We must enjoy home comforts, insists Patterson

Thursday 05th October 2006

It was Welling United again who progressed to the next round of the F.A Cup on Tuesday night as Folkestone Invicta were knocked out at Park View Road, writes Andy Bown & Tom Marchant - www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk.

Invicta boss Neil Cugley named an unchanged starting eleven that performed admirably against the Wings on Saturday at the Buzzlines Stadium.

Cugley's right hand man Mark Patterson said: "Over the two games I think we performed quite well; there is things we could have done better but there are a lot of things over the last two weeks we would have slipped up on if we hadn’t improved as much as we have recently.

"We worked very hard, especially in the first game and gave Welling the fright of the lives".

The Seasiders went down to a goal after half an hour in the first game, despite having much of the early play.

Ellis Remy brought Invicta back level and Folkestone had chances to knock the Wings out of the competition.

Patterson said: "Tuesday night we worked really hard and deservedly in my eyes took the lead. With a little bit more luck and a bit better defending we may have held the lead a little bit longer but overall in the second half we didn’t close the ball down quickly enough and there was some good finishing from Kedwell which was the difference."

Left wing back Steve Norman gave the visitors the lead in the replay with a typically well struck free kick right on the stroke of half time. Folkestone were awarded the free kick after striker Paul Jones was fouled on the edge of the penalty area.

Patterson said: "The free kick we scored was one of the routines we have been working on for a while because we know at this level of football if you can get your set pieces set up correctly they’re a threat – especially with the aerial power we’ve got. Last night the free kick came off and it was a good finish.

"We didn’t deserve to be down at half time and it changed the outlook of the team talk because you’re almost saying to the lads, ‘calm down, you’ve done really well but remember you’ve got forty five minutes to go’".

The home side equalised after half time through their top scorer Danny Kedwell who headed in a cross from former Invicta defender John Guest.

However, the ultimate turning point in the game was yet to come; referee Robert Whitton awarded Welling a penalty in the 75th minute after an alleged handball by a defender.

Patterson explained: "At 1-1 with a quarter of an hour to go Neil and I were quite happy and we could see things going to extra time.

"We were talking about the substitutions we were going to make and who we were going to bring on and then you get a penalty decision like that against you and as everybody saw we had to straight away change the team."

After Kedwell converted the penalty for the home side Invicta responded by bringing on pacy substitutes Ben Sly and Walid Matata.

"We had to get two more forward thinking players on and then that puts in your mind if we do take two defenders off and score we’ve got two less players in those positions on the pitch," said the assistant boss.

"Effectively that one decision cost us the game because it changed our outlook and you don’t want to blame the ref but he was very poor."

Patterson remarked how frustrating it can be when match officials make incorrect decisions which can transform a match in seconds, adding: "I think we defended well for the majority of the game as they came at us and had a go. I think we were undone by a really poor penalty decision but that fitted in with the rest of his decisions!

"There were some absolutely awful decisions and not just against us but also against the Welling lads too. But there were some decisions you were just left thinking just what’s going on?

"I’ve been saying it for a while and it’s not getting any better but what frustrates players and managers throughout non league football more than anything, is when the referee, like on Tuesday night, misses the dangerous tackles and is more intent on pulling people up for pulling shirts or little handballs which are the easy decisions. They’ve got to start penalising the dangerous tackles which is so important."

Welling compounded the misery for Invicta in the final minutes of the match when Che Stadhart made it 3-1 when he put the ball away from a cross by Ronayne Benjamin. Stadhart returned to the Wing’s line up after missing the first game through injury.

Patterson remarked: "The lads were very disappointed, not disappointed in themselves but that we’ve been knocked out because they believe as we believe, we had a good opportunity.

"Welling played a lot better Tuesday than they did Saturday but at 1-1 with a quarter of an hour to go we still felt ‘we could win this’, and then you get a penalty decision which wasn’t a penalty full stop and it really does knock the stuffing out of you – and that’s how the players were feeling at the end of the game."

Invicta are straight back into action this weekend in the Ryman Premier League when Walton & Hersham visit the Buzzlines Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Patterson said: "Well we’ve got the League, there’s the Trophy and the Kent Senior Cup so there’s still a lot of football to play.

"When the F.A Cup draw was made against Welling everybody thought we could’ve got an easier draw than that because obviously they are a good side but we performed well against them and we’ve got to take heart from that, try and pick as many points as we can in the League games and try and do something in the remaining cup competitions".

Patterson said how important it is for Folkestone to get back to picking up points after straight victories in the League over Slough Town and East Thurrock United, adding: "It’s all about getting back to winning ways and continuing what we have done in the last half a dozen games since the Leyton game. It’s about progressing things and yes we lost 3-1 on Tuesday night but we didn’t perform too badly and we said to the lads after the game ‘go away, get yourselves sorted, get your heads right and come back Saturday raring to go.’

"We’ve got to look towards the next game now and we’re going to go for three points and that’s how everyone at the Club has got to look at things, especially the players".

Folkestone should have no fresh injury worries from Tuesday night to contend with in preparation for Saturday’s game.

Steve Norman got a knock on the shin but is expected to be fully fit by the weekend. Matt Carruthers continues to make good progress on his comeback from a groin injury but will not be rushed back too early which could risk putting the ex Conference forward on the sidelines for a longer period of time. Carruthers may make the bench.

Promising striker Rob Knott had a scan on his troublesome knee last week and has since been referred to a specialist to seek further advice and clarification on how the injury can be effectively dealt with.

Walton & Hersham lie one position below the Seasiders and both sides are separated by three points.

A home win would give a good boost to Folkestone’s climb back up the Ryman Premier. Patterson added: "It is a massive game – everyone is when you’re at the bottom. The two decent results we’ve had recently against East Thurrock and Slough mean if we suddenly go through a spell where we win a couple and lose a couple you don’t go anywhere, so you’ve got keep picking points up even if it’s a draw.

"But we keep saying to the players to play each game on its own merits and don’t look too far ahead.

"We’ve got three home games in a row now because Chelmsford won their Cup replay so it really is a chance to get our first win at home and pick points up in the League but we have just got to look at it one game at a time."

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

Folkestone Invicta v Walton & Hersham
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 7th October 2006
Kick Of 3:00pm
At the Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone