Folkestone Invicta 2-5 Aveley - We're going to be working hard to put it right, says hurting Folkestone Invicta joint-manager Micheal Everitt

Folkestone Invicta 2 – 5 Aveley
Location	Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU
Kickoff	15/11/2022 19:45

FOLKESTONE INVICTA  2-5  AVELEY
Isthmian League Premier Division
Tuesday 15 November 2022
Stephen McCartney reports from Cheriton Road

FOLKESTONE INVICTA joint-manager Micheal Everitt says they will be working hard to put things right after crashing to a heavy defeat at home to title-chasing Aveley.
 

Hornchurch reached the summit of the Isthmian League Premier Division tonight with 32 points from 15 games following their 3-0 win at Billericay Town, while Danny Scopes’ Aveley are in second-place on 32 points from 16 games following their victory at Cheriton Road tonight.

Folkestone Invicta remain in the bottom six with 17 points from 15 games and Wingate & Finchley are five points behind, while the relegation zone contains Bowers & Pitsea (nine points from 14 games), Brightlingsea Regent (nine from 14), Herne Bay (eight from 15) and Corinthian-Casuals (eight from 15).

Since Neil Cugley moved upstairs, joint-managers Everitt and Roland Edge started their reign with cup wins over Horsham (2-0) and Faversham Town (5-0), but have suffered back-to-back league defeats to Haringey Borough (0-3) and Lewes (2-3) before beating Brightlingsea Regent here 3-1 at the weekend.

Aveley raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 23 minutes with central midfielder Brendon Shabani and striker George Sykes finding the net.

Folkestone Invicta pulled a goal back inside the opening six minutes of the second half through left wing-back Nathan Green but any hopes of an unlikely comeback were thwarted when Sykes scored Aveley’s third goal of the night after 55 minutes.

Left-sided midfielder Ben Allen gave the Essex side a two-goal cushion before Ian Draycott flicked in Folkestone Invicta’s second goal before Sykes completed his hat-trick, taking his goalscoring tally for the season to 14 goals.

“Absolutely disappointed with the defensive performance, we were all over the place,” admitted Everitt.

“It was really, really schoolboy mistakes, mistakes we don’t expect the players that we’ve got to make but unfortunately this season there’s been a habit of conceding the first goal and having to chase the game.

“Listen, they deserved to win, absolutely, but they didn’t have to do a lot to get their goals and that was the disappointing thing.  It’s not like they carved us open with great football, they were efficient with what they did and defensively we were all over the place.”

Everitt revealed that several of his players were playing with injuries tonight.

“It’s not an excuse but we’re a bit depleted at the moment.  JV (Josh Vincent) has just come back from a hamstring.  We’ve made a mistake with Scott Heard, he wasn’t quite right but we decided to take a little gamble on him to see if we can get some minutes in him but he was struggling with a bad back.  Matthew Newman has got a bad ankle. Ade Yusuff’s now got a hamstring. Ian Gayle was suffering with a bad heal. 

“There’s quite a few lads that have been carrying some injuries and it’s all sort of caught up with us today.  We had to make three enforced substitutions for that reason.

“Listen, Aveley deserved to win, all credit to them but we’re never going to win a game of football if we play like that!”

When asked whether he can bring in fresh blood, Everitt responded: “That’s something that we have to have a chat about. It’s something that we have to speak about with Neil (Cugley) and Edgey and we’ll sit down and have a chat.”

Folkestone Invicta almost took the lead after only 43 seconds.

Scott Heard fed a free-kick along the deck into Ronnie Dolan who threaded a short pass into 15-goal talisman striker Ade Yusuff but his shot from a right angle was deflected past the foot of the near post.

“I think if you look at the games we’ve played recently, we’re conceding first in a huge amount of those games and then we’re chasing the game,” said Everitt.

“The tempo wasn’t quick enough and if felt a bit sluggish and slow at the beginning so I didn’t think we started very well.”

Yusuff pulled his left-hamstring in the tenth minute and was withdrawn in the 29^th minute, being replaced by seven-goal Ibrahim Olutade, while Ira Jackson was withdrawn in the 42^nd minute having played the game despite feeling ill, while another striker, Kadell Daniel was on the sidelines serving a one-match ban having picked up five bookings.

Aveley then enjoyed a spell of pressure and winger Kenny Aileru played the ball out to right-back Jon Nzengo, who cut the ball back to Shabani, who played the ball towards the back post and Aileru’s shot was smothered by the advancing Bailey Vose in the Folkestone Invicta goal.

Aveley took a deserved lead with 17:30 on the clock.

Jackson failed to stop the source of the goal on the halfway line and allowed Nzengo to roam down the right and in behind Matthew Newman to reach the by-line.

