The road to Wembley begins on Saturday as we travel up the Kent coast to Ramsgate for a Kent Derby in the Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round. 

The Emirates FA Cup

745 teams entered this season’s Emirates FA Cup, with 653 non-league sides competing to be one of 32 to reach the 1st round proper.

The 745 teams entering the competition this season is up from 732 in the 2023/24 season, due to a greater number of clubs competing at Step 5 of the NLS. This also means no teams from Step 6 compete in the competition this season.

357 ties have already been played in this year’s competition, leaving 388 clubs still competing. There should be 412 ties still to be played in the competition, which means that by the time the weekend is over more than half the competition will have technically been played.

88 clubs from Step 3 of the NLS enter the FA Cup at the 1st Qualifying Round stage, joining 136 winners from the preliminary round. 112 winners will be joined in the 2nd Qualifying Round by clubs from the National League North & South, with the final 24 non-league clubs from the National League entering at the 4th Qualifying Round.

£2,250 is up for grabs for the winners of this weekend’s ties, with the losers taking £750.

The FA extended its partnership with FA Cup sponsors Emirates this summer, the competition retaining the name of the Emirates FA Cup until at least 2028.

Should Invicta make it all the way to Wembley, the semi final weekend clashes with the final weekend of the Isthmian Premier Division season when we are due to visit Cray Valley PM. The final will be held at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 17th May 2025, 3 weeks after the end of the Isthmian Premier Division season and 12 days after the playoff final.

Teams can name 7 players on the bench during FA Cup qualifiers and are able to make 5 substitutions.

Potential Replay

Despite the abolition of replays from the 1st Round, replays remain for all 6 of the qualifying rounds. Should Saturday’s fixture finish level after 90 minutes, we will host Ramsgate in a replay on Tuesday 3rd September.

Stat Pack

• Invicta last failed to reach the 2nd Qualifying Round 6 years ago, falling to a 1-0 defeat away to Burgess Hill Town in the 1st Qualifying Round in 2018.
• Invicta have only ever reached the 1st Round of the FA Cup on 1 occasion – a trip to Chester in 2005.
• Neil Cugley lead Invicta to the 4th Qualifying Round 3 times in his final 6 years as manager, falling to Slough Town in 2017, Eastleigh in a replay in 2021 and Merthyr Town in 2022.
• Saturday’s trip to Ramsgate is Invicta’s 13th away draw in 17 FA Cup ties. Invicta were also drawn away ahead of replays on 2 occasions in that time, missing out on a first round trip to Boreham Wood in 2021 and a trip to Chesham United last season.
• Captain Ian Gayle is the only player to have previously played for Invicta in the FA Cup, playing in all 4 rounds in 2022/23 but missing 2 of our 3 games in the completion last season due to injury.
• None of the current Invicta squad have scored an FA Cup goal for the club.
• Gavin Hoyte has gone deepest in the FA Cup from the current Invicta squad, having reached the 5th Round with Maidstone United last season.
• Left back Frankie Morgan was part of the Sheppey United side that made it to the 1st Round last season, losing at home to Walsall.
• Only 5 of the current Invicta squad have not appeared in the FA Cup at the 1st Round stage or later.
• Ramsgate were 1 of 3 sides from the Isthmian South East to make the 1st round last season, along with Cray Valley PM and Sheppey United.
• Ramsgate’s run to the 2nd Round last season was the furthest in the club’s history. They were eventually beaten by AFC Wimbledon.

Invicta

Invicta head into the FA Cup off the back of 2 wins from 4 games at the start of the Isthmian Premier Division. We currently sit 10th with a game in hand, pending the league decision on our abandoned match away to Wingate & Finchley.

Andy Drury will be without the midfield pairing of Dean Rance and Amadou Kassaraté on Saturday, with both suspended having been dismissed against Cray Valley.

Ahead of last weekend’s bank holiday fixtures, Sam Blackman joined Hythe Town and Joel Odeniran joined Herne Bay, both on loan. Sam played 151 minutes across 2 games over the weekend as Hythe were beaten by Beckenham Town and Sheppey United while Joel came off the bench in the 57th minute to make his Herne Bay debut in a 0-0 draw away to Margate on Monday.

From The Manager

Manager Andy Drury sat down to speak to Invicta TV this week to discuss the season so far and look ahead to Saturday’s FA Cup tie.

You can hear from the manager here.

Kit

Invicta will line up in black & amber on Saturday, with the hosts in their home kit of red & white.

Previously

It’s been nine years since the sides last met competitively, back in 2015 in the Ryman South.

Invicta’s record at Southwood doesn’t make for pleasant reading, with just 1 draw and 3 defeats from the last 4 visits.

Even our last visit for a friendly in 2020 ended in defeat, Johan Ter Horst scoring in a game played behind closed doors during the COVID19 pandemic.

The last meeting between us did however result in an Invicta win, 4-2 in June 2021 at Cheriton Road.

The Opposition

Ramsgate missed out on promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division last season after finishing 2nd to Cray Valley before playoff semi-final defeat at home to eventual winners Chichester City.

A turbulent summer has followed at Southwood, with manager Ben Smith originally being announced as staying on as manager before then parting way with the club. Ramsgate then appointed former Lewes manager Tony Russell to lead their promotion charge, but he departed after just 25 days in charge. Ben Smith then returned as interim manager before taking on the job permanently for the second time.

Despite the summer uncertainty, The Rams have started the season in good form with 3 wins from 3 in the Isthmian South East along with a 5-0 win over Southwood in the FA Cup Preliminary Round.

Invicta fans will recognise the familiar faces of Joe Taylor, Alfie Paxman and Tom Hadler in the Ramsgate squad. Former Invicta goalkeeper Henry Newcombe is also goalkeeping coach after joining in the summer from Deal Town.

Having hit 53 goals last term, Taylor has got off to a flying start with 8 goals in 4 games already this term.

The Venue

Southwood Stadium’s 3G surface was installed in 2021.

The stadium features one seated stand along the south side of the pitch, with small terraces with limited cover behind either end.

Travel

Always check rail times/strike action before you travel. 

Admission  

The game is pay in the gate with no tickets on sale in advance.

Adults	£10
Concession (over 60, disabled, carers, NHS)	£5
Under 18	FREE