Chelmsford are a class above, warns Cugley

Folkestone Invicta ended their six match unbeaten run following their 1-0 defeat at Hendon last Monday night, writes Andy Bown & Tom Marchant.

Hendon could well be considered an in form side at the moment inflicting defeat on AFC Wimbledon at the weekend and beating Slough Town 2-0 the week before, both results after a fairly sluggish start to the 2006/2007 Ryman Premier season.

Invicta boss Neil Cugley told www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk: “Obviously they had just beaten AFC Wimbledon on Saturday 3-1 and they’re on a run themselves and in the first twenty minutes I thought they were very good and we were lucky not to concede in that first twenty minutes.

“They moved the ball round well early on and they were too quick for us but after getting through that twenty minutes I felt it was anyone’s game.”

“We went there and set our stall out to get a win and I’m disappointed we haven’t done so. I felt we dominated the second half after they scored, dominated the game overall but we didn’t test the keeper enough for my liking. We had a lot of possession and we were in their half a lot but we didn’t have any shots on target.”

The Seasiders have now gone three games without putting the ball in the back of the net and the Invicta boss acknowledged: “We haven’t created a lot of chances to be fair and Leyton second half was worrying because we just sat back and the same was true yesterday.

“Slough was the only exception where it was our strikers who didn’t put the ball in the net. Our choice of pass in and around the box has been disappointing in the last three games and that’s been reflected by the amount of goals we’ve scored, or haven’t scored in this case”.

“But sometimes you have to give the other side credit and Hendon were very confident and are on a hell of a run and they didn’t let us play and we had to work really hard to make sure we stayed in the game.”

Folkestone are still placed 15^th in the table but teams around Invicta have games in hand increasing the need for Invicta to pick up points in the next run of matches.

Cugley said: “Yes it’s a little bit too tight for my liking but we’ve just got to keep plugging away and we need a couple more wins to stay in this league and I keep saying to the players we want them as soon as possible”.

Looking back to Saturday’s match at Leyton where Invicta came home with a point in a 0-0 draw in east London the Folkestone manager said: “I thought it was a fair result overall but it was very disappointing that we didn’t get the penalty at the end because you won’t see a more blatant penalty.

“It was astounding that the referee didn’t give it. That could’ve easily been three points and we deserved a draw at Hendon so from that point of view it’s promising but then you compare it with the amount of chances we created and it’s still worrying.”

Folkestone can be buoyed by the return to action of influential skipper Adam Flanagan after a stomach problem saw the solid centre back not play in black and amber since last year.

Flanagan has now played two full competitive matches and his manager said: “He’s done really well for us and he is a class act. Adam and Kola are forming an excellent partnership and they’ve only conceded the one goal and with Richard Martin behind him we’re a lot harder to break down. That’s going to be particularly important going into the Chelmsford game”.

Chelmsford City come to the Buzzlines Stadium on Saturday sitting at the top of the Ryman Premier.

“They’re favourites to win the League and I thought from the start of the season they would and after a bit of a slow start they’re starting to show their true colours and they are a class above,” said Cugley.

“They’ve got some fabulous attacking players and they’ve scored a lot of goals recently and I think Jeff Minton is going to be one of their players to watch as he’s got a lot of goals from midfield and is very influential so it’s going to be a tough afternoon for us.

“We had them watched last week against Horsham and they demolished them and it was a report of an excellent side and we’re going to have them watched in the East Thurrock game as well, but we still need to stop them on the pitch.

“They’ve spent a lot of money but they’ve spent it in the right way and they’ve got a Conference standard team with a lot of experience.

“But I already said to the players after the Hendon game that we have nothing to lose in that game and we shouldn’t fear anything, and we’ll go out there and do our very best”.

Chelmsford have won their last five matches including impressive defeats of Horsham (5-0), Carshalton Athletic (5-1) and Walton and Hersham (7-1) and are level at the top of the League with AFC Wimbledon but have a game in hand on the Dons.

Experienced midfielder Mark Saunders won’t be available on Saturday as he is suspended for one match after being dismissed against Slough Town.

James Corbett will face a late fitness test on a bruised foot which Cugley said the former Blackburn Rovers had ‘been playing through the pain of recently’.

Corbett may therefore be rested for what Neil has described as a ‘vital’ game away at Walton and Hersham the following Saturday.

There could therefore be two places up for grabs in the Invicta midfield, with committed James ‘Ratty’ Everitt and lightning quick Ben Sly likely contenders for the places.

Martin Chandler has had an x-ray on his foot which has highlighted it was not a stress fracture as was initially feared. But unfortunately the injury will slightly delay the local midfielder’s comeback to first team action as he works his way back to full fitness.

In the light of ongoing speculation regarding the goalkeeping position at the club with Brighton and Hove Albion keeper Richard Martin signed for one month, the Invicta boss explained, “He’s still here up until the Walton game next week and then I’m going to speak to Brighton to see if we can keep it going a little bit longer and that would be nice because he’s done so well for me.

“You can see why he’s at a Football League club and the quality of his handling for his age is exceptional and he’s very commanding and he’s going to have a special future in the game”.

Cugley is also looking forward to seeing the state of the pitch at the Buzzlines Stadium later this week as Director Lynn Woods revealed that work would be done to improve the quality of the surface in time for Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the pitch turns out for Saturday’s game and as a club I know the Directors want to improve it and attract better players so they can play on a better pitch,” said Cugley.

“Hopefully over the close season money will be spent on it although I’m not sure if that’s going to definitely happen at this moment in time but it would be nice and then that’ll give the team a chance to play better football on it”.

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

Folkestone Invicta v Chelmsford City
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 17^th March 2007
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent