Home   Folkestone   Sport   Article

Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley looks to freshen up his attack by bringing in a forward

Folkestone manager Neil Cugley is planning to bring in a new face this week as he looks to reinvigorate his attack.

The Invicta boss feels his front line has gone a little off the boil of late and hopes that the arrival of a fresh face will provide a lift for the Isthmian Premier leaders.

Cugley, whose side suffered their third defeat of the season at Bowers & Pitsea on Saturday, explained: “I’m hoping to bring in a forward.

Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley Picture: Paul Amos
Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley Picture: Paul Amos

“I think we’ve gone a little stale up top, really since we had those couple of weeks when we didn’t play.

“We were really exciting before that, but we’ve lost our way a little bit so we might just benefit from a bit of a tweak.

“We do play three up front and I don’t expect a lot of defensive play from them.

"I like my strikers to pose problems and score goals but when they’re not doing that you maybe have to look at changing something.”

Cugley revealed his target is a player who helped their side win promotion last season.

He added: “I’m hoping to get him to training this week to have a chat.

“He’s done well at other clubs and he’s played at this level before.

“He helped one of his teams get promoted last year so he knows what it’s all about.”

Cugley was disappointed with the 3-1 defeat at Bowers & Pitsea where he admitted Invicta did not do enough in the second half.

He said: “We did well in the first half against a strong wind, but you could say they did a bit of a job on us.

“The boy up front (Lewis Manor) was a real handful and they got it forward to him at every opportunity.

“The way they play might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s horses for courses and I have no problem with it. Their keeper did make two brilliant saves (at 1-1) but once they went 2-1 up we didn’t really look like breaking them down.

“I don’t think any of our forwards bothered them and that was disappointing.”

Invicta remain top, one point clear of Horsham, but are not back in league action until Boxing Day when they host Margate at noon.

This weekend they turn their attention to the Velocity Trophy when they face Isthmian Premier rivals Bognor Regis Town at the BuildKent Stadium in the first knockout round.

Left-back Alfie Paxman is available after missing Saturday’s game, while Tim Roberts will return in goal. Defender Finn O’Mara is among the other players Cugley will look to give game time to, but the manager says it is a tie he’s looking to win.

He explained: “Bognor are the only team to have beaten us at home in the league this season and they play football the right way so it should be an entertaining game.”

Admission prices for the match are adults £5, concessions £3 and under-16s free.

Invicta’s home league game against Hornchurch, scheduled for January 11, will now be played on Tuesday, January 28, due to the Essex side’s FA Trophy involvement.

Read more: All the latest sports news in Kent

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More