Following a successful trip to Sussex on Tuesday evening, Invicta will be heading back in search of another 3 points on Saturday with a trip to outskirts of Brighton to face Whitehawk.

2 wins over Sussex sides earlier this week, Bognor at the Alcaline Stadium an Horsham away, has lifted Andy Drury’s side up into the playoffs, with a game in hand on the top 3. Invicta are sat in the playoffs for the first time since the opening day of the 2023/24 season, after a 4-0 win at Wingate & Finchley saw us sitting in 2nd place.

Team News

Having been forced off at half time on Saturday, Marvel Ekpiteta gave the manager a boost as he returned to play 90 minutes on Tuesday night but captain Ian Gayle had to be replaced during the first half of the win at Horsham and may well be a doubt for Saturday.

Drury will be awaiting news on the fitness of Khale Da Costa and Matthias Fanimo who both missed Tuesday night’s win.

From The Manager

Manager Andy Drury spoke ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sussex: “We are starting to get to where we know, as a squad, we have to be. We’ve had to get players up to speed and gel as a new squad but I think we are now seeing that start to come together.

We’ve had the boys in for a recovery session on Thursday to prepare them for Saturday’s match, which won’t be easy. No game is easy at this level, especially with them just having made a change of manager. It’s a difficult pitch to play with a big slope which makes it a game of 2 halves.

We go down there looking for 3 points to really kick on now. We’ve got ourselves up into the playoffs and we have to go and make sure we stay there, it’s not good to now drop back out, we have to make sure we stay there.

The supporters have given us fantastic backing over a run of home games this month and they were great again on Tuesday and I hope they’ll be there and be vocal on Saturday.”

Previously

Invicta boast a relatively healthy record against Whitehawk. Our defeat at The Enclosed Ground in February is Whitehawk’s only win in the last 5 meetings between the clubs, but Invicta have only taken a single point from 2 trips to the Sussex coast.

Last 5

27/11/18 – Whitehawk 0-0 Invicta
06/04/19 – Invicta 2-1 Whitehawk
08/10/22 – Invicta 1-1 Whitehawk (4-3 on pens) (FA Trophy)
23/09/23 – Invicta 1-1 Whitehawk
17/02/24 – Whitehawk 3-2 Invicta

The Opposition

Having been promoted via the Isthmian south East playoffs in 2023, Whitehawk had a great start to life back at Step 3 with a 9th place finish last season. The Hawks have struggled to maintain that momentum this term, currently rooted to the bottom of the table and having just made their second managerial change of the season. Shaun Saunders stepped down in May to be replaced by Ross McNeilly who then departed last month, his assistant Dave Altendorff stepping up into the hotseat. Following Tuesday’s defeat at Hendon, Altendorff has stepped down to be replaced by the familiar face of Saunders, who takes charge alongside Adam Simpson.

Last 6

05/11 – Hastings United (A) – Lost 2-0
09/11 – Canvey Island (A) –  Lost 2-1
16/11 – Wingate & Finchley (H) – Lost 2-0
19/11 – Haywards Heath Town (H) – Won 1-0 (Sussex County Cup)
23/11 – Chatham Town (A) – Lost 5-0
26/11 – Hendon (A) – Lost 3-0

Key Man

Goals have been hard to come by so far this season for Whitehawk, Charlie Walker is currently the leading scorer on 4 goals but Invicta should be wary of the forward having seen him score a hat-trick in the space of 20 minutes in this fixture last season.

The Venue

Travel

Always check rail times/strike action before you travel. 

You can reach Brighton on the train either via London or changing at Ashford International for a Southern service. Both routes take a similar time but the Southern service is cheaper as it avoids the Southeastern Highspeed.

From Brighton station the number 7 bus service will get you closest to Whitehawk, about 20 minutes walk. The 12A, 27 and 52 will all take you to a similar walking distance.

Admission  

Supporters can pay on the turnstile for this fixture or can purchase online in advance. You can purchase online here

• Adult: £13
• Concession: £8
• U15: £5