- 4 months ago
Join Finn Macdiarmid with a roundup of Kent's sporting action.
On today's episode we take a look at the latest Gillingham transfer news, along with a match report from Medway Dragons Rugby Club's final-winning game.
On today's episode we take a look at the latest Gillingham transfer news, along with a match report from Medway Dragons Rugby Club's final-winning game.
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TVTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping up all
00:21of Kent's sporting action. I'm Finn McDermott and here's what you can expect on this Monday,
00:26the 1st of September. Jill's top the table. We look at the results after a weekend of football.
00:36Dragons flying high. Medway rugby team win London and Eastmen's Premier Finals.
00:43And 60th swimmer. Herne Bay man finishes his second English Channel swim for his birthday.
00:50But first, a roundup of the headlines. We start with football and today marks deadline day.
00:56The Jills have signed a new defender on loan, while there are also reports of a striker's sale.
01:01Watford's Travis Ocomia has signed a loan deal with the Jills until the new year,
01:05with a 19-year-old defender saying he's looking forward to his very first loan. But it's not
01:11the only transfer news, with beloved striker Joe Gabode reportedly having a £300,000 fee agreed
01:17for his sale to Luton Town. The last major sale from the Jills was Bradley Dack to Blackburn back
01:23in 2017. Over to cricket now, where Tunbridge Wells were crowned the Kent League Premier Division
01:29champions over the weekend. Achieving a seven-wicket win over Holmesdale, the team now sit on 29 points
01:37clear, with one more round of league fixtures to go. Leo Carter led Holmesdale's 142 all-out,
01:43while Aristides Carvelas impressed, conceding 28 runs and three wickets. And Blackheath were just six
01:50points behind Sandwich Town and only three adrift of Minster, who were beaten by Lordswood by 41 runs.
01:57Next, it's time to go trackside, and British touring car champion Jake Hill had mixed emotions
02:02after failing to make podium at Donington Park. Placing 11th at the first stage of qualifying over
02:08the weekend, he battled his way to sixth at the flag. In the second race, he dropped to ninth,
02:12but in the finale, he just managed to claim fifth place. In a statement, the racer said he's happy,
02:17but was annoyed because the BMW's been quick enough to be on the podium all day. And he added,
02:22he's impressed they carried their momentum over from Knock Hill, and that he rose from 11th to 5th
02:27in the first race. Now, from racing on land to speeding across the sea, Chatham's own George
02:34Elmore finished 12th in the international Formula 4 debut race at the World Powerboat Championship in
02:39Belgium. The 20-year-old experienced a collision early on in the qualification race when France's
02:45Enzo Riddell attempted a risky move, resulting in both boats colliding. And despite receiving a
02:50disqualification penalty, Elmore was out of commission that day. But returning determined
02:54the next day, he qualified for the main event in 17th, gaining several places, finishing 12th at the
03:00end. He and his team now shift their focus to the last round of the national championship in late
03:04September, where he currently occupies second place. Now, let's take a look back at this weekend's
03:13football results. Well, it was definitely a seesaw game when Maidstone troubled down to West Sussex
03:19to face off with Worthing, who were on the lower side of the National League's south table.
03:24Maidstone haven't had a single league loss so far, and carried that luck with them when a Worthing
03:28defender's clearance bounced off the head of Solomon Wanjiao Smith into the waiting boot of Dajon Golding
03:33to put the Stones 1-0 up. Then Joel Colburn must have walked under a few ladders this morning,
03:39as he appears to trip Golding right in the box, earning the Stones a penalty, converted neatly
03:44by TJ Bramble. It looked one-sided nearing the break, but a free kick and physical header from
03:49Harry Ransom kept the Stones fans' hopes hostage, putting the score 1-2. After the break, crowds saw
03:5640 minutes go past goalless, but any fan who left early could have definitely been kicking themselves.
04:00In the 85th minute, the heavens opened and the rain started pouring down. Maidstone's wheels
04:06started spinning, but Nicholas Wheeler's weren't, with a well-placed goal to level the score.
04:13Then it was extra time, and Worthing's hopes sunk like a stone, as Joshua Redfern rocketed a shot
04:18into the back of the net with minutes to spare. But the Rebels weren't letting it end there. Only two minutes
04:23later, and a looping cross was just glanced into the net, to end the score 3-3 in a dramatic
04:28draw. The match means Maidstone continue their unbeaten league run, and Worthing earn a much
04:34needed point. Elsewhere in the National League South, Dover lose at home to Maidenhead, and
04:39Ebsfleet also suffer a loss, this time on the road to Hampton and Richmond. Coming up, Dover
04:44will face off against Dagenham, Ebsfleet are away to Hemel Hempstead, and Maidstone will take
04:48on Weston Superbair. Up to League Two now, and the Gilles continue their unbeaten run,
04:53with a strong win against newly promoted side Oldham, with Sam Vokes scoring the lone goal.
04:59They'll head to Hayes Lane to face off with Kent rivals Bromley, who are also unbeaten.
05:04Now down to the Itzmian Premier, and Margate managed a draw with Mirthsome, and they'll head
05:08to Westfield in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy. It might be looking a bit bare
05:13in the Itzmian Premier, and that's because we saw plenty of action from the FA Cup first qualifying
05:18round.
05:19Dartford drew against Bracknell Town, Chatham managed to beat Marlowe four goals to nothing,
05:24Deal won against Cobham, Whitstable just about managed a win against Dulwich, Folkestone faced
05:30off with Sevenoaks and came away with three goals to their none, Ramsgate hosted Crave Valley
05:36and did unfortunately lose, Ashford were on the road against Rains Park and they also suffered
05:41a defeat, then Sittingbourne lost at home to Croydon and Shappie lost against Westfield.
05:47Well that's all for this week's Football Roundup, see you soon.
05:54It's a goal to rugby with a bruising game, putting the Medway Dragons just a win away
05:58from competing in the prestigious Challenge Cup. The side was up against the Elmbridge
06:02Eagles in the London and Eastmen's final, and it was the Eagles who dominated the first
06:07half, but as I discovered it takes more than that to beat the Dragons.
06:11It's the half-time break at the finals of the London and Eastmen's Premier Division, and
06:15even though they've gone almost unbeaten this season, the Medway Dragons are behind to Elmbridge
06:20Eagles by 18 points. And if they don't win here, their hopes of getting to the Challenge
06:25Cup would be over. Try after try has come in, and all hope seems lost, but the Dragons love
06:31nothing if not a comeback. As soon as the break is over, the Dragons start scoring, and they
06:43just don't stop, with Mason O'Neill scoring four by himself.
06:46I think it was from the half-time talk, really. We got a bit of an earful. I agree with this,
06:52and from what the rest of the boys said, it wasn't our best start, and if in fact I think
06:56it was the worst start. So we got an earful, and I think a couple of subs impacted how the
07:01game went, and obviously we can't wait for a result. Our emotions don't sum up, really.
07:05We've been working all year to lead to this point. The game started how we didn't want
07:10it to start, but I think the boys managed to turn it around pretty quick and come away
07:14with the result.
07:15The game started to come down, and with it the Dragons managed to clinch the win, 36-18.
07:20Yeah, we just went back to the basics. Our coach Martin came and spoke to us and just
07:24said, we've got to play simple, get back to some one-up rugby league, and if we start doing
07:32that because of the size of the boys that we've got, and the weight of the boys that we've
07:35got coming on to play, we knew we'd be able to get the better of them, because we've done
07:38that at their place earlier in the season, and we did that when they visited us earlier
07:42in the season as well. So we just knew, we've been in this situation before, we know that
07:49we can pull it back, and that's what we ended up doing, and what a second half it was.
07:53The Eagles had a strong start, but suffered injuries in the first half, while the Dragons
07:57conserved their energy.
07:58I think it was a few factors. It weren't just one. I think we got a bit complacent. Obviously,
08:07the first try from Medway was a great try, well worked, and we just didn't stop their
08:11momentum. Everyone knows once Medway built that momentum, you're never going to stop it.
08:17They're coming downhill, wins behind them. Obviously, it's their home ground. Once they
08:22had that momentum, the fans were behind them, the fans were great, and we just, we didn't
08:26stop it, and they just kept building and building and building.
