Folkestone Invicta 0-2 Billericay Town - We didn’t do ourselves justice, admits Watson

FOLKESTONE INVICTA 0-2 BILLERICAY TOWN
Saturday 27^th October 2007
FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Fourth Qualifying Round
Stephen McCartney reports from Buzzlines Stadium

Hopes were high for the last remaining Kent non-league sides going into their FA Cup fourth qualifying round ties today.

Ebbsfleet United, Bromley, Folkestone Invicta and Tonbridge Angels were all gunning to reach the first round proper - but the quartet are now full of regret.

The draw for the first round proper was made inside twenty minutes of their depressing defeats - and Exeter City, Eastbourne Borough, Billericay Town and Ware have all been handed home draws, and national media coverage, in two weeks time.

Worst of all, Essex side Billericay Town, who sealed a comfortable win over their Ryman Premier League rivals Folkestone Invicta, may have the Match of the Day cameras at New Lodge when Swansea City visit.

And they had striker Joe Flack to thank, who took his goalscoring tally to an impressive seventeen for the season - and a Folkestone Invicta side that weren’t up for the occasion.

A crowd of 659, the largest at Cheriton Road this season, many of them so desperate for the home side to win so they can jump on the glory hunting bandwagon, went home disappointed, whilst the Billericay contingent, 150 according to Folkestone chairman Mr Bob Dix, were able to enjoy the first round draw in Stripes.

“Everyone was thoroughly disappointed as you’d expect,” revealed right wing-back Kevin Watson, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“That’s the other side of the Cup you don’t see. Obviously it’s a bonus when you get through, but when you go out, and when up there (in the Wilf Armory Suite) watching the draw being made, it’s obviously disappointing.”

Exactly 52 weeks ago, I was at Tonbridge Angels who were defeated by Newport County by a solitary goal, and on that occasion Newport had drawn Swansea City at home in the first round - now its time for Billericay Town officials to start planning ahead for a game against the Swans.

Such a disappointing performance from a Folkestone Invicta side, who last reached the limelight just two years ago, when they bravely went out at Chester City.

Adam Flanagan, now at Dartford, stunned the home faithful by scoring an early opener, but Chester recovered to seal a 2-1 win and a date with Nottingham Forest.

“We just couldn’t get going really,” admitted Watson. “I can’t really put my finger on it at this point.

“I think we have to go away and reflect, and the management will do so, and see what went wrong, so we can put into place on Monday (at home to Kentish rivals Margate).

“But I don’t know really. I think the enthusiasm was there, it’s got to be, a big game like this, but the passing was a little bit off, they were a little bit clinical than us, maybe.”

Folkestone, going into the game on the back of two straight defeats, after going eleven games unbeaten before that, suffered from stage fright, as the two front men, in a 3-5-2 formation failed to keep hold of the ball, as the ball kept coming straight back.

And Billericay Town thought they had settled their own nerves, by going close from the first corner of the game, after just 113 seconds.

Lee Hodges, who played in the same Plymouth Argyle side as Folkestone midfielder Mark Saunders, floated in a corner which was met by a bullet header from Billericay skipper Jamie Dormer, but Charlie Mitten made a smart save on his goal-line.

A disappointing James Corbett tried his luck from distance for the Kent side, but his left-footed shot from thirty-yards looped into the arms of Billy McMahon, the Billericay goalkeeper.

Corbett, a former YTS at Gillingham, before securing a £525,000 move to Blackburn Rovers, disappointed his manager, Neil Cugley.

“I think Jim, if he’s being honest, he knows he can be playing better than this,” said a dejected Invicta boss.

“He’s a class player and he’s had a quiet, he’s only scored one goal, it’s not adequate enough at this standard.

“He is such a good player you need him playing well, especially when he plays in the hole.

“He’s got to be the main man and starring and getting them worried, and I don’t think that happened today.”

Flack issued Folkestone a warning in the 21^st minute when his back header looped just over Mitten’s crossbar, following a cross from the right from full-back Wayne Semanshia.

And former Bromley striker Boot, and Flack, lashed two more shots over Mitten’s bar as the Essex side dominated proceedings throughout this important game.

However, the first moment of excitement for the Folkestone faithful arrived in the 40^th minute.

Leigh Bremner latched onto Corbett's pass down the left, and after cutting in, he drove his shot agonisingly past the foot of the near post. Some fans in the stand were up on their feet celebrating, before sitting back down, embarrassed.

But Flack proved what a clinical striker he is, the same pedigree as Tonbridge Angels’ striker Jon Main, when he pounced to give the Essex side the lead with 43 minutes and 23 seconds on the clock.

Former Margate midfielder Paul Abbott unleashed a stunning volley from thirty-yards, but his former team-mate Mitten dived low to his left to produce a stunning save.

But the ball fell to Flack, who kept his composure, to follow up and to score from six-yards to send the Essex boys wild.

