Patterson aiming for lengthy Trophy run

After a 4-1 demolition of Aylesbury United on Monday night, Billericay Ton are the opponents for Folkestone Invicta in the FA Trophy second qualifying round on Saturday, writes Tom Marchant & Andy Bown - www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk

Invicta’s impressive streak of four wins in a row in the Ryman Premier League came to a halt at Ramsgate last Saturday, when their hosts that day inflicted a 3-0 defeat.

Tough tackling midfielder Michael Everitt suffered a nasty cut above his eye which required six stitches at hospital.

Invicta assistant manager Mark Patterson said: “Michael went for a ball with one of the Ramsgate midfielders and it looked like a strong challenge by both players and unfortunately Michael came off second best.

“When Dave Williams got to him the cut was not very nice at all and Dave did a great job by closing it up straight away and by the time he got to the sidelines Michael was insisting he wanted to go back on.

“But we realised straight away there was no way he could and he was whisked off to hospital where he had 6 stitches in it.”

At the present time the Cheriton Road club remain unsure as to whether Michael will be in the Folkestone squad for Saturday’s match but he is due to be assessed at training tonight.

Patterson said that the unfortunate withdrawal of Everitt halfway through the match was one of the reasons why the Seasiders came away with no points from the Southwood Stadium.

Walid Matata came on for Michael and went into the attack alongside Ellis Remy, whilst Paul Jones dropped back into the midfield.

Patterson said: “The big blow for us was the injury to Michael because before he came off he was easily one of the best players on the pitch and we had to reshuffle.

“Up to that point I thought we were well on top in the game and we were confident at half time we were optimistic of getting a result because we had created chances by getting around their centre halves and we were hoping to capitalise on that in the second half but that didn’t happen.

”We started off well first half and we did to them (Ramsgate) what they’ve done to a lot of teams this season; we got into them and put ourselves about and really had a hold on the game.

“Although we didn’t create a lot of clear cut opportunities we created enough half bits and pieces that possibly should have given us a goal going into half time.”

After the interval Ramsgate came out strong and Patterson admitted: “Second half we didn’t play well to be honest and we can do a lot better. They came out second half, did really well and got a goal really early on and that changed the game completely and we just didn’t defend very well.

“The three goals we gave away were poor and we shouldn’t be giving goals away like that at any level of football because they were just basic things and we have to defend better.

“But saying that, we have defended very well recently and you just have to put it down to a little blip and we’ll be looking to get back to how we were playing this Saturday”.

Patterson also reserved credit for Ramsgate who after topping Ryman League Division One last season are currently placed second in the Ryman Premier this season.

He added: “I think to be fair sometimes instead of moaning about what went wrong for you, you should maybe give other teams credit because one thing about Ramsgate, they are very good at what they do.

“Everyone knows their jobs and they are second in the League not through fluke but because they do their jobs properly and they deserve to be there”.

The Seasiders will be looking to regain focus for this Saturday where the winning side will progress to the next round and win £2000 in prize money.

Folkestone played Billericay back in August in the Ryman Premier where a well struck free kick from Essex resident Steve Norman ensured Invicta came away with a point.

Saturday’s visitors sit in eleventh place in the League and are separated from the Seasiders by five points.

Invicta’s assistant manager said: “The Trophy is a huge competition for us now after we got knocked out of the FA Cup. Saturday is a major game for us and we want to go as far as we can in it and we thought it would be Billericay coming down.

“We’ve played them once this season already and we know what they’re like and they’ve really started shifting some performances in now and are scoring a lot of goals.

“With the likes of Nathan Elder and Lee Hodges up front they really have got a handful of forwards so it will be tough but we’ve got the home draw so it’s up to us to go out and make things happen.

“We can’t settle for the draw and I think we’ve got a great chance of winning but we really have to put our minds to it and play to our capabilities.”

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

Folkstone Invicta v Billericay Town
FA Carlsberg Trophy Second Qualifying Round
Saturday 4^th November 2006
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone