Folkestone Invicta match report
Match report by Rupert Cane
The BBC cameras felt a million miles away as Folkestone and Kingstonian battled it out in front of 396 hardy souls on a freezing December night.
Happily for K’s, there was no crash back down to earth once the spotlight had moved away from King George’s Field and Louie Theophanous’ pants. Instead, K’s again showed their capabilities, going toe-to-toe with the new league leaders, eventually earning a creditable draw. On another day it might have been even better.
Gus Sow, operating on the right wing initially, found himself in a more central position to burst into the box early on, but he dragged his shot wide. There was then a let-off for K’s as we didn’t fully clear a set-piece, and when a volley came back in and was flicked on, it bounced off the inside of the post and into Rob Tolfrey’s grateful arms.
Youssef Bamba, a lively presence wide left, fired narrowly over, and then Theophanous put us ahead with a goal all of his own making. Muscling a defender off the ball near the corner flag, he drove goalwards, dipped inside a retreating defender and angled a clever finish in at the keeper’s near post for goal number 14 this season.
Reece Hall had a long-ranger deflected wide and Harry Osborne scuffed a volley as we sought to double our advantage before the break, but instead the teams went in level. A free-kick given for an infringement by Ollie Cook on the touchline and just outside the box was smashed goalwards. A scramble ensued before Ira Jackson spun and shot past Tolfrey from close range with the last kick of the half.
In the second period, chances were at a premium. Sub Dan Bennett wasted our best opening, volleying wide from Bamba’s delicious whipped cross. He later missed the target with an attempt from further out.
Tolfrey meanwhile kept Johan Ter Horst at bay on a couple of occasions, and one late strike from the former Hull man went wide, meaning the spoils were shared. In the end, probably the right result.
Folkestone Invicta: Henry Newcombe, Josh Vincent, Alfie Paxman, Matt Newman, Callum Davies, Sam Hasler, Scott Heard, Ronnie Dolan, Ira Jackson, Jerson dos Santos, Kieron McCann.
Subs: Johan ter Horst (for Kieron McCann, 64m), Finn O'Mara, Michael Everitt, Nat Blanks, Tim Roberts.
Kingstonian: Rob Tolfrey, Harry Osborne, Fabio Saraiva, Simon Cooper, Ollie Cook, Tom Kavanagh, Gus Sow, Kenny Beaney, Louie Theophanous, Reece Hall, Youssef Bamba.
Subs: Dan Bennett (for Kenny Beaney, 63m), Calum Davies (for Youssef Bamba, 77m), Dan Thompson (for Louie Theophanous, 77m), Sean Clohessy, Jerry Puemo.
Goal scorers: Louie Theophanous (33m, 0-1), Ira Jackson (45m, 1-1)
Attendance: 389
