Folkestone Invicta travel to face Lewes in the Isthmian Premier this weekend with a fourteen-point lead to protect at the top of the table, but boss Jay Saunders is only looking at the next opposition.
Invicta’s seeming march to the title seems to be back on track after a minor hiccup at the turn of the year.
Speaking to us after watching two of his side’s closest rivals play each other in midweek – Chatham Town and Brentwood Town – the Invicta boss told us, “We’re just taking it one game at a time and see where that takes us!”
Reflecting on last Saturday’s win over relegation threatened Welling United at Cheriton Road, Saunders said, “It’s never an easy game against sides like Welling.”
“Ryan (Maxwell) had them well organised but I thought that we did a really professional performance and one that got us another three points and that’s all that matters at this stage of the season,” as goals from Donal Thomas and Liam Smith sealed the home side a 2-0 win that maintained the gap at the table’s top.
Around Christmas time, Folkestone endured a minor injury crisis, but since their return, the form seems to have returned as well.
“We have got the majority back,” Saunders admitted, “There is still one or two missing but we hope to have them back soon, but we all know it is a squad game these days and it’s nice to have everybody back as they could feel like new players, and I would like to think now that we are looking stronger than we were and ready to push on!”
“This stage of the season, performances aren’t that important, the results get more and more every week – it now becomes even more about winning games of football.”
“I am sure that between now and the end of the season there will be some more twists and turns and some scrappy games, but if we keep winning our games, we stay ahead and it will stay in our hands.”
“Others have games in hand and it’s down to them now to chase us down – your Aveley’s, your Chatham’s, your Brentwood’s – they are not going to give up on the chase, they are all good sides and I expect to chase us all the way to the end; we are in a good position and are enjoying things at the moment,” Saunders reflected looking at a league table where Aveley have two in hand and Chatham three but are currently fourteen and nineteen points behind the leaders.
Looking to the weekend, the Invicta boss told us, “Lewes is a tough place to go, but with an eye on the weather and grass pitches, I can’t see many games going on given the forecast, there must be questions.”
“But we will go there in good spirits as if anything, our away form is actually better than our home form as we’ve lost more games at Cheriton Road than we have away!”
“We’ve only lost once on the road all year and that was at Hashtag on a Tuesday night and let’s not forget we spent the first two months of the season away from home when the pitch was being laid!”
“Any team can beat any other team in this League so we just have to make sure that we prepare right as if the game will be on so that we can go there and do the job!”
“Cheriton Road does feel like home again now – the only teams to have won there are Aveley and Chatham – at a time when the squad was not in the best of places as I said, but other than that, our record since we went back has been pretty good and scoring lots of goals and we are getting really good crowds which is a sign that we are doing something right!”