I'm still not quite sure how Chipstead beat us twice last season, admits Neil Cugley

Thursday 18th December 2014

FOLKESTONE INVICTA set out on a mission on Saturday when they travel to Surrey to take on Chipstead – the only club other than promoted champions Peacehaven to complete a Ryman One South double league double over Neil Cugley’s side last season.

“Don’t remind me!” exclaimed boss Cugley, when speaking on www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk

“It wasn’t just that they beat us twice – we conceded seven goals in those two games, and, in the second one, at home, we hardly got a look-in!!

“They’re usually excellent up front, but I’m still not quite sure how they beat us twice.”

The Surrey outfit are currently a more than respectable tenth in the table after beating Hastings 2-1 at home last weekend with goals from striker Will Turl and defender Steve Betancourt.

They were reportedly unlucky to go down 2-1 in their previous home game to near all-conquering Burgess Hill a few days earlier, but had beaten Surrey rivals East Grinstead 2-1 away a fortnight ago when their goals came from elegant wide man and skipper Dan Moody and Tre Mitford – once a Dover Youth League star with St Margaret’s – who was Redhill last season.

Moody, who bagged 26 goals in Ryman League and Cup last season, is again Chipstead’s leading goalscorer with 13 while midfielder Josh Gallagher – who like Moody scored in both games against Folkestone last season – has seven so far.

Micheal Everitt (hamstring) is a major doubt for Folkestone while Josh Vincent may not be risked unless somewhere close to 100 per cent recovered from the knock he picked up late in the goalless game with Whyteleafe at Cheriton Road two weeks ago.

But midfielder Matt Newman should be back in the squad after missing last weekend’s fine 3-1 win at Tooting & Mitcham while Nat Blanks will hopefully have had more time to shake off the virus which has so far failed to make him miss any league games.

“Flu and sickness bugs can always be a problem around this time of the year, but every manager has those sort of problems during the winter,” admitted Cugley.

Young Romanian Flavius Fedor is likely to again start on the bench after grabbing his first goal in an Invicta shirt in Tuesday’s 2-2 ‘friendly-cum-practice’ match at Deal Town.

“That game did pretty much what I wanted it to,” added Cugley.

“Flav, Ronnie Dolan and Richard Atkins all got 90 minutes and we were able to give quite a few of the youth team lads a run-out.”

One of those, defender Callum Wraight, played for most of the game on Tuesday before the knee problem that saw him miss the Tooting trip, meant he was withdrawn in the second half.

Cugley said: “He'll probably be on the bench, but I don’t think he’s quite fit enough yet to make a full game.”

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

Chipstead v Folkestone Invicta
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 20^th December 2014
Kick Of 3:00pm
at High Road, Chipstead, Surrey CR5 3SF