There is an old adage in football, that good teams can grind out results when not at their best, and this was certainly the case on Saturday when Invicta squeezed through to the Buildbase F.A. Trophy First Round with a 2-1 victory against Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South Hendon.
Fortunately, the weather improved in time for the kick-off and by the time 3:00pm arrived, conditions were almost perfect, although there was still a bit of a wind blowing which at times made it difficult for both sets of players. Invicta were forced to make a couple of changes from Tuesday’s game at Bognor Regis Town as Alexis Andre and Jordan Wright both failed fitness tests and so were replaced by Tim Roberts and Kieron McCann, respectively. Our opponents made just one change from the side that had beaten Taunton Town 2-0 last Saturday, with Sam Dreyer replacing Quba Gordon in the centre of their defence.
Our opponents took the early initiative as firstly Wilson Carvalho and Shaun Lucien combined with the latter shooting wide of the far post, then Lucien was again involved as he sent in a good cross which was well cut out by Roberts on his return to the team. Tafari Moore then forged forward and played the ball to Lucien, and this time his cross bounced off the top of the crossbar and fortunately went to safety. Roberts was again in action shortly after as Carvalho intercepted a poor pass in midfield and reached the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a powerful low shot which the Invicta goalkeeper did well to save as it took a wicked deflection on its way through to him. He was then sharply off his line to prevent Hamza Semakula latching on to a through ball.
There was no doubt, in the first twenty minutes, Roberts was the busiest of the goalkeepers as we struggled to get a foothold in the game against an attack-minded Hendon side. At this stage Scott Heard was almost leading a one-man crusade against our opponents, by trying to get Invicta to lift the tempo as we struggled to get our usual slick passing game going.
Things then picked up as Alfie Paxman sent in a great cross which was well intercepted by Hendon goalkeeper, Fred Burbridge, as David Smith closed in. Ronnie Dolan then played in Paxman who in turn played the ball to Ian Draycott, who played a clever one-two with Ade Yusuff and as the defender closed in the ball bounced off Draycott and went wide of the goal, although it could have gone anywhere.
The game was a bit more end-to-end now, as Liam Brooks latched on to a long clearance and played a good ball through to Lucien who cut inside before seeing his shot deflected over the bar, Roberts collected the corner, and the danger was averted. Following a flowing move, McCann sent in a good cross, but Paxman was unable to turn his header into the net, whilst Semakula saw his shot go wide of the post at the other end.
Then in the thirty-eighth minute came the breakthrough as after a decent build-up, the ball was played out to McCann wide right, and he sent in a pinpoint cross which Heard turned in from within the six-yard box to give him a deserved goal, as shown in the images from Randolph File.
Yusuff then did well to hold off the defender and then play in Draycott, but Burbridge got down well to save. Just as it looked like we were going to go into the break a goal to the good, in the forty-fifth minute the Invicta defence failed to clear the ball and Brooks rolled it across the six-yard box to Lucien who turned it into the net. Whilst it was disappointing to have conceded so late in the first half, it was what our opponents deserved, especially Lucien as he had been the game’s best player in the first half.
Despite the setback, Invicta started the second half more brightly as Yusuff shot over having been played in by Draycott, and then Paxman was strong in the tackle to win the ball, but he then shot wide. In the fifty-sixth minute, we regained the lead, Ryan Johnson played the ball to David Smith who supplied his strike partner and from the edge of the area Yusuff fired into the far corner, and although Burbridge may have done better, it did skid rapidly off the turf as the image (from Randolph File) shows.
Following another sweeping move, McCann sent in another excellent cross and Smith rose at the far post and headed goalwards, but this time Burbridge made a good save as he parried the ball clear as shown in Randolph File’s image.
