Isthmian Premier leaders Folkestone Invicta will be looking to get back to winning ways this weekend when Wingate & Finchley visit Cheriton Road with manager Jay Saunders proud of how well his side have played this season.

Jay Saunders’ side has seen their lead at the table’s top whittled down to “just” thirteen points ahead of second placed Chatham Town who also have three games in hand courtesy of their ongoing Isuzu FA Trophy run.

After winning twelve games in a row through November and December, Invicta have taken just two points from their four games in 2026 and this weekend, the manager is looking for his side to get back to winning ways and Saunders been talking to us. 

“We don’t look at heading into Saturday “needing” a win as you just want to win games of football,” the Invicta boss told us.

“I do think we have been very unlucky since the turn of the year with the way that things have gone with regards to injuries and illnesses. There have been games where we could have won four or five but, on the day, just couldn’t score – football goes that way!”

“We had the unbelievable run to finish 2025 and now it’s two draws and two defeats in January and some are panicking and the World is ending.”

“We are just going about our business and getting some of the missing back which is good and every game is important as we get to the business end of the season – we have fifteen games left, we are looking forward to it and we have another home game this week and hopefully we can get three points.” 

Reflecting on that winning streak before Christmas, Saunders said, “We lost to Hashtag and it gave us a kick up the backside and we went on a run where the belief got stronger, the team gelled – remember this was a new squad in August – and we had everything come together at once.”

“We had no injuries, we were a settled side through most of those twelve games, the same team every week and that I am sure played a big part in it.”

“All of a sudden we had a few missing who had all been starting in the winning run and we have had a spell where it’s been one thing after the other, but the season does even itself out and we have been unfortunate to get everything all at once, but that’s the way it goes sometimes!” 

“It was a great run; not many teams win twelve on the bounce at any level… and if you had said to me after the Hashtag game on that last Tuesday in October that in the next sixteen, you win twelve, draw two and lose two I would have bitten your hand off!”

“It’s not all doom and gloom by any stretch!” 

“I honestly think that having seen the last few performances, if we can get the first goal, we really could go on and be like we have done at times this season!”

“We would have loved to have done that last Saturday and I think that we should have won against Burgess Hill so Wingate will be another opportunity for three points and for us it’s about getting the next win and getting a smile back on the boys faces by getting up and firing again!”