08:29And once the clouds darkened, the heavens opened, the rain came pouring down, the Dragons
08:33proved after four years of waiting why they are the kings of the south-eastern skies.
08:38If the Dragons win their next tournament match, they'll get through to the first round
08:41of the Challenge Cup, but first, they'll have to survive a weekend of celebrations.
08:46Finn McDermott for KMTV in Medway.
08:51Well, I'm joined now by Nick Hardings, who's part of the Dragons squad and also one of their
08:56leadership team. Can you hear me okay, Nick?
08:59I can indeed, Finn. Thank you for having me.
09:01No, no trouble at all. Thank you for servicing after. I'm sure it was a very heavy weekend.
09:06And how did the win feel after, obviously, that great match?
09:11It was such a special victory for us. As you said in that package beforehand, we won it
09:17four years ago. But the way, the manner in which we won this year just made it even more
09:22special. Coming back from 18 points down at half-time and galvanizing the squad at half-time,
09:27our coach, Martin, and a few of the boys in the leadership team speaking to each other,
09:32speaking to the rest of the players. And then everyone just bringing that effort in the second
09:37half to put on, I think we doubled Elbridge's score in the end. Just made it feel incredibly
09:42special. We had the roar of the crowd behind us with every single try that we scored as
09:47well. And when you've got that energy on the sidelines, it just gives you that extra
09:51boost on the pitch as well. So it was an incredible feeling. We've had a fantastic weekend.
09:58We had a really good night out afterwards. My voice was already going by the time I spoke
10:03to you in that interview just by the side of the pitch. And it went even more afterwards
10:10on Saturday night and through to Sunday. So we're just about recovering and able to speak
10:16to you now. But it's such a good win. But we've still got another job to do this weekend
10:21coming.
10:22Absolutely. Talk to us about that preparation for next week and really what it means to
10:26the squad.
10:28Yeah, so we're going to have another training session this Thursday. And that's in preparation
10:33to play against a team called Telford Raiders from the Midlands. We are playing in a competition
10:39which determines who the winner is going to be of. It's the mixture of the best teams,
10:48amateur teams in the south of England. And so I think you've got teams from the Midlands competing,
10:53from London and South East and maybe the East of England. And if you win that trophy
10:58next Saturday, you go through to the first round of the Challenge Cup, which is the rugby
11:04league equivalent of the FA Cup final. FA Cup. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself by saying
11:10the final there. But that would be a huge thing for our club to pull off. We managed to get
11:15through to the Challenge Cup, I believe two years ago. But to be able to do it again and get a double under
11:22our belt this year would be phenomenal. Probably be one of the club's biggest achievements.
11:27Absolutely. We haven't got too much time left, but we will be coming back to talk to you just
11:34after this very short break. So see you in just a moment. Now we've reached half time, which means
11:41it is time for a break. But coming up, like I say, we will go back and speak more with Nick all about
11:47that match next weekend. So yeah, see you in just a few minutes.
13:17Bye.
13:18Bye.
13:47Bye.
13:48Bye.
14:17Bye.
14:18Bye.
14:47Bye.
14:48Bye.
14:49Bye.
14:50Bye.
15:11Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live here on KMTV.
15:15Now, we are still back with Nick Hardings from the Medway Dragons. And Nick, I suppose I
15:20really would, I would like you to paint me a picture of what it was like in the changing
15:25room at the half-time break. What was the feeling and the atmosphere like there when you
15:28were 18 points down against the Eagles?
15:32Look, it was a little bit tense because we knew the situation we were in. Being 18-0 down
15:36in a final is not an easy thing to come back from. But we were calm. We were composed.
15:43And I think we had an understanding of what we were capable of. And we talked amongst ourselves,
15:50said what we needed to do, get back to the basics. And I just, I had a feeling personally
15:55deep down that I knew that we could get back into this game. We'd been down at other points
15:59of the season and sometimes by a similar kind of margin. But we've managed to pull it back
16:03every single time because as a group of players, we've got such grit about us and we're so tenacious.
16:10And what we've proven to ourselves this season time and time again is that when the going gets
16:15tough, we will just absolutely, you know, we'll play our guts out and we just never, ever give up.