Dolan then shot just over as Invicta increased the tempo, but our opponents were still looking dangerous and Semakula and Carvalho combined but the incoming cross was cleared. In the sixty-second and sixty-fourth minutes our opponents made two substitutions, with Jayden Clarke replacing Joe Budd and Anis Nuur, recently signed from Cray Wanderers, coming on for Semakula. Lucien then won a free kick wide right on the edge of the area, he took the set piece himself, and via a deflection, the ball reached Sam Dreyer at the far post, but he nodded wide, possible put off by the slight change in the flight of the ball. McCann then shot over having been set up by Draycott.
In the seventieth minute, Hendon made their final substitution with Leone Gravata replacing Carvalho and he made an immediate impact. Firstly, he blasted wide when well placed, before Roberts got down well to save his shot at the near post. He then saw his cross clear everyone as it went across the six-yard box, and he then caused even more concern when another cross was sliced over his own crossbar by McCann. Hendon were continuing to press as Brooks just failed to make a proper connection to a cross and then Clarke won the ball in midfield and drove forward but shot wide.
Finn O’Mara replaced Draycott, who had a good game in the middle of the park, in the eighty-second minute, which allowed Johnson to move into the holding midfield position as O’Mara filled in at the back. With four minutes to go it looked like we’d clinched victory as Yusuff did well to control O’Mara’s pass up the line, he played it on to Paxman and Smith was on hand to turn the ball into the net, but unfortunately the Assistant Referee’s flag was in the air and the ‘goal’ was disallowed for offside. Shortly after, Smith was replaced by Ollie Freeman, and he set up Yusuff for one last chance, but he shot wide.
So, that was it, not a vintage performance, but we live to fight another day and wait to see who we’ll get in Monday’s draw (around 1:00pm).
I spoke to Neil after the game and he felt much the same as everyone else: “It was a bit scrappy today and we weren’t at our best, but you’ve got to remember the players have been involved in four or five humdingers recently and I think it showed a bit in their performance. However, the players deserve a lot of credit for seeing the game out, we could really do with a week off, but unfortunately at the moment the games are coming thick and fast, so we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and carry on.”
Today’s game was sponsored by the ‘Invicta Meldrews’ and after the game, Glynn Moore presented the ‘Man of the Match’ award on their behalf to Scott Heard, who fully deserved it for his all-action performance, and well-deserved opening goal which gave us some impetus in the first half. The ‘Invicta Meldrews’ are long-time supporters and sponsors of the club, and we thank them for their continued support.
Finally, good luck to Hendon for the rest of the season.
Folkestone Invicta: Tim Roberts, Ian Draycott (Finn O’Mara, 82 mins), Kieron McCann, Matt Newman, Callum Davies (Capt), Ryan Johnson, Scott Heard, Ronnie Dolan, David Smith (Ollie Freeman, 90 mins), Ade Yusuff & Alfie Paxman, (Unused substitutes: Tyler Sterling, Micheal Everitt, Luca Borrello & Connor Collins).
Goalscorers: Scott Heard (38 mins) & Ade Yusuff (56 mins).
Hendon: Fred Burbridge, Tafari Moore, Lucas Perry, Kieran Forbes (Capt), Sam Dreyer, Christian Smith, Shaun Lucien, Joe Budd (Jayden Clarke, 62 mins), Liam Brooks, Hamza Semakula (Anis Nuur, 64 mins) & Wilson Carvalho (Leone Gravata, 70 mins) (Unused substitutes: Quba Gordon, Samuel Corcoran, Simeon Olarerin & Riccardo Alexander-Greenway).
Goalscorer: Shuan Lucien (45 mins).
Referee: Daniel Doyle
Assistant Referees: Matthew Charles & Nicholas Monkman.
Attendance: 618 (the fourth highest in this round of the Buildbase F.A. Trophy), many thanks to everyone who came to the BuildKent Stadium to support their respective team, I’m hope you enjoyed the game.
Next Fixture: We are at home again on Tuesday (2nd November), when we welcome Hornchurch to the BuildKent Stadium for what will be another tough game, this time in the Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division game, kick-off 7:30pm.