Cugley: Cash will be spent on the pitch during the summer

Folkestone Invicta took on second place Fisher Athletic on Saturday afternoon in the Ryman Premier League at the Buzzlines Stadium and Folkestone fans could justifiably argue that their side produced a creditable performance that deserved a point at least from a team with the best away record in the league, writes Andy Bown and Tom Marchant – www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk

New signings Lee Shearer and Matt Carruthers, who were both signed from Nationwide Conference South side Welling United, went straight into the Invicta squad; Shearer taking his place in the starting line up to replace the departed John Guest and Carruthers taking his place on the substitute’s bench.

Manager Neil Cugley made two other changes to the side that won 2-0 against Redbridge the previous Saturday with Micheal Everitt being replaced by brother James and Mark Saunders returning from suspension to take his place at the heart of the Invicta midfield in place of Stuart Myall.

Cugley said: “Michael Everitt’s injury has flared up a bit and he is still not fit which has showed in the past few games. He doesn’t look right and we’ve got to give him time to recover and not push him to come back”.

 

Left full back Paul Lamb returned to the squad after being out of contention with bruised ribs, and joined fellow team mates Everitt (M), Myall, Carruthers, and James Fraser on the bench. Striker Paul Jones is still unavailable through groin injury.

The Folkestone boss felt that his side competed well against a team that is chasing promotion. “We did a lot better in the second half and got the ball more in the final third which is all I wanted the players to do differently at half time,” said Cugley.

 

“Fisher were one of the best teams we’ve had down here so it was a credit to our side for competing”.

 

He believes that his side were rather hard done by the final scoreline, feeling that Invicta’s second half performance deserved to be rewarded with at least a draw.

 

He mused: “You can see why Fisher are close to the top as they played some excellent attacking football. But Kess didn’t have a lot to do and we hit the post and the bar”.

 

Cugley stated again that the squad has witnessed many changes recently and is still very much going through a transitional period as the players have not been playing with each other long enough to become a quality footballing unit.

 

He expressed: “We’re continuing to build for next season and we’re trying to build a squad now so that they are ready to compete for next season – everything is being geared towards next season.”

The pitch at the Buzzlines Stadium also had a significant impact on the football that was being played, making effective passing more difficult for both sides although Fisher appeared to have been more settled with the muddy conditions.

 

It is hoped that the summer will see considerable investment into the Cheriton Road playing surface in order to bring it up to a suitable standard.

 

“The pitch was just too heavy to be rolled today and that did make playing on it very difficult,” said Cugley. “Cash will definitely be spent on it in the summer to improve its standard, and I know if we want to improve as a footballing side we’ve got to have a pitch to suit”.

 

He added: “Hopefully we can get some boot fairs on the pitch at the end of the season that people will come out and support and then the income gained from that can be invested on the pitch. I want to give the players as few excuses as possible and with a decent pitch they can’t moan if they don’t play well out there”.

One month loan signing from Gillingham Mark Corneille, and new centre back Lee Shearer both made their full home debuts against Fisher, with right wing back Corneille getting the Folkestone man of the match award. Cugley remarked: “He (Corneille) looked good and that’s two decent performances from him now. Shearer done well too, and was unlucky not to score. He adds a lot off the pitch because we have a few quiet lads in the dressing room and he’s very bubbly and will liven the place up a bit. Overall I thought the defence did well against players such as Watts and Barr who have played League football”.

 

Shearer’s former team mate Matt Carruthers at Park View Road, who also came to the Buzzlines Stadium in a deal that saw John Guest move the other way, got a late run out against Fisher coming on for James Everitt.

 

The former Dover Athletic star appeared to make an immediate impact by running at defenders and having a free kick deflected onto the crossbar. Neil noted: “Carruthers is still carrying an injury and we’re trying to be very careful with him. It may not be until the start of next season that he gets a full run of games as we don’t want to push his injury.