16:20So it was somewhat sombre, but we knew what we were capable of doing at halftime.
16:27Amazing. And I spoke briefly with Joe Lee Hales. We saw him in the package there.
16:32He's a member of the Eagles squad. And he attributed some of their loss to not being able to handle
16:37that building momentum that the squad had. What do you think is the kind of value of keeping
16:42that momentum as the game is going and bringing in, I believe you brought in some more subs
16:46at the halftime break to really reinforce your squad. Talk to us about that.
16:49Yeah, we have a really strong bench at Medway Dragons. We've got a really deep squad.
16:55So we knew that we had some great weapons to bring on and some big lads that can come
17:00onto the pitch for us. And once you get that first try and you start to claw back that lead
17:07and with a team with a reputation like ours for doing that, I think it puts a bit of fear
17:12into the opposition. And then they see these big lads coming on, running at them, and they just
17:16get a bit daunted by it. But Joe, who I played with when I was younger in a different squad,
17:23but he's right to say that that momentum was something that really took us over the line
17:29at the weekend. And it was a mixture of some good coaching, some great performances.
17:33But I just want to reiterate that point about the fans who come along and support us
17:37through Fick and Finn every single week. And the energy that they brought really helped us
17:42get over the line. So, yeah, all of that was really helpful for our result of the weekend.
17:47Brilliant. We haven't got too much time left, but I am curious, looking ahead to next week,
17:52what do you predict is going to be the squad's biggest challenge?
17:55Look, it's just a team that we haven't faced for a couple of years,
17:59so we don't know what kind of outfit they're going to be this season.
18:02We beat them in the Harry Jepsen Trophy two years ago, but they could have completely changed their players.
18:08So it's just being prepared for anything that gets thrown at us at the weekend,
18:12and I know that we're capable of doing that.
18:14Absolutely. Well, best of luck to yourself and the Dragons squad ahead of next week.
18:19Thank you very much. Cheers.
18:22Now, a Herne Bay man has completed his second English Channel swim to mark his 60th birthday.
18:31Paul Parrish plunged into the waters at half two in the morning from Dover
18:35and emerged more than 14 hours later.
18:38Exhausted, but definitely triumphant, he battled fatigue and even considered giving up along the way.
18:45But as he was swimming, some special guests helped keep him going.
18:49Our reporter Kristin Hawthorne met Paul in Herne Bay
18:52and has this story of a man fuelled by adrenaline,
18:55but also fuelled with a little help from his animal friends.
18:58Now, not many people are able to swim the English Channel, let alone do it twice.
19:03But I'm here in Herne Bay today, where Paul Parrish lives,
19:06and you've done this twice, and I mean, what made you decide to do that?
19:10Well, in 2014, I did swim the English Channel as part of something called the Arch to Arc,
19:16which is this insane triathlon where you run from Marble Arch down to Dover,
19:20then you swim the English Channel, and then you cycle to the Arc de Trion.
19:24And it was wonderful that I'd done it, but I wore a wetsuit.
19:28And official channel rules means that if you have any aid at all, as in a wetsuit,
19:33it doesn't count as an official crossing.
19:35Now, at the time, I didn't care. I was just ecstatic to have done what I'd done.
19:39But over the years, it kind of began to niggle at me that I'd never done it properly.
19:43So I'm 60 this year, and I just thought, I've got to stop this thing eating away at me.
19:48I'm going to give it another go, and just do it in a swimming costume,
19:53with a hat and goggles, and try and get an official channel swim.
19:58And so, I mean, you had your partner and the crew alongside you in the boat,
20:02but you did have a bit of extra help. Can you tell me about that?
20:04I did have some extra help, yeah. I was struggling.
20:08It's like 11 hours, 11 and a half hours into a swim.
20:11You're really starting to feel it. It's really biting.
20:14And then I looked up, and I could see everyone in the boat,
20:17suddenly get all their cameras out.
20:19And I kind of thought, what's that? And I looked up, and as I looked up,
20:22this dolphin just broke the water in front of me, you know, right close up to me.
20:27And then I could see them all below me. They'd come back and stand below me,
20:31and they were just there.