Fired-up Billericay came out of the dressing rooms earlier than normal, doing some pre-match warm-up exercises - they were in determined mood to finish off the job.

And with just six minutes and 20 seconds on the clock, Flack wrapped up their comfortable win.

Flack spun away from Watson as he cut in from the left before lashing a deflected shot into the top far-corner from twelve yards.

Just two minutes later, Invicta finally gave McMahon something to think about, as he made a comfortable save from striker Leigh Bremner.

And strike-partner, Ellis Remy, who scored the only goal of their third qualifying round tie against Hillingdon Borough just fourteen days earlier, had a very quiet game, his only chance, saw him lash a right-footed half-volley over.

Roland Edge was forced off the field with a head injury after 64 minutes, and Folkestone switched to a 3-4-3 formation in a bid to salvage something.

But the Seasiders couldn’t break down a solid Billericay back-four.

Liam Friend, Folkestone’s home-grown defender, however, was unlucky not to score his first goal of the season with ten minutes remaining.

Substitute Damian Abel delivered a diagonal pass from right to left and Friend saw his initial shot blocked before his follow up effort brought a fine block from McMahon.

Billericay had a third goal chalked off for offside with just three minutes remaining, when two substitutes combined on a counter-attack.

Bradley Wood-Garness, whose netted seven goals this season, which is more than Folkestone’s strikers Remy (3 goals) and Bremner (3) combined, played in Rikki Burbridge, but the flag had already been raised before he lashed his shot into the top right-hand corner.

Watson stroked a right-footed free-kick from thirty-yards, which McMahon tipped over late on, and at the other end Mitten made a comfortable low save to deny Abbott, but Folkestone, like the other three Kent sides, are left pondering what might have been.

“I felt we had too many players having a poor game and never really got going,” admitted Cugley.

“Disappointed for the fans, disappointed for the players as well because they’ve worked hard, last few weeks, to get us up in the league and obviously get this far (in the FA Cup) but not really firing on all cylinders.

“I think we lacked a bit of quality really. We lacked, to be fair, all year really, just that little bit of class that we need at this standard.”

But Folkestone born Cugley wished Billericay all the very best with their clash against Swansea.

He said: “Today we deserved to lose, they have more quality and more class about them.

“Sometimes you look, do players care? Of course they care, it’s a horrible feeling for all of us. - you just feel down.

“Good luck to them, they’ve got a good draw. Financially that will help them big time. We could have been them but we didn’t deserve anything so I’ve got no complaints.”

And on hero Flack, Cugley added: “He’s a class player. To be fair, if we had him you don’t know do you?

“We really can’t afford that sort of player. I thought the second goal was a class strike, ok a took a little bit of a deflect, but the turn and that, it’s just instinct.

“The first (goal) Charlie Mitten’s made an absolutely great save and he’s one followed in like all good forwards do - we really haven’t got that quality at the moment.”

Folkestone Invicta chairman, Mr Bob Dix, in his first EXCLUSIVE interview with www.kentishfootball.co.uk blamed the club’s lack of fire-power for their miserable Cup exit.

He said: “I think in certain areas we’re not scoring enough goals, that is the problem, good defence, but we’re not scoring goals.

And he revealed that the club needs regular gates of over 500 to turn the club into play-off contenders.

“We had 659 here today and probably 150 of those were Billericay,” he revealed.

“Five hundred people locally who came to watch us today and if they come along every week, that’s why it’s a pity we didn’t win or get a draw or get a goal.

“If they come along every week than that would be fine.

“Five hundred (fans) a week would do us, lovely, so it’s possible. They’re out there but they just seem to come out of the woodwork for the FA Cup games, not the league games.”

Folkestone Invicta: Charlie Mitten, Kevin Watson, Roland Edge (Damian Abel 64), Frankie Chappell, Liam Friend, Samuel Kola Okikiolu, James Everett (Ben Sly 76), Mark Saunders (Micheal Everitt 83), Ellis Remy, Leigh Bremner, James Corbett.
Subs: Ryan Briggs, Alex Conyers.

Booked: Mark Saunders 63, Ellis Remy 90

Billericay Town: Billy McMahon, Dave McSweeney, Danny Kerrigan, Wayne Semanshia, Steve Heffer, Jamie Dormer, Paul Abbott, Leon Hunter, Joe Flack (Rikki Burbridge 86), Tony Boot (Bradley Wood-Garness 65), Lee Hodges (Ryan Maxwell 51).
Subs: George Lay, Jack Buckfield.

Goals: Joe Flack 44, 52

Booked: Joe Flack 85

Attendance: 659
Referee: Mr Simon Long (Ipswich, Suffolk)
Assistants: Mr Mark Potkins (Woodbridge, Suffolk) & Mr Nick Cooper (Ipswich, Suffolk)
Fourth Official: Mr Guy Marley (Bexleyheath, Kent)