Cugley delighted to break his Ramsgate hoodoo

FOLKESTONE INVICTA produced arguably their best performance of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Buzzlines Stadium, seeing off Ryman Premier side Ramsgate in a FA Cup first qualifying round tie where the home side dominated proceedings throughout, writes Tom Marchant.

Ramsgate arrived at Cheriton Road undefeated on their travels but crashed out of the FA Cup, thanks to James Dryden’s 88^th minute winner for Folkestone.

Rams keeper Jack Delo tipped over the bar from a ryden effort early in the first half, whilst strike partner James Everitt remarkably saw an effort strike the bar and rebound onto the goal line before being scrambled away following a Jimmy Jackson corner from the left hand side.

Folkestone put the visitors defence under an increasing amount of pressure in the second half, with the young Everitt brother hitting the post and the Seasiders seeing several opportunities scrambled off the line. In contrast, Invicta keeper Charlie Mitten was merely a spectator again for long periods of the match.

Folkestone boss Neil Cugley told www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk: “We thoroughly deserved win and I get on well with Jim Ward (Ramsgate manager), but over the years he has always had a bit of a hoodoo on me so it’s nice to put that to bed and in such an important game!

“We’ve always got on well with Ramsgate though and to be fair to them they never gloated when they won and they took defeat yesterday in a good way as well.

“It was getting a bit frustrating though as we had a lot of chances to put the game to bed and I was reluctant to change things as if it had stayed 0-0 I was confident we could go to Ramsgate and get a result there.

“With all the chances we’d had though it would have been disappointing if we hadn’t been able to do it first time and even the Ramsgate people said we deserved to win.”

Invicta’s record goal scorer Dryden came up with the match winning goal towards the end of the game, lobbing former Herne Bay keeper Delo, who himself was guilty of some bizarre antics in the Ramsgate goal earlier on in the half.

“Jim did miss a few chances but all credit to him as he kept getting in the right places to score and I was pleased he got the winner which he took ever so well and he’s gambled with the defender struggling to get his head on it,” said Cugley.

It was Jimmy’s strike partner who was awarded man of the match as he continues to excel in a forward role and Cugley has high hopes for the versatile youngster in an attacking position.

“As I said last week, Ratty (James Everitt) is getting better and better and he’s got a lot to learn but we can work on that and maybe in the long term that will be his position.

“Scott (Lindsey) and I have got to work on him; on his runs, improving his composure on the ball a bit more but all that will come and he is still only 21. He is a great athlete, very brave and for his size he is also very good in the air and he done well again yesterday.”

Cugley also brought experienced player-coach Scott Lindsey into the centre of midfield alongside Micheal Everitt and Jimmy Jackson.

“Lindso came in after only an hour on Wednesday in the reserves but we knew with his experience it would help us and he’s been brilliant,” praised Cugley.

“We needed to be strong in midfield and with Lindsey and Jackson you have got experience. Michaeal Everitt had one of his better games and worked ever so hard in there and he was our engine whilst the other two used the ball well.

“I think Nick Humphrey has been doing a tremendous job for us and he’s come in and shown great defensive qualities in every game and that came through in his performance yesterday. I think we’re getting there now with the defence and we have worked on that in training.”

The Invicta boss also praised captain Lee Gledhill who produced another impressive performance at right wing back.

Gledhill spoke to Cugley early on Saturday morning after feeling unwell but declared himself fit to play on arriving at the Buzzlines and gave everything until being replaced by the lively Byron Walker when he was unable to continue.

Matt Bourne left the field as a precaution with a head injury and was replaced by Liam Dickson for the remaining minutes.

Victory over Invicta’s Kent rivals means the Seasiders now have a week before the visit of Burgess Hill Town next Saturday.

This will be the first midweek break for Folkestone since the start of the season and has come at a crucial time with several players nursing minor injuries – Humphrey (groin) and Jackson (back) although both are expected to be fit for next weekend.

Andy Pugh’s one month loan spell with the Cheriton Road club has now ended and whether the loan can be extended is to be decided this week.

And Cugley said: “We’ll be discussing it but he has been a great loan signing for us. I can’t fault his attitude and he’s come every training session and he came to watch the games he wasn’t involved in and he has played a big part in helping us get off to a good start.

“Regardless of whether he stays or not, he has helped give us a nice foundation to build on and we thank the Supporters Club for getting the money together which was a brilliant gesture which was badly needed at the time. If he doesn’t stay for another month we are in a position to cope with that”.

The manager hopes Craig Wilkins will be able to take his place in the squad for Burgess Hill as he nears a return to fitness from a knee operation and Lee Spiller could make a return to action as early as next Tuesday when Invicta make the trip to Whitstable. Spillsy picked up a knock in last weekend’s 2-0 victory against an overly physical Dulwich Hamlet side.

The West Sussex side will have at least one player known to Invicta fans; defender David Piper. Former Bognor Regis captain Piper signed for Folkestone last season but left early in the campaign after work commitments meant he couldn’t fully commit to the Seasiders.

Cugley said: “They (Burgess Hill) had a good win (on Saturday) beating Epsom 5-2 and they’ve got the lad Harper there who is a very good player. You’ve got to win your home matches in this league to get to the play off positions which are where we want to be and if we can do well in this next batch of league matches we will be in a very good position.”

Article courtesy of www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk

Folkestone Invicta v Burgess Hill Town
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 20^th September 2008
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU