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Folkestone fail to live up to high expectations

Folkestone Invicta were beaten 1-0 away to Harrow Borough on Saturday afternoon following a disappointing performance at Earlsmead.

Expectations were high after Invicta’s convincing 4-0 midweek win at Leyton, but this was to the Folkestone side’s worst performance of the season so far as they went down against a side who had not previously won in the Ryman Premier League at the start of this campaign.

Invicta went into the game with Welling United goalkeeper Danny Skinner coming in for the suspended Tony Kessell who missed his first competitive game since joining the club during the summer of 2003 after an unbroken run of 65 matches.

Also making his debut in attack was 19-year-old striker Ian Pulman, signed on a month’s loan from Margate, with an ankle injury meaning that John Ayling had to take up his familiar substitutes’ role once again prior to his scholarship in America.

Pulman shot just wide of the post when James Dryden played a low ball in from the left after 12 minutes, but that was to be about as good as it got for the visitors.

At the other end, Paul Hamer’s shot on the turn clipped the Invicta crossbar after 16 minutes.

Pulman then hit a low shot at goalkeeper Keita Karamoko a minute later when Simon Glover touched on centre half Adam Flanagan’s forward ball.

But Invicta had to re-adjust when captain Scott Lindsey limped off in the 20^th minute after turning his ankle, with John Walker coming on at right back and Micheal Everitt pushing up into midfield.

The visitors were looking out-of-sorts as top goalscorer Dryden was playing too deep and they could find no way past Harrow central defender and captain Dean Marney.

Brian Haule shot wide for Harrow after beating John Guest down the left hand side after 24 minutes and Osman Hasan’s free kick was touched round the post by Skinner when Guest was adjudged to have fouled Haule after 28 minutes.

Daneil Dyer then tested Skinner from outside the box in the 34^th minute following an untidy period of play from Invicta.

And the only goal of the game came after 35 minutes when Mark Munday gave the ball away in midfield and HAULE turned in the box to hit a low shot into the net following passes from Dyer and Hasan.

Things did not get much better for Invicta after the interval as they lost Glover to injury and could find no way back.

Hamer was denied first by Guest and then by Flanagan after 52 minutes and Steve Dogbe should have increased Harrow’s lead from close range after 59 minutes when Walker gave the ball away to Haule down the left and the goalscorer played the ball over to Hasan at the far post.

Dyer then blasted over when Haule played the ball back to him after 65 minutes.

Munday curled a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area in the 68^th minute and Invicta went for broke when Mark Rook replaced Walker after 85 minutes and the three at the back often became two as Flanagan also pushed forward in search of a late equaliser.

Skinner saved a low shot from Haule when a big kick from Harrow goalkeeper Karamoko sailed over the Invicta defence during injury time.

But Flanagan had a chance to equalise deep into stoppage time when his far post shot was blocked after Everitt had played the ball in from the right.

HARROW BOROUGH: Karamoko, Johnson, Sterry, Walters, Norman, Marney, Dyer (McGonigle 73 mins), Dogbe, Haule, Hamer (Jones 85 mins), Hasan.  Unused subs: Lamb, Henry, Hunt.

FOLKESTONE INVICTA: Skinner, Everitt, Lamb, Flanagan, Guest, Lindsey (Walker 19 mins, Rook 85 mins), Chandler, Munday, Dryden, Pulman, Glover (Ayling 67 mins). Unused subs: Dyson, Morrin.  

Attendance: 130.