Folkestone Invicta 1 Margate 1

An equaliser deep into injury time from substitute Walid Matata saved the day for Folkestone Invicta in a 1-1 draw at home to Margate in Easter Monday afternoon’s Kent derby at the Buzzlines Stadium, writes Richard Murrill.

Matata sent the majority of the 574 crowd home happy when he hit a sweet finish into the top corner of the net across goal from the left hand side of the box after Mark Saunders had played the ball through a full eight minutes into stoppage time.

It had been Matata who had hit a late equaliser at Hartsdown Park on Boxing Day to open his account for the club in another 1-1 draw when the two sides met at Margate.

The visitors had seemed to be on course for all three points thanks to a wonder goal from Danny Hockton after 51 minutes.

Hockton fired home a spectacular scissor kick for one of the best goals seen at the Buzzlines Stadium this season after striking partner Bertie Brayley had played the ball in from the right hand side.

The visitors lost goalkeeper Charlie Mitten to a late knee injury and with second goalkeeper Paul Egan also out injured had to finish the game with outfield substitute Kola Okikilou between the posts.

Invicta reverted back to the same starting line up which had won their previous home match 3-1 against Walton & Hersham, with Lee Shearer coming back into the defence after an ankle injury to face one of his former clubs and Rob Knott coming in for Matata in attack.

Hockton hooked the ball over with an early chance for Margate after just three minutes when former Gravesend & Northfleet star Lee Protheroe played the ball in from the right.

But Invicta played some inventive stuff of their own as Shearer volleyed into the ground and onto the crossbar after 16 minutes when Knott played the ball in from the left hand side.

And a Steve Norman shot from the edge of the penalty area flashed just wide of the post a minute later.

At the other end, Kevin Watson blocked a Lawrence Yiga shot after 22 minutes, but Invicta were creating the majority of the first half chances and another Norman shot deflected at Mitten when the Invicta player combined well with Matt Carruthers.

There was action in both penalty areas after 25 minutes as Carruthers couldn’t quite latch onto the ball after it had rolled under the foot of Margate’s caretaker player-manager Robin Trott, while Tony Kessell made a great save with his legs to deny Hockton after the ball had evaded Invicta captain Adam Flanagan.

Flanagan then got forward to head harmlessly wide from a Watson free kick.

Margate had to replaced midfielder John Keister after a first half injury, but Invicta were to have problems of their own at half time when a mix up with the dressing room key led to the team having to conduct their interval talk back out on the pitch.

And it was Margate who started the second half stronger as Kessell made a great close range save to deny Trott following a 47^th minute corner.

A deep cross from Spencer Knight flew just in front of Yiga at the far post after 50 minutes and the visitors soon went ahead thanks to Hockton’s stunning strike.

Carruthers was denied in the penalty area by James Donovan after 63 minutes when Stuart Myall played him through following a good run by Knott down the left.

Shearer was clearly struggling with hiss ankle injury and was replaced by striker Matata as Invicta went 4-3-3.

Flanagan headed powerfully wide from substitute Paul Lamb’s corner after 75 minutes and Carruthers couldn’t quite guide the ball in with an attempted lob when substitute Martin Chandler played the ball forward.

A Matata shot was blocked by a defender well into stoppage time when Lamb dinked the ball over to set up the chance, but there was still time for Matata’s dramatic late equaliser.

FOLKESTONE INVICTA: Kessell, Watson, J. Everitt, Flanagan, Shearer (Matata 67), Saunders, M. Everitt (Chandler 77), Myall, Knott, Carruthers, Norman (Lamb 73). Subs: Neilson, Mann.

MARGATE: Mitten (Okikilou 88), Oates, Standen, Protheroe, Trott, Donovan, Yiga, Keister (Grindley 38), Brayley, Hockton, Knight. Subs: Sesay, Edwards.

Attendance: 574