Invicta will travel to Longmead Stadium on Saturday to face National League South side Tonbridge Angels.

Team News

As the new season draws near, Jay Saunders has begun to trim his squad. Only two trialists were on show at Bradford, so supporters can expect a squad much closer to that which will kick off the Isthmian League season on Saturday 9th August at Chichester City.

Kit

Invicta will be in our black and amber home kits on Saturday, with Tonbridge in blue.

From The Manager

First-team manager Jay Saunders said ahead of his return to Longmead on Saturday:

“I’m looking forward to Saturday for a few reasons. Firstly it will be a great test for us to see where our squad is at against a side from the National South. Coming off the back of Saturday’s win and performance at Bradford we will now get to test ourselves against three strong teams, which for me is the idea of pre-season – to continually get stronger as we move towards the start of the season.

“Secondly I’m looking forward to seeing some familiar faces. Obviously myself, Blacky and Parky spent a few years at Tonbridge and met some good people so it will be nice to see them on Saturday.”

The Opposition

Like Invicta, Tonbridge have faced a summer rebuild with a new manager and a new group of players as they build towards a seventh consecutive season in the National League South. Craig Nelson’s side won their opening four pre-season fixtures, only being beaten by a strong Bromley side on Tuesday night.

Recent Meetings

The sides last met in league action during the 2018/19 season. Since Tonbridge’s promotion to the National South the sides have met once competitively, a 3-1 Kent Senior Cup win for Invicta, while Tonbridge have won two of the three pre-season meetings.

Last 6

27/08/18 – Invicta 0-1 Tonbridge
26/12/18 – Tonbridge 1-3 Invicta
11/02/20 – Invicta 3-1 Tonbridge (Kent Senior Cup)
05/07/22 – Invicta 0-3 Tonbridge (Friendly)
04/07/23 – Invicta 0-1 Tonbridge (Friendly)
03/08/24 – Tonbridge 0-0 Invicta (Friendly)

The Manager

Craig Nelson joined Tonbridge this summer, replacing Invicta-bound Jay Saunders. Nelson began his managerial career with Glebe, leading the club to the SCEFL play-offs before joining Lewes last summer, where he secured a 13th-place finish in the Isthmian Premier Division.

One To Watch

Oluwabunmi Babajide is no stranger to scoring against Invicta, having found the net three times against us during the 2023/24 season while at Carshalton. His goal-scoring exploits for the Robins earned him a move to Hampton & Richmond last summer, where he netted 20 goals in the National League South.

Familiar Faces

It isn’t just Jay Saunders and his backroom staff that will be in familiar surroundings at Tonbridge. Liam Smith, Mikey Berry, Jeremy Santos, Jake Hutchinson and Ade Yusuff have all represented Tonbridge previously in their careers.

How To Follow

You can keep up to date with the action with updates from our X (formerly Twitter) account.

The Venue

Travel

Always check rail times/strike action before you travel. 

Supporters can reach Tonbridge in approximately an hour by train. Direct services depart Folkestone Central at 38 minutes past the hour, or alternatively take a high speed service at 56 minutes past the hour and change at Ashford International. Longmead is a 39-minute walk from Tonbridge station, but supporters can take the 219 bus service from outside the station and alright on Darenth Avenue for an 8-minute walk.

Admission  

Supporters can pay on the gate or buy online for this fixture.

• Adult: £12
• Concession: £10
• Youth 12-17: £5