Folkestone Invicta manager Neil Cugley

Folkestone Invicta’s players will pay a proportion of the entry fee after feeling they had let supporters down during the 4-0 defeat to Merstham last weekend.

The result was the Seasiders’ first league defeat at Cheriton Road this season and ended a 10-game unbeaten run in Ryman Division One South.

In response to the performance, the squad will be offering to have the ticket prices for this weekend’s home game against Walton Casuals reduced from £8 for adults and £5 for concessions, down to £4 and £2. The club will not lose out, with the shortfall being made up by a contribution from the players and manager Neil Cugley.

Cugley said: “We let ourselves down a bit on Saturday and at this time of year money’s a bit tight. The fans have been great this season and we want to pay them back.

“We thought about it over the weekend and thought it was the right thing to do. We want to keep the fans, we have a great fanbase and feel we disappointed them on Saturday.”

The defeat saw Invicta drop to fifth in the table, seven points behind leaders Bognor Regis Town. Cugley admitted while the margin of defeat had come as a surprise, losing was not totally unexpected after a succession of average displays.

He said: “Credit to Merstham, I thought they were very good. I don’t think we’ve played that well this month - six points from five games is not even mid-table form really. I thought last month we were the best team in the league but when you’ve got a young team like ours they can be a bit inconsistent.”

Liam Friend will return for Saturday’s game after serving a suspension, but Darren Marsden is unavailable.

Photo by IGOR KUPCO