On another dank and miserable afternoon weatherwise at the BuildKent Stadium, Invicta squeezed past South Central Division Uxbridge, who were playing their 100th game in the competition.
Invicta reach the Buildbase F.A. Trophy Fourth Round, winning 2-0, although but for the excellence of goalkeeper Tim Roberts our road to Wembley could quite easily have run into a cul-de-sac as he made four or five superb saves to deny our opponents and deservedly win the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
Invicta made one change to the line-up from last Saturday’s 5-0 win against Haringey Borough, with Matt Newman being declared fit and taking his place at the heart of the defence at the expense of Jordan Wright who returned to the bench. Originally our opponents had also only made one change to their starting line-up that drew 0-0 at Westfield last Saturday when Victor Osobu replaced Ezra Ndukuba, but they then had to make a last-minute change as in the warm-up, David Sota received an injury and was replaced by Alan Hedley.
Having kicked-off our opponents made an early foray into the Invicta half, with Mahlondo Martin feeding the ball through to Victor Osobu, but his cross was easily collected at the near post by Tim Roberts. Invicta then had a similar effort as Ade Yusuff played a good ball to Scott Heard, but his cross was well cut out by Uxbridge goalkeeper Tyler Tobin as David Smith was poised to turn it in at the far post. Kieron McCann then saw his shot go wide of Tobin’s right-hand post as he cut inside before shooting from just outside the penalty area.
Prince Ogunmekan then played in Osobu and Roberts got down well at his near post to save with his feet before Josh Vincent cleared the loose ball. In what was an end-to-end start to the game, Heard and Alfie Paxman then shot wide of the Uxbridge goal, but it had been an uninspiring first twenty minutes with few clear-cut chances at either end and too many mis-placed passes as the two sides cancelled each other out, with Invicta needing to get the ball to Yusuff and Smith more.
Both sides then had a decent chance to make a mark, but firstly Anthony Mendy, having found space on the right, sent in a disappointing cross, and then at the other end Yusuff had a half chance and although he got his shot in it was charged down by a defender and then the striker was unlucky to see the ball bounce back off him for a goal kick. Micheal Everitt then intercepted an attempted pass before pushing forward and letting fly from just outside the area, but it went wide of Tobin’s left-hand post.
Just before the half-hour, Roberts made an astonishing double save to keep the score level. Osobu found himself unmarked about eight yards out, but Roberts not only saved his initial shot but then got up and saved the rebound, before a third shot from Mendy was deflected away for a corner. A couple of minutes later, Mendy again breached the Invicta defence, but in trying to lob Roberts all he did was chip the ball harmlessly into the goalkeeper’s arms before Martin also saw a chance go begging as he shot wide from just inside the area.
With five minutes to go before the break, it was Tobin’s turn to excel as McCann sent in a cross which was met by Heard who hit it first time on the volley from around the penalty spot and the Uxbridge goalkeeper dived to his right to make a fantastic save. Apart from a couple of further long-range efforts from Everitt, that was the end of the first half action and the two sides went into the break scoreless.
Invicta made a brighter start to the second half and after Yusuff had shot wide early on, Vincent opened the scoring in the fiftieth minute as he met Alfie Paxman’s cross and sent a looping header over Tobin and into the net via the underside of the cross bar. It was hoped that Invicta would then go on and win the game without too many qualms, but five minutes later our opponents were extremely unlucky not to equalise, and again it was down to the brilliance of Roberts. Everitt fouled the dangerous Martin just outside the area slightly to the right which earned him a yellow card, Martin got up and curled his free kick over the wall and Roberts dived across the goal and tipped the ball onto the bar and then recovered to save the rebound before the ball was bundled away for a goal kick as Osobu closed in at the back post. Mendy then shot wide before Uxbridge made their first substitution in the fifty-ninth minute when Ezra Ndukuba replaced Osobu.
Although our opponents were looking the more likely scorers at this stage, Invicta were still making chances and Vincent sent in a cross to Heard who couldn’t get the ball down at the far post and the danger was averted. Mendy then threatened again as, not for the first time, he broke clear of the Invicta defence, but Roberts was swiftly off his line to charge down the shot. In the sixty-fourth minute, it looked like we had doubled our lead as Heard played Yusuff in and the striker ran on and placed the ball past Tobin, but as he turned to celebrate the Assistant Referee had his flag up in what was an extremely tight offside call.
Paxman then picked up the game’s second booking as he pulled back Martin as he tried to break away from him in midfield. Mendy than had a spectacular effort at the far post as he tried an overhead kick to turn home a cross from Lonit Talla, but it went wide of the goal.
