Invicta bring January to a close on Saturday as we welcome Horsham to the Alcaline Stadium.

Our postponed trip to Dulwich Hamlet has now been rearranged for Tuesday 11th February. Folkestone Invicta Supporters Club are running a bus for the fixture. A 16-seater bus is currently fully booked, but may be upgraded should there be sufficient interest.

Team News

Midfielder Conor Kelly and forward Tom Derry have both departed the club this week. We wish to thank them both for their efforts and wish them the best for the future.

From The Manager

Andy Drury spoke to our Head of Media ahead of Saturday’s match: “Saturday’s win over Canvey Island was a great response from us after the defeat to Cheshunt. The boys were determined to put in a performance for the fans and I think we did that, now it is important we back that up against Horsham. They come into the game as the form side in the league, we know how good they are and we know how good we had to be to get a win against them earlier in the season, we are going to have to be at our very best.”

The Opposition

To say Horsham come into Saturday’s fixture in good form would be an understatement. After runs to the 1st round of the FA Cup and 3rd Round of the FA Trophy, The Hornets are now fully focused on the Isthmian Premier Division and have used their games in hand to fly up the table, currently on a run of 8 consecutive wins that includes beating both league leaders Billericay and 2nd place Dover. Goalkeeper Lewis Carey has only conceded 2 goals in that run, keeper 6 clean sheets. With 16 games to play Horsham now sit in 5th, 7 points clear of 6th place Hashtag United and just 4 points off the top of the league with a game in hand.

Last 6

28/12 – Potters Bar Town (A) – Won 6-0
01/01 – Dover (A) – Won 2-1
04/01 – Carshalton Athletic (H) – Won 3-0
11/01 – Billericay Town (H) – Won 1-0
14/01 – Hendon (A) – Won 4-0
18/01 – Lewes (A) – Won 2-0

Recent Meetings

The sides met back in November in Sussex, Invicta winning 1-0 thanks to a Jack Brivio own goal just before half time. Horsham were awarded a controversial penalty shortly after the break but it was missed and Invicta saw out the win.

You can view the highlights on HornetsTV

Horsham may be coming into Saturday on an impressive run of form, but their record at Cheriton Road is a stark contrast. Invicta have won all of the last 8 meetings between the sides in Kent, stretching back to 2013, and have scored in all of our last 18 meetings in all competitions.

Last 6

29/10/22 – Invicta 2-0 Horsham (FA Trophy)
26/11/22 – Invicta 3-0 Horsham
11/02/23 – Horsham 1-3 Invicta
16/12/23 – Horsham 2-1 Invicta
06/04/24 – Invicta 3-1 Horsham
26/11/24 – Horsham 0-1 Invicta

The Manager

Dominic Di Paola took over as Horsham Manager in April 2015 with the club relegated to the Sussex County League, leading them to the league title and promotion back to the Isthmian League the following season. Another promotion followed in 2019 to return Horsham to the Isthmian Premier Division as they prepared to move into their new stadium that summer. Di Paola has since lead The Hornets so their first Velocity Cup in 2022 and a highest league finish, FA Trophy run and joint-longest FA Cup run in 2024.

Key Man

Midfielder Reece Myles-Meekums already has 4 goals to his name since the turn of the year, including the winner at Dover on New Year’s Day, to take him to 10 for the season in all competitions. A product of Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy, Myles-Meekums joined Bromley where he had loan spells back to Sussex with Worthing, Eastbourne Borough & Bognor Regis Town. After joining Worthing on a permanent basis he went on to be part of the side that won the Isthmian Premier Division title in 2022 and a 4th place finish in the National South the following season. After originally joining Horsham on a dual registration basis in 2023 and scored in their Sussex Senior Cup Final win over Hastings United at the Amex Stadium.

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 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 from 11:30pm showing all of the days live sport, including:

• 12:30pm – EFL Football
• 5:30pm – Manchester City v Chelsea