encounter after their last outing.

Cugley said: "Of course we were all delighted with that result. And I was particularly pleased for Dane – I’ll admit I had a bit of a go at him in pre-season. Let’s face it, he only scored a couple of goals in 18 games or so for us last season and that’s not enough for a forward.

"But he’s very much like [world-travelling forward] Richard Atkins – they work hard and really deserve every goal they get."

Cugs was fairly non-committal over whether he will field an unchanged side against the Casuals and said: "I was pleased with the overall performance. The starting eleven all did well but the lads who came on also did well. It really is nice to have a much stronger bench this season."

One player virtually certain to retain his place, however, is keeper Roddy Hayward, who played in place of Rob French, who was side-lined with a bout of tonsillitis.

"Rob may be better, but I haven’t made up my mind 100 per cent yet," said the Invicta manager. "For sure, Roddy didn’t do anything wrong, in fact, it was just the opposite."

Walton Casuals finished rock-bottom of Ryman One South last season and were only saved from going down following a restructuring of the leagues at this level. But once their reprieve came through, they quickly appointed ex-Kingstonian assistant manager Bobby Hams as the new boss at The Waterside, where Invicta won 2-0 at the tail end of last season with two goals from Richard Atkins and one by defender Phil Stevenson.

Hams’ new side surprised some with a 5-3 victory over last season’s third-placed finishers, Faversham, last weekend. But they were beaten 1-0 away at Hastings, one of the title favourites two days later.

Cugley is aware of the dangers his side face. He added: "We had them watched on Monday. I don’t know too much about the new manager but he’s clearly got contacts and the two forwards they’ve brought in, Connor French and Bobby Traynor, have both been around a bit and scored goals wherever they’ve been."

French, who was with Dulwich Hamlet for the last couple of months of their championship-winning season, and renowned ex-Kingstonian hotshot Traynor, each scored twice in the Casuals’ opening day victory.

Folkestone should also learn their FA Cup opponents tomorrow when Hailsham Town and Molesey fight out their Extra-Preliminary Round tie to decide who visits The Fullicks Stadium in two weeks time (August 31).

Back in the league, Folkestone face a couple of Kent derbies away from home when they travel to Herne Bay on Tuesday and Ramsgate a week tomorrow.