Invicta will look to bounce back from Bonfire Night Derby defeat on Saturday when we welcome Cray Wanderers to the Alcaline Stadium.

Invicta set a club record attendance on Tuesday evening, as 2,906 flocked to Cheriton Road. Our previous record attendance was 2,332 set against West Ham United in the 1996/97 season. Invicta played host to Harry Redknapp’s side for a benefit game following flooding in the town, with a Hammers side featuring Julian Dicks and Frank Lampard running out 6-0 winners.

It was also the first ever sell out crowd for Invicta since COVID19 restrictions limited the club to 600 supporters during the short-lived 2020/21 season.

There will be a minute silence ahead of kick off

Team News

Forward Dan Smith will be available for the match despite being sent off on Tuesday evening. He will begin his suspension next Saturday against Hanwell Town in the FA Trophy, pending appeal.

Chris Sessegnon is still expected to be missing as he nears a return from his dislocated shoulder while the manager will hope to be able to recall Matthias Fanimo who missed the defeats to Carshalton and Dover with a slight niggle.

Joe Turner will provide another option for Andy Drury, having signed for the club ahead of last week’s trip to South London. Joe has made 2 appearances off the bench so far as he looks to get up to speed having had limited game time before departing Horsham last month.

From The Manager

Andy Drury spoke to our Head of Media ahead of Saturday’s fixture: “It is important we bounce back on Saturday after disappointing results this week, but we come into the game off the back of what was a good performance on Tuesday night, despite the result.

As a group we are hurting but determined to put things right, with a run of 4 home fixtures coming up. The support we had on Tuesday night was incredible and they backed the lads for over 100 minutes out there, it is up to us to repay that support over the next few weeks.

Neil Smith is a quality and experienced manager and we can expect a tough game on Saturday against a side that will be fighting for their lives. While they haven’t had the best start to the season, they have kept 4 clean sheets in the last month and will also be looking to bounce back from defeat on Tuesday night.”

The Opposition

Cray Wanderers have had a stuttering start to the 2024/25 season that sees them currently sat in 19th with 12 points from 13 games. Struggle in the league were punctuated with an FA Cup run to the 4th Qualifying Round before losing 1-0 to Tonbridge Angels at Flamingo Park, setting a record crowd of 1,222 for their new home.

Invicta could have visited Flamingo Park earlier this season, having been drawn to travel there in the 2nd Round of the Kent Senior Cup before being beaten by Phoenix Sports on penalties. Cray fell to the same fate, leaving Phoenix to now host Welling United in the quarter finals.

Cray are also heading into Saturday off the back of Bonfire Night Derby defeat, having been beaten 2-1 away at Cray Valley PM.

Last 6

19/10 – Hastings United (H) – Drew 0-0
22/10 – Whitehawk (H) – Drew 0-0
26/10 – Cheshunt (A) – Won 1-0
29/10 – Phoenix Sports (H) – Drew 2-2 (Lost 6-5 on pens) (Kent Senior Cup)
02/11 – Hashtag United (H) – Won 3-0
05/11 – Cray Valley PM (A) – Lost 2-1

Recent Meetings

Since Cray Wanderer’s promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division in 2019, the clubs have traded blows with Invicta edging it with 3 wins to Cray’s 2. In 8 meetings the home side has only come out on top once, a 1-0 win for Invicta in 2022, Ade Yusuff scoring the only goal on a wet night at Cheriton Road. The Wands have picked up 2 wins on our patch, while Invicta picked up 2 at Hayes Lane.

Last 6

24/11/21 – Cray 2-2 Invicta (Isthmian Premier Division)
15/02/22 – Invicta 1-0 Cray (Isthmian Premier Division)
13/09/22 – Invicta 2-4 Cray (Isthmian Premier Division)
15/02/23 – Cray 0-0 Invicta (Isthmian Premier Division)
06/02/24 – Invicta 2-2 Cray (Isthmian Premier Division)
24/03/24 – Cray 0-1 Invicta (Isthmian Premier Division)

Familiar Faces

Invicta forward Tom Derry scored for Cray at Cheriton Road in a 4-2 win for the visitors in 2022. Jamie Mascoll also had a spell at Hayes Lane, signing in the summer of 2023 before heading to Chatham in February.

The Manager

Neil Smith was appointed manager of Cray Wanderers in March 2022, helping the club to avoid relegation before leading them to achieve their highest ever finish of 5th in the 2022/23 season, losing to Hornchurch in the playoff semi-finals.

As a player, Neil came through the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur before heading to Gillingham where he made over 200 appearances in 6 years. He also appeared for Fulham, Reading and Stevenage Borough. A first step into management came as interim while a player at Woking before joining Welling United as player-manager before finishing his playing career with Bromley and Maidstone.

After coaching spells at Grays Athletic, Croydon Athletic and Lewes, Smith returned to Bromley where he began a 10-year stay as assistant manager before taking over as manager in 2016. He eventually departed Hayes Lane in 2021 but returned to take the reins of Cray Wanderers the following year.

Key Man

Cray Wanderers captain Tom Bonner is an experienced central defender who joined the club in November 2023 from Havant & Waterlooville. Bonner had actually announced his retirement from football that summer but returned the the game on the South coast where he joined up with his former manager at Dartford; Steve King. Bonner has experience in the football league with Cambridge United and has also appeared for Dover and Ebbsfleet United in Kent. despite leading the defence, Tom is joint leading goalscorer for The Wands so far this season with 4 goals to his name, so promises to be a threat from set pieces.

Admission

Supporters can pay on the gate for this fixture or purchase online in advance from our online ticket shop.

• Adults (18-59): £12
• Concession (60+, student, disabled, Blue Lights Card): £9
• Young Adult (13-17): £6
• Child (under 13): FREE

How To Follow

If you can make it to the match you can follow the action via our X (formerly Twitter) account. Alternatively, live score updates are available on Football Webpages.

Food & Drink

The Dugout Sports Bar will be open from 11:30am, with the Dugout Kitchen open for food. The Dugout accepts both cash & card.

Food and refreshments will also be available from the truck inside the stadium, located between The Dugout and the Folkestone Bowls Club building.

We have FOUR new fanzone bars around the ground serving draught beer, Guinness, water and soft drinks. 2 bars are adjacent to The Dugout, one beside the tea hut window and one beside the disability shelter. These bars are CARD ONLY.

The Dugout Sports Bar

The Dugout Sports Bar will be open showing all of the days live sport.