Our third outing of the summer sees Invicta travel to Homelands to visit Isthmian South East side Ashford United.

Invicta

Manager Andy Drury appearing in good spirits after seeing his side run our 4-0 winners at Whitstable Town on Tuesday evening and will be hoping to make it three wins in a row on Saturday. 

Having been light on numbers for the trip to Whitstable, manager Andy Drury is expecting to have a larger squad to select from to face The Nuts & Bolts. 

From The Manager

Manager Andy Drury spoke on Tuesday evening: 

“We’ll go to Ashford on Saturday, we need to see what bodies we have available and we might throw a couple of young lads in for a bit longer as we don’t want to overdo the lads too much with people like Gayley and Frankie [Morgan] having had 90 minutes tonight so we will be a bit cautious with some people’s legs.

Whatever team we put out I expect it will be a good game, they’ve got a new 3G down which might help. It’s quite a local one for us so hopefully a few of the fans will make the trip and see the boys in action before we get back home later in the month.”

Kit

Invicta will line up in our red & white away kit for the first time this summer. 

Previously

Invicta were due to make the trip to Homelands last summer but the fixture had to be cancelled due to Ashford’s involvement in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. 

Our last visit was 3 years ago, Invicta winning 3-2 in July 2021 with goals from Tyler Sterling and Jordan Wright. 

The Opposition

Ashford United are under new management this season with former Gillingham player Danny Kedwell taking charge after departing Chatham Town, where he was a player, at the end of last season. The managers know each other well, with Andy Drury having been 

We can expect to see some familiar faces in the Ashford lineup. Folkestone Invicta record goalscorer Ian Draycott signed for the club last summer, scoring 9 goals in 38 appearances so far.

Defender Will Moses has signed on permanently having spent part of last season at Homelands on loan from Invicta.

Forward Louis Collins has also joined Ashford this summer after 2 spells at Invicta over the past 2 seasons.

Meanwhile winger Adem Ramadan is now back in action having missed almost the entirety of the 23/24 season after breaking his leg in August. 

The Venue

Situated roughly 3 miles from the centre of the town, Homelands has been Ashford’s home of football since its construction in 1989, when Ashford Town moved in following 2 years of playing at our very own Cheriton Road.

The stadium has also been home to Margate (2004-05), Maidstone United (2009-11), Canterbury City (2014-17) and Kennington (2018-now).

Homelands hold a 500 seated stand that also houses the bar and changing room and has covered standing behind both goals. 

A new 3G surface was laid last summer to replace the original artificial surface laid in 2015.

Travel

Always check rail times/strike action before you travel. 

Trains between Folkestone and Ashford run twice an hour on Saturday morning/afternoon. The 11 bus from outside Ashford International Station will take you as close to Homelands as you can get by public transport, alight a Smithfields Crossroads for a 12 minute walk to the stadium.

Admission  

Adults	£6
Concession	£3
Under 18	£1