Invicta’s Nine Minute Blitz

Folkestone Invicta (1) 4
Ian Draycott 14, 56
Ronnie Dolan 47
Scott Heard 53

Herne Bay (0) 0

Ryman Isthmian League Division One (South)
Saturday 2nd January 2016
at The Fullicks Stadium, Cheriton Road

Attendance: 478

(photo credit: Peter Guise - Ian Draycott slots home the opener)

Runaway league leaders, Folkestone Invicta destroyed promotion rivals Herne Bay with three goals in the space of nine second half minutes answering their manager’s call for a response following the festive defeat at neighbours Hythe Town

Ray Kelly writes:

The euphoria of Herne Bay’s long undefeated run , before Christmas, was well and truly eclipsed after a disastrous Christmas period , losing to Ramsgate , Whitstable and now League leaders Folkestone Invicta. The most worrying aspect of these defeats are that the Bay have not scored in these last three games despite having many chances to do so.

Playing at the Fullicks Stadium ,home of the Invicta, in what can only be called dire conditions ,the Bay had to brave the elements and a superb Folkestone outfit who were clinical in front of goal, something Herne Bay were not. Going in at half time 1-0 up Invicta resumed the second half with venom ,scoring three goals in a nine minute period , that left the Bay shell shocked.

Herne Bay started the game well and the first chance fell to Elliot Cutts on 5 minutes but his snap shot was well saved by Tim Roberts in the Folkestone goal. In the 14th minute , following a free kick for a foul on Scott Heard, Frankie Chappell headed in forcing a great
tip over the bar from Jack Delo. Ronnie Dolan's corner found Ian Draycott who had the simple task of tapping the ball in from close range.

Herne Bay pushed forward in search of an equaliser but the well organised Invicta defence snuffed out most of the Bay’s advances.
Lee Browning and Elliot Cutts combined well but with no end product and this was the story of the first half for Herne Bay. Five minutes before half time Joe Nelder ran through but the advancing Tim Roberts got down well to thwart Joe’s attempt.

Folkestone started the second half like a train and on 47 minutes Ronnie Dolan doubled the Invicta score when he unleashed a 35 yard pile driver that left Jack Delo grasping air as the ball flew into the top corner. This goal did not deter Baye from pushing forward and 2 minutes later Danny Williams let rip with a shot from 20 yards that Tim Roberts superbly tipped over the bar. On 53 minutes Folkestone scored the third when good work from Carl rook ended with a cross to Scott Heard who fired home. Within two minutes Invicta were 4-0 up when Ian Draycott notched his second goal after slotting in from close range.

On 64 minutes Bay custodian Jack Delo saved a stinging shot from Ashley Miller and a few minutes later Herne Bay’s best chance of the match was wasted by Joe Nelder when he went through the Invicta defence but shot straight at Tim Roberts. In the final 10 minutes Elliot Cutts (twice) and Kane Phillip both went close for the Bay but they could not break the tight Folkestone defence.

Herne Bay now have a string of games that they should obtain valuable points from , starting next week against Molesey at home , providing they become more clinical in front of goal.

Herne Bay manager Sam Denly was philosophical about defeat at the hands of the league leaders, “This matters, we were excellent first half, again, the spell in the second half absolutely killed us. We still created chances and it probably wasn’t a four nil game but they had that bit of quality, got their chance and gone bang, bang, bang and the game’s over. It’s not panic stations, we’re still sitting well in the league. They (Invicta) are going to win the league this season so, for us, it’s about beating the teams around us”.

Folkestone Invicta: Tim Roberts, Josh Vincent, Nat Blanks, Liam Friend (Jordan Wright 81), Frankie Chappell, Matt Newman, Ronnie Dolan, Scott Heard (Patrick Nzuzi 67), Ian Draycott, Carl Rook (Harry Smith 74), Ashley Miller.

Subs not used: Jon Pilbeam, Jon Sparks.

Sent off: none Cautions: Scott Heard

Herne Bay: Jack Delo, Nathan Eastwood, Gary Sayer, Dan Johnson, Liam Quinn, Connor Sanders, Harry Brown (Sam Hasler 58), Joe Nelder (James Turner 74), Danny Williams, Elliott Cutts, Lee Browning (Kane Phillip 67).

Subs not used: Dan Parkinson, Michael Turner.

Sent off: none Cautions: none.

Referee: Ryan Whitaker Assistants: Kane Dempster & Michael Marsh

Man of the Match: Ian Draycott (Folkestone Invicta)