Grier's Guide to Folkestone Invicta
The match: Folkestone Invicta v Kingstonian, Isthmian Premier. Saturday 23 October, 3pm.
The club: Founded in 1936 they became the town's main club when Folkestone FC folded in 1990. They've been Isthmian League members since the big restructure in 2004. They won Division 1 South in 2016 after suffering agony in playoff finals in the two previous seasons, including a defeat to Hayden Bird's Merstham.
The town: Channel port that has seen decline as a ferry terminal since the opening of the nearby Channel Tunnel. Famous residents include June Brown (Dot Cotton), Michael Howard (former Tory leader) and members of the band Morcheeba (who in 2004 had their song What's Your Name parodied by Ks fans in honour of goalkeeper Barry Marchena).
The ground: BuildKent Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, CT19 5JU. An old-school non-league ground with proper terracing all round. It's great but unfortunately they don't make 'em like that any more.
Tickets: £11 adults / £8 students and concessions / £3 5-18 year olds / U5s free.
Directions: The nearest station is Folkestone West, just 50 minutes from St Pancras on the high speed line, or you can get the cheaper but much slower route from Waterloo East. By car, follow the M20 more or less all the way until you eventually get to the coast - it should be about an hour and a half from Kingston as long as the motorway is OK. You can park at the ground.
Our record there: Generally pretty bad - our last visit was in 2019 when we drew 1-1 but we've usually found it hard to get any sort of result there.
Players to watch: Young striker David Smith has bagged seven goals already this season with Adam Yuseff, a veteran of the Kent non-league scene, just behind him on six in his second spell at the club. Defender Callum Davies played 29 times for Gillingham in the Football League.
Recent form: Strong. They're just outside the playoffs in sixth place (at time of writing) and still unbeaten in all competitions. They have games in hand on everyone above them thanks to a good Cup run - they've reached the final qualifying round where they face a difficult trip to Eastleigh. The run included a 7-2 mauling of Ashford Town (Middlesex).
Crowd: They used to be typically around the 500 mark but crowds this season are way up on that - like a lot of sides from fairly big towns outside of London, they seem to be benefiting from a post-lockdown effect. They've always been capable of making some noise and it won't be an easy atmosphere.
Drinking: The Chambers in the town centre is an underground den of good beer, cheap food and sometimes live music. It's just a few doors up the road from The Firkin Alehouse, a micropub of the style highly popular in Kent. They're nearer to Folkestone Central so you need to stay on the train one more stop. If you don't have time to head into town the closest pub to the ground is the Nailbox just the other side of Folkestone West station.
Food: Chambers is just round the corner from Papa's, a good chippie which is a short walk from nice views over the Channel. There's not much around the ground but Cheriton Road has a few fast food options about half a mile before you get there if coming by car.
