On a dank, dreary afternoon more akin to October, Invicta picked up three more points at struggling Merstham, although we were made to work for it.
Having dominated the first half, ‘The Moatsiders’ came back strongly in the second, and it wasn’t until David Smith scored our late second goal that we clinched the three points. We made two changes to the starting line-up from Saturday, with Matt Newman returning at the centre of the defence in place of Finn ‘O’Mara, whilst in midfield, Ian Draycott came in for Scott Heard.
We made an early chance, which ironically came from a Merstham attack. Ryan Johnson glanced away a dangerous looking free kick for a corner, from which Jordan Wright played in Smith, and the powerful striker did well to shrug off a challenge before letting fly from twenty-five yards which was tipped over by the home goalkeeper, Toby Bull. From the corner, Draycott shot over. Smith was then fouled, and Ronnie Dolan’s free kick reached Josh Vincent at the far post, but the experienced full back seemed surprised that the ball had reached him, and he failed to make a proper connection.
At this stage Invicta were on top, Ade Yusuff turned a defender but shot over, and then moments later he shot wide from the edge of the area, although Bull scrambled across his goal concerned as to the direction of the shot. Alfie Paxman then threatened the Merstham goal, but his cross-shot went wide of the far post. In the twenty-fourth minute, we finally got the breakthrough as Yusuff was fouled on the edge of the penalty area and although Smith’s free kick was blasted into the wall, it rebounded to Ronnie Dolan who hammered home a shot low into the left-hand corner of the net.
Wright then nearly added a second, but Bull was down well at his near post to make the save, and although Tim Roberts had to save from Tahjae Anderson, we continued to press and with the pressure starting to tell, Kyrell Palmer was booked for pulling back Yusuff as he tried to break away. Smith then played in Yusuff, and his shot was well saved by Bull and from the resultant corner, Draycott saw his shot deflected away from the goal by Smith.
There was just time for Smith to shoot over, before the teams went into the break with Invicta holding a 1-0 advantage, although we really should have been more goals to the good, but with Merstham being the Division’s lowest scorers having notched just once, and Invicta having the tightest defence, having conceded just one goal, hopes were high of picking up the three points.
However, our opponents came out of the blocks much stronger in the second half and Yusuff received an early booking for a foul on Dylan Adjei-Hersey, although it may have been an accumulation as the Referee had spoken to him a couple of times in the first half. There was then a nasty accidental clash of heads between Yusuff and Jude Mason which caused a short stoppage in the game, but thankfully both players were able to return and complete the game.
Dolan then played the ball to Wright who in turn released Draycott, who turned his marker, before seeing his shot well saved by Bull, and from the resulting corner Anderson, who looked their most threatening player, broke away, but it was nullified by the Invicta defence.
Reyon Dillon collected a throw-in on the edge of the area and his shot was deflected for a corner, from which Chace Jacquart volleyed wide from just inside the penalty area. Although Dolan and Wright combined again to give Draycott a further shooting chance, which was blasted over, Merstham were looking more threatening and Ayman Gharbaoui shot over, which was his last contribution to the game as he was replaced by Delano Sam-Yorke in the sixty-third minute. Dillon, who was getting increasingly involved, played the ball through to Charlie Greenwood, but his shot was well saved by Roberts and scrambled clear, but moments later, Dillon himself shot wide from the edge of the area.
Scott Heard replaced Draycott in the sixty-ninth minute as we started to look a bit disjointed and moments later, Johnson became the second Invicta player in the Referee’s notebook when he was shown a yellow card for pulling back Adjei-Hersey having initially lost the ball. Our opponents then made their second substitution as Troy Williams replaced Palmer as they looked to push for the equaliser. Adjei-Hersey and Mason combined well down the left-hand side and the latter sent in a teasing cross which was just out of the reach of the onrushing forwards.
Despite Merstham looking the more likely to score, we then popped up, slightly against the run of play, with a second goal eleven minutes from time to secure the points, as Smith headed home Wright’s excellent cross from close range.
Tyler Sterling then replaced Paxman, and our opponents also made a substitution when Omar Folkes came on for Anderson. Sterling was involved almost immediately as he made a good run before slipping the ball to Dolan and his well struck shot from twenty-five yards was well saved by Bull.
That was the end of the action, and we went home with the three points to maintain our challenge at the top of the table, although we’ll need more of the first half performance rather than the second to maintain it.
