That was not a one-off performance, Constable warns Folkestone

SEVENOAKS TOWN skipper Andy Constable has warned Folkestone Invicta not to expect as easy time when the two sides lock horns again in Tuesday night’s FA Cup Preliminary Round replay, writes Stephen McCartney.

The 29-year-old striker netted his sixth goal of the season to give Sevenoaks a 2-0 lead after 61 minutes, but had to settle for a draw in an eight-goal preliminary round epic at Greatness Park yesterday.

“I thought it was quite enjoyable,” Constable told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards. “It was a good game of football, I thought the officials were good, there was no nastiness about the game, two sides wanted to play and try to get through.

“For a personal point of view, to be two-nil up and then to basically nearly throw it away, that was disappointing, but we showed good qualities to get back into it and at the end take it to a replay.

“But we’ve got to look at the positives and we’re generally happy with the way we played today, just a bit disappointed that we let them back into the game at two-nil.”

Sevenoaks striker Marcus Elliott accepted a gift, following a blunder from Folkestone goalkeeper Charlie Mitten, to hand the hosts a sixteen minute lead.

Elliott then squared for Constable to make it 2-0 after 61 minutes, the first of five goals scored in a crazy ten minute spell in sun-kissed west Kent.

Folkestone immediately pulled it back to 2-2 before midfielder Steve Evans gave Sevenoaks a 69^th minute lead, before Jimmy Jackson’s second goal for Invicta levelled things up again.

Sevenoaks looked dead and buried when James Dryden gave Folkestone the lead for the very first time with just seven minutes remaining, but a stunning last-gasp free-kick from substitute Dwayne Gibbons ensured Oaks’ earned a deserved replay.

And Constable warned their higher league opponents that yesterday’s spirited performance was not a one off and they’re confident of finishing the job off in front of 300 fans on Tuesday night.

“We like to get the ball down and we like to try and play,” said the experienced Kent League hit-man.

“We’ve got a lot of pace out wide and that’s where we can create stuff. We did create some chances, we got the goal from hard work from Marcus shutting down their keeper, which he thoroughly deserved that and perhaps we could have gone in two-up, but we’ll take a replay.”

Reflecting on that crazy ten-minute spell, which brought five goals, Constable said: “It was a bit crazy wasn’t it? Once Folkestone pulled one back you knew they were going to raise their game.

“They’re a Ryman side, they’ve got quality about them and we knew once they got that goal back it was going to be tough and unfortunately we couldn’t do anything about it.

“I thought we maybe could have dealt with things a little bit better, clear our lines a bit quicker. That’s something we’ve got to look at among ourselves and put right or we’re going to keep throwing away results like that.

“Possession wise and chances in the game we’ve probably shaded it today but because we can’t stop them, we were always going to risk scoring goals.”

Constable has challenged his team-mates to emulate their first performance for the replay as he expects a back-lash from Neil Cugley's wounded side.

“That’s the way we like to play,” he said. “We’ve got to be up for it again. I just hope to be a bit more solid because it’s going to be tough going back down there.

“I think they’ll raise their game for sure. I’m sure Folkestone’s manager wasn’t too happy with the way they played today and I think it’s going to be a lot tough to be honest.

“But we know if we can get at them, I personally feel we can create chances and score goals down there. Whether we can work that little bit harder and prevent them scoring, that’s the biggest question for us, I think.

“We’ve got to be confident, we’ve showed that today. We’ve scored four goals against them so we know we can hurt them.

“We’ve just got to be a bit more focused at the back. I’m not just digging out the back four, I’m talking about defending from the front as a team.

“We’ve got to learn and we’ve got to learn quick. It’s cost us a big game against Ramsgate (in the next round) here but we’re still in the tie.

“We’ve still got a chance down there. I think we’ve given them a lot to think about for the game - we’ll see how it goes.”

Sevenoaks Town manager Simon Jones, meanwhile, believes both sides will produce another goal-scoring thriller at Cheriton Road.

But he did reveal that 24-year-old central defender Perry Spackman, has been ruled out through suspension.

“If it’s half the game of today, I think it will be a marvellous spectacle,” Jones told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“We’re missing Perry Spackman on Tuesday, he’s suspended unfortunately, which is a big blow because I thought he was magnificent at the back for us today.

“If both teams go for it like they have today, I think win, lose or draw, it'll be a great game.

“I would really, really love to (win the replay), but Neil (Cugley), who’s just standing opposite me would love to see the back of us on Tuesday as well, so fingers crossed.

“Let’s just have a good game, that’s all I’d like to do, have a good performance and let’s see what the result throws up.”

Folkestone Invicta v Sevenoaks Town
FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Preliminary Round Replay
Tuesday 2^nd September 2008
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5JU