The game then got a bit scrappier as substitutes and bookings disrupted the flow. In the seventy-second minute, Ian Draycott replaced Everitt, who on another day could have had a hattrick as he had peppered the Uxbridge goal in the first half (there’s an unexpected sentence!!), before Ronnie Dolan picked up a booking for a late tackle on Prince Ogunmekan, and then Uxbridge made a second substitution with Sam Shaw coming off to be replaced by Adedade Adesoye.
In the seventy-eighth minute, Yusuff doubled our lead as he latched on to a through ball after Heard and McCann had combined to get the ball through to him and he closed in on goal before slipping the ball past Tobin with unerring ease. This allowed Invicta to exert a bit more pressure, and Draycott, who had been involved heavily since coming on as a substitute, shot wide of Tobin’s left-hand post, before we then made a second substitution in the eighty-second minute when Jordan Wright replaced David Smith, who again worked hard but had been starved of service for a lot of the game.
Mendy again continued to be a threat, but this time his shot was more easily saved by Roberts before our opponents made their third substitution with Juwon Akintunde replacing Talla in the eighty-fourth minute. As the game entered time added on, and just as he was being announced as ‘Man of the Match’, Roberts once again denied Mendy, keeping out his low drive, whilst at the other end Yusuff delayed his shot having been put through which allowed the defence to close him down and the ball bounced through to Tobin.
So, although it wasn’t a vintage performance, we live to fight another day and wait to see who we’ll get in Monday’s Fourth Round Proper draw (around 1:00pm). Not only is it the first time Invicta have reached this Round, but it is also the first time we are still in one of the F.A.’s National Cup Competitions in January.
I spoke to a delighted and relieved Neil after the game and he said: “A couple of seasons ago we played Bracknell from the South Central Division and like them, I thought Uxbridge were a very good footballing side and but for Tim [Robert] we could be out the competition. “He won the ‘Man of the Match award in a game the other week, which was a bit of a surprise, but there was no doubt he deserved it today as he was outstanding with several excellent saves. “Although we were on the back-foot for parts of the game, the players never gave up and it shows what a great spirit we have at the club as they all rolled up their sleeves and got on with the job despite things not quite going right, in fact we had to change our shape slightly to cope with what was a good attacking side.”
I then had the usual question of who he wants in the next round, and he answered in the usual way! Adding: “Any one at home! “Ideally it would be a team at the same or lower level, but there aren’t many of those left now, so I guess one of the bigger clubs remaining would be good to get a decent attendance. “Again, thanks to the supporters attending today, we had almost 600, the week before Christmas Day, which is excellent.”
Today’s game was sponsored by the Southern Brothers who were having their Christmas Party in memory of their Nan who had sadly died a year ago to the day. Toby Maxwell presented the ‘Man of the Match’ award to Tim Roberts and there would be little dispute that he deserved the award for a string of magnificent saves during today’s game. Thanks to Dane and Brad for their continued support.
Before the game, Ade Yusuff received the ‘Goal of the Month’ trophy from kit man Andy Payne, for his superb strike at Hartley Wintney in the previous round of the Buildbase F.A. Trophy. It was a popular choice as he picked up 56% of the votes.
Finally, good luck to Uxbridge for the rest of the season, if they keep their form going, they ought to be in with a chance of a Play-off place at least at the end of the season.
Folkestone Invicta: Tim Roberts, Josh Vincent, Kieron McCann, Matt Newman, Callum Davies (Capt), Micheal Everitt (Ian Draycott, 72 mins), Scott Heard, Ronnie Dolan, David Smith (Jordan Wright, 81 mins), Ade Yusuff & Alfie Paxman.
(Unused substitutes: Luca Borello, Lenny Atherton & Connor Collins).
Goalscorers: Josh Vincent (50 mins) & Ade Yusuff (78 mins).
Uxbridge: Tyler Tobin, Mark Goodman, Alan Hedley, Elliott Poley, Ryan Haugh (Capt), Lonit Talla (Juwon Akintunde, 84 mins), Prince Ogunmekan, Victor Osobu (Ezra Ndukuba, 59 mins), Sam Shaw (Adedade Adesoye, 75 mins), Anthony Mendy & Mahlondo Martin.
(Unused substitutes: Alex Witham, Eric Negaru, David Sita & Alex Paine).
Referee: Isaac Searle
Assistant Referees: Daniel Proctor & James Black
Fourth Official: Josh Osofa.
Attendance: 573, 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 on Monday 27th December, kick-off 3:00pm when Merstham visit the BuildKent Stadium for a Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division game.
