Our only home fixture of February sees Invicta welcome Chichester City to the Alcaline Stadium on Saturday for a huge match in the race for the playoffs.
Invicta come into a busy week off the back of 3 wins on the bounce, beating Canvey Island and Horsham at the Alcaline Stadium before last weekend’s win at Hendon.
The sides come into the fixture separated by just 3 points. A win for Invicta would lift Andy Drury’s side above Chichester and potentially as high as 6th at the close of play, depending on other results.
Ade Yusuff made his 200th appearance for Invicta at Hendon. Nathan Green also reached a milestone, making his 50th appearance for the club.
Team News
Forward Dan Smith remains unavailable for the short-medium term after an operation, but otherwise manager Andy Drury should have a full squad to select from going into a busy week, with trips to Dulwich Hamlet and Hashtag United to follow.
From The Manager
Andy Drury spoke to our Head of Media ahead of Saturday’s match: “We’re really looking forward to what is a huge game on Saturday, up against an in-form side with both of us looking up at the playoffs.
They’re on a great run, but so did Horsham 2 weeks ago, it seems like we come up against teams on top form every week. We’re also in good form and we need to keep at it if we want to put pressure on the teams above us, we need to be on our game, at our top level to hunt down the top 5.
It’s a busy week and an important week coming up for us, with 2 games against sides sat above us and a tough midweek trip to Dulwich Hamlet, we want to come out the end of that in a strong position to mount a push until the end of the season.”
The Opposition
After winning the Isthmian South East Division playoffs last season, Chichester City are at their highest level since their formation in 2000 and are knocking on the door of back-to-back playoff finishes. Having been sat in 17th in mid-December, a run of 7 wins in 8 games elevated The Lilywhites to 6th in the Isthmian Premier Division at the start of this week, with Hashtag moving a place above them on goal difference on Tuesday night.
Last 6
28/12 – Carshalton Athletic (A) – Won 2-1
01/01 – Bognor Regis Town (H) – Won 4-1
04/01 – Chatham Town (H) – Won 2-0
18/01 – Bowers & Pitsea (H) – Won 1-0
25/01 – Dulwich Hamlet (A) – Won 2-1
01/02 – Wingate & Finchley (H) – Won 2-1
Recent Meetings
Invicta lead the head-to-head 2 wins to 1 against Chichester City, although both our wins have come in cup competitions with Chichester taking the 3 points when the sides met earlier in the season. Dan Smith’s early goal had Invicta in front before Jimmy Wild levelled the scores in the second half and Isaac Bello snatched the win in injury time.
Chichester City visited Cheriton Road in 2022 for an FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round tie. Goals from Ade Yusuff and Josh Vincent had Invicta 2-0 up early on before Ira Jackson jr. completed a 3-0 win late on. You can watch highlights on Invicta TV.
Last 3
18/01/22 – Chichester 3-5 Invicta (Velocity Trophy)
17/09/22 – Invicta 3-0 Chichester (FA Cup)
28/09/24 – Chichester 2-1 Invicta
Key Man
With 21 goals in 26 appearances, Jimmy Wild is the Isthmian Premier Division top scorer, with 4 in 5 at the start of 2025 taking him above Wingate & Finchley’s Ogo Obi and Dulwich Hamlet’s Luke Wanadio. Wild struck against Invicta earlier in the season to equalise before setting up the winning goal in injury time, keeping him quiet in the final 3rd will be key to keeping a clean sheet.
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
Charlie Prescott and Adrian Dawkes from Seasiders Radio will be there to bring you live radio commentary from the Alcaline Stadium.
You can also keep up to date with the action with updates from our X (formerly Twitter) account and 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:
- 12:15pm – FA Cup: Leyton Orient v Man City
- 12:30pm – EFL Football
- 2:15pm – Six Nations: Italy v Wales
- 4:45pm – Six Nations: England v France
- 5:45pm – FA Cup: Birmingham City v Newcastle United
- 8pm – FA Cup: Brighton v Chelsea
🏉 We’re gearing up for another huge weekend in the #GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/IinLFgP9lb
— The Dugout Sports Bar & Kitchen (@thedugoutCT19) February 7, 2025
