Angels bow out of Kent Senior Cup at first attempt
A 30 minute second half hat trick from Folkestone Invicta striker Johan Ter Horst dumped Angels firmly out of the Kent Senior Cup on a bitterly cold evening at the BuildKent Stadium in front of 193 spectators. Invicta now go on to face Dartford away in the next round.
It was a tie that should have been played at The Halcyon Wealth Longmead Staduim but due to continuing pitch problems the match was switched to the Kent Coast and Folkestone took full advantage.
The Angels can have few complaints about the final result. There was a general lack of effort about their performance which may have been due to a lack of competitive football in recent weeks and it is to be hoped that any rustiness will have been eradicated as they face more important games in the coming months.
The first half was a forgettable affair with neither side really able to come to grips with the swirling wind with passes constantly over hit. There were a couple of early efforts from the seasiders and on 19 minutes for the Angels Josh Ajayi twisted and turned his way into the Invicta penalty area before hitting the deck but the rather half hearted penalty appeals were quickly waved away. The 37th minute saw an inviting cross from Khale Da Costa headed wide by Ajayi and then right on the stroke of half time Da Costa hit the Folkestone woodwork with a decent free kick.
Following the half time talk both teams emerged with more purpose about them and with Roberto Ratti now partnering Ajayi up front, the Angels started to warrant their National South status. On 50 minutes they took the lead following good work by Jared Small who set up Ajayi who made no mistake from 10 yards with an angled shot. Just two minutes later Folkestone were back in it when Ter Horst claimed his first of the night.
There followed shortly afterwards an Angels substitution that saw Ajayi depart and replaced by midfielder Harry Donovan. With Ratti now on his own up front the away side never looked quite so potent and gradually Folkestone took a firmer grip on proceedings. Another Invicta goal followed in the 58th minute and while parity might have been restored on 62 minutes with a Rian Bray header from a corner just over the crossbar, and then a Christ Tiehi curler that hit the home post on 80 minutes it somehow looked like Folkestone were the likelier to score again. And that's what happened in the 82nd minute when Ter Horst completed his hat trick in style. If Folkestone are to succeed in their quest for National South football next season he will certainly need to replicate that kind of form in the league.
Afterwards, Angels 1st team coach Tommy Parkinson said: "We were very pleased to at last to get a competitive game under our belts which gave some players valuable match time. However we were disappointed with the overall performance that lacked urgency and momentum for a lot of the time. There will need to be a significant improvement for our home match against Hungerford this coming Saturday.