Right-back Nzengo cut the ball back towards the unmarked Shabani at the back post, who took a touch and drilled his left-footed shot past Vose from eight-yards.

“The actual first phase of play was when the right-back (Nzengo) got on the wrong side of Ira (Jackson) and Ira didn’t do enough to stop him getting forward and he drove into the by-line and cut it back,” said Everitt.

“There’s probably two or three phases of play that we probably could’ve done better and these are the things that we talk about being defensively inept at the moment and it’s something that we’ve got to work out.”

The Essex side raced into a two-goal lead with 22:56 on the clock, with some poor defending from centre-halves Newman and Ian Gayle.

Aveley’s left-back Tom Stephen through ball released Sykes, who beat the offside trap some 35-yards from goal, raced into the box, rounded Vose and rolled the ball into the centre of the goal.

“Again, we had possession of the ball, tried a pass that we shouldn’t have done, got intercepted in transition, one ball over the top beat both of our centre-halves and he’s rounded the goalkeeper and scored.  Preventable and defensively poor,” said Everitt.

Allen – who took all six of Aveley’s corners – wriggled his way into the Folkestone Invicta penalty area from the left before poking his right-footed shot into Vose’s midriff at his near post on the half-hour mark.

Folkestone Invicta created an opening in the 35^th minute at a set-piece.

Draycott stood in front of the ball before teeing up Green, who dragged his left-footed shot past the right-hand post from 30-yards.

Aveley then created a couple of chances in the space of 46 seconds with Allen finding space down the left but lacking composure by rolling a left-footed shot into Vose’s gloves, before Sykes flicked the ball up before smashing a right-footed volley over the crossbar from 25-yards.

Everitt said: “We haven’t been good enough defensively (this season).  I think we’ve conceded far too many goals and we haven’t done enough in both boxes, defensively and scoring, we’ve had chances today but we didn’t score those either.

“Obviously, there were a lot of words spoken at half-time.  We’re going over the same mistakes and the same things all over and over again and we sort of told them we can’t keep making those mistakes and we’ll have to change if if we keep continuing because they are basic schoolboy errors.

“Whilst we’ve let in five, defensively we’re all over the place but we also missed a couple of really decent chances.  You can’t be that defensively poor and expect to win any game of football.”

Folkestone Invicta pulled a goal back with five minutes and 45 seconds on the clock.

Scott Heard threw the ball to Green, who played a one-two with Olutade outside the box before Green drilled a left-footed angled drive underneath the goalkeeper from 16-yards to give the home side a hint of hope of staging a comeback.

“Listen, Greenie was outstanding, he was the best player on the pitch and I feel gutted for him that he’s on the losing side because I thought he was outstanding today and we’re lucky to have him,” said Everitt.

“I just think people in our team would look at him and see how much desire and want he has and if they can match that or get anywhere near that, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in at the moment.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he scored. It was a great finish. When you get back at 2-1, you feel like you’re back in the game but again, our Achilles heal this season is when we score we directly concede another one and that’s what happened in this game and you’re chasing the game again.”

However, Aveley distinguished such hope by scoring their third goal with nine minutes and 43 seconds on the clock.

Allen played in a low free-kick just outside the right corner of the penalty area and Sykes found a pocket of space at the near post to flick his shot past Vose to find the bottom near corner from six-yards.

“Sloppy defending.  The goals we’ve conceded, you can go through every single one of them and they’re defensively all over the place and players have got to take responsibility for that,” added Everitt.

Folkestone Invicta were too slow in their build-up play but they missed a glorious chance to score a second goal of a sorry night in the 18^th minute.

Draycott, who by this time was partnering Olutade in attack, was in a central position and he played the ball out wide to Robbie Dolan, who whipped in a deep cross towards the back post for Olutade to throw his head at the ball and the striker got underneath it and guided his header over the crossbar from eight-yards out.

Everitt said: “We had a chance with Ibs, with the header that you should hit the target with and he didn’t.

“He did ok.  I think it’s hard because he’s coming on and we’re chasing the game and we’re expecting a lot from him.

“The one thing with Ibs, what I will say, he comes on and always gets himself a chance and he’s made a really positive impact off the bench in previous games and he’s got some important goals so listen, it’s not his fault that we’ve lost the game today.”

Stephen put a ball into the Folkestone Invicta penalty, which was poorly cleared by substitute centre-half Callum Davies (Yusuff’s replacement) but the ball came to Allen too quickly and all he could do was stab the ball past the near post from 10-yards.

Impressive Aveley scored their fourth goal with 23:33 on the clock, through more poor defending from the home side.

Aileru easily skipped past Davies down the left and put in a low cross towards the edge of the six-yard box for Allen to turn his marker and place his shot past Vose from six-yards out.

