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Edging closer to safety

FOLKESTONE Invicta edged closer to making their survival in the Ryman Premier League mathematically certain but had to settle for a point in a drab goalless draw away to struggling Cheshunt in Hertfordshire on Saturday afternoon.

A third consecutive clean sheet makes it ten points out of 12 from the last four games for Invicta, but there was little excitement for a 125 crowd at Theobolds Lane.

Cheshunt have been in freefall recently and have now gone 15 league games without a victory. Only three players survived from that which came to Folkestone in second place in the table back in November. And Harrow’s home victory over Leyton means that Cheshunt slipped into the bottom four drop zone despite Saturday’s point.

Invicta enjoyed their best spell of the game during the opening ten minutes, but not for the first time this season failed to score when they were on top and subsequently lost the initiative.

Top goalscorer James Dryden missed a good chance when he headed over within just 40 seconds after centre half Adam Flanagan had met Stuart Myall’s free kick from the left.

Dryden was close again after 80 seconds when goalkeeper Russell Ling saved with his feet when John Guest played the ball in from the right hand side.

Guest was playing at right back on his return from suspension, with Steve Norman partnering Flanagan at the heart of a four-man defence.

It was one-way traffic during the opening exchanges as a Dryden free kick was saved by Ling in the eighth minute and the home goalkeeper then did well to tip Paul Sykes’ rebound over the crossbar for the game’s first corner.

There was a scare at the other end after ten minutes when a mistake by Guest put George Gregorio through, only for goalkeeper Tony Kessell to come out and save at the expense of a corner.

The home side had survived the early onslaught and came right back into things as Kessell had to make a great save to deny Darrell Cox after 20 minutes.

Invicta were themselves close again after 33 minutes when Sykes hit a free kick wide following a foul by Steve Obeng on Micheal Everitt.

Cox missed a good chance for Cheshunt when he got in behind Norman after 50 minutes and was close again when his shot was blocked after he had been put through in the 66^th minute.

Defender Dean Fenton shot just wide from the edge of the penalty area for the home side after 75 minutes and Glen Parry hit a low shot at Kessell four minutes later as Cheshunt chased the winner that they needed to keep them out of the relegation zone.

Invicta threatened to take all three points when Sykes shot wide from the edge of the box when he received the ball from substitute Joe Neilson after 87 minutes.

CHESHUNT: Ling, Fenton, Magona, Gyoury, Panayiotou, Reddington, Parry, Obeng, Gregorio, Cox, Morgan.  Unused subs: Gash, Georgio, Butler, Nielson, Kalli.

FOLKESTONE INVICTA: Kessell, Norman, Lamb, Flanagan, Guest, Lindsey (Munday 85), M. Everitt (J. Everitt 80), Myall, Dryden, Glover (Neilson 75), Sykes.  Unused subs: Watson, Morrin.

Attendance: 125.