Just 105 days after Invicta finished the 2024/25 season with a 2-1 win over Cray Valley PM we hit the road on Saturday to kick off the new campaign with a visit to Chichester City, our longest journey of the season.

With 42 games ahead of us, 126 points to fight for as well as four cup competitions to compete in, the 2025/26 season promises to be an exciting one at Cheriton Road.

Having taken charge for the final four games of last season, first team manager Jay Saunders now has a pre-season under his belt and has assembled his own squad – with only Dean Rance remaining from the side that took on Carshalton Athletic in our opening fixture a year ago.

Rance is joined from last season’s squad by Jack Jebb, Joel-Michael Odeniran, Brad Walledge and Ade Yusuff as well as 13 additions – including the return of popular midfielder Ronnie Dolan who made 315 appearances during his first spell at the club.

Supporters’ Coach

Our supporters’ coach will depart from The Dugout Sports Bar at 10:30am on Saturday. Spaces are still available. Supporters can book their seats via our ticketing provider Fanbase. Click here to book.

Team News

Invicta kick off the season in relatively good health. Midfielder Jeremy Santos will be missing with a hamstring injury picked up at Tonbridge Angels last month.

Otherwise manager Jay Saunders will have a squad of 17 to select from for our first fixture of the season. It’s been a busy final week of preparations at the Alcaline Stadium, with the additions of new no. 1 goalkeeper Ted Collins and young defender Dillon Simmons. Forward Ade Yusuff will also return having returned from his honeymoon to train this week.

Invicta will be led this season by new captain Kevin Lokko, with Dean Rance as vice-captain. Read more here.

Kit

Invicta will be taking to the field in our black and amber home kit, with our hosts in white.

From The Manager

First-team manager Jay Saunders spoke to Invicta TV at training this week as he prepares his side for the big kick off. You can catch the full interview below.

The Opposition

Having been promoted in 2024 as Isthmian South East Division play-off winners, Chichester City carried their momentum into last season and went within a whisker of going back-to-back. After an up-and-down start to the campaign, The Chi found themselves in 16th at the halfway stage but a run of seven straight wins pushed them into sixth spot, just outside the play-offs. On the final day of the season, needing a win to push into fifth, Lewis Rustell had them in front after 25 minutes, but an eventual 3-1 defeat resigned Chichester to a sixth-place finish and another season in the Isthmian Premier Division.

Chichester have kept their squad together over the summer as they will look to build on last season’s impressive showing, although they will be missing last season’s Isthmian Premier Division top scorer Jimmy Wild for the foreseeable future as the forward requires surgery on a knee injury. The 29-goal hitman took to step three like a duck to water last season, with 25 league goals – including three against Invicta – before his season came to an end in March.

Pre-Season

Chichester have four wins from six this summer, including victory over reigning Isthmian League champions Horsham.

05/07 – Moneyfields (A) – Won 2-0
08/07 – Horsham (A) – Won 2-1
12/07 – Havant & Waterlooville (H) – Drew 1-1
18/07 – Christchurch (H) – Won 1-0
26/07 – Gosport Borough (H) – Won 1-0
01/08 – Bognor Regis Town (H) – Lost 2-0

Recent Meetings

The sides have met on four previous occasions, with Invicta winning cup ties in the Velocity Cup and FA Cup before Chichester took all six points in last season’s league meetings. Three of the four meetings have seen both teams on the scoresheet, with Invicta scoring on both previous visits to Oaklands Park. Forward Ade Yusuff scored a brace during our first visit, a 5-3 Velocity Cup win, with Invicta coming from 2-0 down at half time.

Last 4

18/01/22 – Chichester 3-5 Invicta (Velocity Cup)
17/09/22 – Invicta 3-0 Chichester (FA Cup)
28/09/24 – Chichester 2-1 Invicta
11/03/25 – Invicta 1-3 Chichester

The Manager

Miles Rutherford has been in charge at Oaklands Park for over a decade, during which time he has led Chichester City from the Southern Combination League to a sixth-place finish in the Isthmian Premier Division, with record runs in the FA Cup, FA Trophy and FA Vase along the way.

One To Watch

Gambian midfielder Mo Jammeh joined Worthing in 2020 and has represented a number of clubs in Sussex including Lancing, Bognor Regis and Burgess Hill Town on loan before making a permanent move to Oaklands Park last summer.

How To Follow

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

The Venue

Oaklands Park is situated in the centre of the city, just to the south of the University of Chichester. Supporters travelling by car can park in nearby Northgate Car Park, a short walk from the stadium.

Travel

Always check rail times/strike action before you travel. 

Folkestone to Chichester by train will take you just over three hours. Catch the high-speed service just before the hour to London St Pancras and take the Victoria Line to London Victoria for a service to Portsmouth Harbour that calls at seven minutes past the hour. The station is a 20-minute walk from Oaklands Park, but supporters can catch the 60 bus service from the railway station to The Bell Inn or the 55 or 500 services to St Richard’s Hospital, both are seven minutes from the stadium.

A further reminder that spaces are still available on our supporters’ coach. Click here to book.

Admission

Gates open at 1pm. Supporters can purchase online for this fixture, or pay on the gate. Tickets can be bought online here.

• Adult: £12
• Concession: £8
• Students: £4
• Age 16-18: £4
• Under 13: £3