“Again, poor defending. We’ve been too deep this season as a unit and we’ve got done with the ball behind.  Listen, we’ve not been good defensively, you can go through every goal.  I think they can be prevented and we need to be a bit more resolute and stronger and communicate, better shape. The list could go on at the moment with our defensive show.”

Folkestone Invicta pulled a goal back through Draycott’s second goal of the season with 29:09 on the clock.

Aveley’s debutant goalkeeper Tom Middlehurst’s clearance went straight to an off-colour Heard, who cut the ball back from within the left channel to Green, who was some 35-yards from goal. He drilled in a cross with his left-peg and Draycott used the outside of his right foot to flick his shot into the back of the net via the far post.

“Drayc’s probably deserved his goal today, I’ve got to say, he worked his socks off and he made some good runs in behind and to be fair he was one of the players that never stopped running so I think he deserved his goal and again Greenie set it up,” added Everitt.

Aileru spun Davies down the right and put over a cross which was met by the impressive Sykes, who flicked his first time shot towards the roof of the net, only for the ball to be grabbed hold of by Vose above his head, before more poor defending from the home side gifted Aveley their fifth goal of the night with 37:43 on the clock.

Ronnie Dolan was pressed by his opposite number Shabani in Folkestone Invicta’s defensive third and the central midfielder lost the ball, setting up an Aveley breakaway.

Allen and Shabani linked up well in the final third before Sykes let the ball run across his body before placing his right-footed shot past Vose from six-yards out, to score his hat-trick.

Everitt said: “Two or three of the goals that we’ve conceded, we’ve actually had the ball and we conceded in transition and not reacted well and they’ve been able to pick us off – it’s not good enough!”

Folkestone Invicta created the final chance of the night (46:28) when Ronnie Dolan’s diagonal pass found Green, who took a touch before hitting his angled drive straight at the 20-year-old Aveley goalkeeper.

Edge and Everitt take their side to Beaconsfield Town in The FA Trophy Second Round on Saturday, the hosts play at the same level and are in 12^th place in the Southern League Premier South table with 21 points from their 16 league games.

Everitt said: “We’re in training Thursday, we’ll have a count up and see who’s fit and we’ll have to see a reaction and a really good reaction because I think we let the fans down today, myself, Edgy, the players.

“We’re going to need to show a reaction and show them how much we do care because we do care about this football club but you can’t make mistakes at this level and expect not to concede goals. It’s just not good enough!

“We will also be working hard, which we have done already but it doesn’t quite help when you’re having players pull up just before the game starts with injuries and other stuff. 

“Listen, it’s not easy, it’s not an excuse but it’s reality.   We are a bit depleted and we have to be more resolute in the way we approach the games.”

When asked about how it feels being joint-manager with Edge instead of Cugley’s player-coach, Everitt admitted: “It’s certainly not easy, is it?  Listen, I enjoy working with Edgy, we have a great relationship.  You just hurt so much more when you have got a team there that you know you’ve got some really good players and at the moment it’s not happening.

“I wouldn’t just say it’s since we’ve been in charge, we’ve underachieved the whole season, so we’ve got to find a way of putting it right and going forward and that’s where the hard work starts.

“We’ll be in training on Thursday, counting the bodies that are fit and we will have to put a better performance in on Saturday.”

When asked whether he was concerned with the club hovering above the relegation zone, Everitt replied: “I’m not concerned about the league. I’m concerned about the performances we put in and actually before today I would say performances have been good.

“All problems and issues that we’ve had have happened before so we’ve got to address those problems. We’ve tried different shapes, players, formations so we’re going to be working hard to put it right.”

Folkestone Invicta: Bailey Vose, Robbie Dolan, Nathan Green, James Rogers, Matthew Newman (Josh Vincent 71), Ian Gayle, Ira Jackson (Callum Davies 42), Ronnie Dolan, Ade Yusuff (Ibrahim Olutade 29), Ian Draycott, Scott Heard.
Subs: Micheal Everitt, Connor Collins

Goals: Nathan Green 51, Ian Draycott 75

Booked: Ira Jackson 16, Josh Vincent 76

Aveley: Tom Middlehurst, Jon Nzengo, Tom Stephen, Connor Witherspoon (Blaise Riley-Snow 74), Ryan Scott, Harry Gibbs, Ben Allen (Bryan Ifeanyi 86), Brendon Shabani, George Sykes, Garrett Kelly, Kenny Aileru (Benas Vaivada 86).
Subs: Siju Odelusi, Emmanuel Dasho

Goals: Brendon Shabani 18, George Sykes 23, 55, 83, Ben Allen 69

Booked: Ryan Scott 16, George Sykes 62

Attendance: 439
Referee: Mr Kane Dempster
Assistants: Mr Benjamin Marshall & Mr Christopher Cannon