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Wednesday 18 March 2015

Folkestone 5 Guernsey 2 - 'Match' Report

Folkestone 5 Guernsey 2

The stalemate between the clubs had to end sometime and so it came to pass on Saturday.

Folkestone is well served by high speed train from St Pancras (yes, there is still a railway station hidden away amongst the shops) and it was from platform 12 that the Llama Express pulled away at 9.34. Just under an hour later the train pulled in to Folkestone Central, from where it was but a short walk to find truckin' Ash resisting the temptation of bargain cuts of meat from the Brummie butcher at the town's open air Saturday market.

We weren't there for the market however so, without further ado, we made our way to the harbour where we knew, courtesy of Gazois, there to be a pub called the Ship which was ideally placed to begin the journey harbour to ground.
Folkestone Harbour has seen better days. The ferry terminal closed years ago with the advent of le Chunnel but there is still a tidal harbour used by a mix of fishing and pleasure boats. Not a patch on St Peter Port as far as facilities for the boats goes but the quayside has a range of seafood stalls, caffs and restaurants that make you scratch your head and wonder why you can't get such a range of fruits de mer at reasonable prices on any of the piers in Guernsey.

Folkestone_1415_Harbour.jpg Folkestone_1415_Gull.JPG Folkestone_1415_Mermaid.JPG

Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Gaz had missed a boozer. A few doors up from the Ship is the Mariners and that, dear reader, is where the day really began. Cracking pint of Sussex Best in there, in pleasant surroundings, followed by a short walk to the Ship for a not so cracking pint of 6X. Nice pub though, pickled eggs behind 
the bar to boot.

Folkestone_1415_Mariners.JPG Folkestone_1415_Ship.JPG Folkestone_1415_BritUnion.JPG

From there it was a short walk through steep, cobbled streets to the British Lion, the oldest pub ion Folkestone. These were streets with a bit of atmosphere to them. Close your eyes and you could easily imagine the press gang seeking out willing volunteers to join the Royal Navy back in the day (c1975). This was the pick of the three hostelries we sampled before getting a cab to the ground, although Fenians might struggle with the cushions that adorn the banquettes.

The ground has change a little bit since we were there last year. The storm damaged stand that was out of bounds last year has gone so that side is now a biggish uncovered terrace. The grandads' stand opposite, which was covered terrace with a few seats here and there, is now all seated. The clubhouse, stripes, remains excellent with a couple of polypins of ale available. The chow (I think) was there and smiling and the teabar seemed better organised than last season (chips were very good).

Folkestone_1415_Openterrace.JPG Folkestone_1415_Chow.JPG

So to the match. Didn't see the opening goal as I was applying salt and vinegar to some chips. Highlights show us being just a bit pedestrian at the back though. Folkestone's second was an absolute screamer though, scored by Ian Draycott and absolutely nothing 1F could do about it. So 2-0 down in a short space of time but we got ourselves back into the match, creating a number of chances in the first half. In the main they were just too close to the Folkestone keeper, if only we'd sent the ball in the direction of the bottom corner a few more times it could have been oh so different (on the two occasions we did, the 'keeper did well however).

Shortly before half time Ross Allen, who played out of his skin throughout, turned the defence outside in and inside out, several times, before pulling a goal back for GFC in spectacular fashion. If you just saw that and Draycott's wonder strike on the afternoon you would have been more than satisfied that you'd got your money's worth.

The second half saw a couple of goals in quick succession by the hosts, their third had us scratching own heads wondering how the (not great) strike managed to worm it's way past the walk into the corner of the net. Ross pulled one back which gave hope but Invicta rubbed salt in the wound in injury time.

There didn't seem that much of a gap between the two team, although 5-2 doesn't lie and we certainly should have done better defending at least 2 of the Folkestone goals (as in we shouldn't have conceded).

Folkestone manager Neil Cugley received a fair amount of stick during the game, he was wearing brown shoes with a blue suit though, so what did he expect? After the final whistle we all adjourned to the bar above the dressing rooms where fans, players and officials from both clubs mixed, chatted and wound down before heading off to wherever it was they need to be.

Folkestone makes for a good day out and, for that reason alone, I hope they're still in the Isthmian South next season. I do have some empathy with Mr Cugley's view on kick off times however. A 3pm kick off would be enable us to make much more of the town centre's attractions.

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Keep it Green!

A sausage, a wrap and a mild mannered janitor.

With the trials and tribulations of last season fast receding and o the back of three impressive displays, unbeaten against teams expected ...