Talking to Neil today (Tuesday), he had mixed feelings, saying: “I thought we were excellent in the first half, the front two were very strong and ran their defence ragged, but I was a bit disappointed that we weren’t winning by more than one at half time. “In the second they had a bit of a go and for a ten-minute spell we were chasing the game and fair play to their Manager Frank Wilson, as at the end of the game they had four forwards on the pitch. “I was therefore very relieved when Smithy [David Smith] scored our second as I thought that made the game safe, I must mention Jordan’s [Wright] cross as it was a pin-point pass straight on his head. Once again, Tim [Roberts] made another good save when it was only 1-0 to keep us ahead, this isn’t the first time he’s done that this season and shows the high standards and levels of concentration he has set himself, he is playing as well as he ever has. “I left Heardy [Scott Heard] out of the starting line-up as he is still getting 100% right and we felt that two games in three days might be too big an ask, but he will of course be involved on Saturday.”
Looking back to the Enfield Town game and that ‘goal’, he added: “It does appear as if it went over the line and I feel sorry for Smithy as had it been given, he would have been the joint top scorer in the Premier Division, and who knows, although there was still a lot of the game to go, we could be top of the table with twelve points out of twelve but that is the way it goes sometimes. “I would add that having seen the match video, Referee Nick Dunn, has called and apologised as his team missed the ‘goal’ and whilst it doesn’t change the decision, I appreciated that, we all make mistakes, and it shows the character of the man.”
He then added: “It’s been a week for apologies as at training last Tuesday, Tyler [Sterling] also apologised for the way he behaved at the previous training session. “Again, this is something I appreciated and hopefully he can now knuckle down and concentrate on his football, as there is no doubt on his day, he is one of the most exciting young players we’ve had at the club, and as I’ve said before he has all the attributes to play at a higher level.”
Finally, many thanks to Merstham for their hospitality and we wish them well for the rest of the season.
Merstham: Toby Bull, Kyrell Palmer (Troy Williams, 72 mins), Jude Mason, Charlie Greenwood, James Richmond (Capt), Reuben Collins, Chace Jacquart, Ayman Gharbaoui (Delano Sam-Yorke, 63 mins), Revon Dillon, Tahjae Anderson (Omar Folkes, 80 mins) & Dylan Adjei-Hersey (Unused substitutes: Bertie Lloyd & Yannick Monga).
Folkestone Invicta: Tim Roberts, Josh Vincent, Jordan Wright, Matt Newman, Callum Davies (Capt), Ryan Johnson, Ian Draycott (Scott Heard, 69 mins), Ronnie Dolan, David Smith, Ade Yusuff & Alfie Paxman (Tyler Sterling, 79 mins) (Unused substitutes: Finn O’Mara, Micheal Everitt & Connor Collins).
Goalscorer: Ronnie Dolan (24 mins) and David Smith (79 mins).
Referee: Jonathan Bolland
Assistant Referees: Morgan Conn & Ross Murphy.
Attendance: 255, many thanks to all the Invicta fans who went to the game this afternoon to support the team.
Next Fixture: Next Saturday (4th September), we forget about the League and take our bow in this season’s Emirates F.A. Cup when we visit South East Division Corinthian in the First Qualifying Round, kick-off 3:00pm.
Monday’s Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division Results
| Bishop’s Stortford | 2 | Bowers & Pitsea | 2 |
| Corinthian-Casuals | 0 | Kingstonian | 1 |
| East Thurrock United | 1 | Brightlingsea Regent | 1 |
| Enfield Town | 1 | Cheshunt | 0 |
| Haringey Borough | 4 | Wingate & Finchley | 1 |
| Hornchurch | 4 | Potters Bar Town | 0 |
| Leatherhead | 0 | Carshalton Athletic | 3 |
| Lewes | 0 | Horsham | 0 |
| Margate | 2 | Cray Wanderers | 1 |
| Merstham | 0 | Folkestone Invicta | 2 |
| Worthing | 0 | Bognor Regis Town | 2 |
League Table
| P | W | D | L | F | A | G/D | PTS | |
| Kingstonian | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Enfield Town | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
| Folkestone Invicta | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Haringey Borough | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Margate | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Carshalton Athletic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Brightlingsea Regent | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Hornchurch | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Cray Wanderers | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Worthing | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Cheshunt | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Bognor Regis Town | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Lewes | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| East Thurrock United | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 5 |
| Horsham | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 4 |
| Wingate & Finchley | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 4 |
| Leatherhead | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| Potters Bar Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 3 |
| Merstham | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 3 |
| Bishop’s Stortford | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 2 |
| Corinthian-Casuals | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 1 |
| Bowers & Pitsea | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 1 |