20:33And apparently, according to everybody on the boat, there'd been loads of them,
20:37all playing around, all on my side of the boat.
20:40And I kind of think they were just there, because it gave me such a lift.
20:43I felt so amazed that they'd done it.
20:46And apparently my speed picked up everything.
20:49And, you know, you said that since then,
20:51people have been sending you a lot of information about dolphins,
20:53saying that they're quite empathetic.
20:54Do you feel like there was a reason why they joined you?
20:57Yeah, I think they knew. I think they knew that I was struggling.
21:01And I just think they're that kind of animal.
21:03There's so many stories about them really giving people a lift, getting in between.
21:07I know one swimmer who said that they were around him when there were some sharks around,
21:11that they've got this kind of way of empathising with us, giving us a hand.
21:15There's so many stories about it.
21:17And I kind of like to think that might have been the case with my little poor pod of dolphins.
21:22And no less, you did this all for charity.
21:24So you had this extra help, but you have been helping people yourself.
21:27Can you tell us a bit about that and why you chose this charity?
21:30Yeah, well, I'm actually the fundraising and marketing director of a charity called Aspire.
21:34And we're there to help people who've sustained a spinal cord injury.
21:37There's no cure for it, but we help them go from injury to independence.
21:41Over the years, we've been really good at fundraising through open water swimming.
21:46I think we're unique in the charity world in terms of the kind of programme that we've got.
21:50So that's been a big part of my life in terms of my professional life.
21:53But also personally, you know, it's helped, you know, I've got very involved in it myself.
21:58And I thought it was a really good way to kind of raise money for the charity.
22:02Say, you know, I don't just talk the talk, I can try and walk the walk.
22:06And I'm also retiring from the charity.
22:08So in March, and I thought it'd be kind of a really lovely farewell thing for me
22:13and to try and raise a load of money before I go.
22:17Excellent. And how much have you raised so far?
22:19So at the moment, it's just over £14,000.
22:22In fact, it's about 60 and a half with gift aid.
22:25So, yeah, so it's a good chunk of money.
22:27So I'm really, really, I mean, people have been so kind, so lovely.
22:31I think they just want to see me go. I think it's something like that.
22:33But they have been so lovely. So I've got a lot of people to thank.
22:37So you've managed to raise all this money. You've managed to swim with dolphins.
22:40Does that encourage you to do it again, maybe for your 70th?
22:43No, never again. That's it. That's me and Channel swimming over.
22:47But it's been an absolute blast and it's been a real adventure.
22:51Excellent. Well, if you're planning on swimming with dolphins this year on your holiday,
22:56you might not need to travel as far as you think.
22:59Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Herne Bay.
23:02Brilliant report from Kristen there. Now, it's time to remind you that you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news, interviews and features from here on Invictus Sport by heading to our website kmtv.co.uk and clicking on the sports tab.
23:17There, you'll see videos like this one about an American football team from Maidstone preparing for their national under-19s final.
23:24Long passes, runs into the endzone and clever plays are just some of the weapons that the Southeast Legion have used to fight their way to the top of their American football league.
23:37The under-19 team are based in Maidstone and played their very last game of the season this month to win their entire division without a single loss.
23:56The achievement means that the team, ranked first in the country for their whole age group, are headed to the national finals this weekend in October to attempt to earn a trophy and cement their title as the undisputed number ones.
24:09I don't think we expected it to be as good as it has been. I think we knew we had something special kind of with the players that are playing at the level they have, but yeah, absolutely didn't expect it to go this well.
24:21But after the first two tournaments we could see where it was going and I think we're on an upward trajectory now.
24:27Some say that American football is for everyone and that's because there's so many different positions that you can play.
24:33Cornerback, running back, tackle, linebacker, safety, wide receiver, fullback, and I haven't even named all of them.
24:39And while it sounds complicated, it's a very simple game. What you're trying to do is get this to the endzone.
24:45Despite that, American football is still a complicated game and the players understand the finals won't be easy.
24:52But that hasn't hurt the atmosphere at training one bit.
24:55We're all excited. We're all buzzing for it.
24:57We're all talking within each other like, oh, imagine this happens, imagine this happens.
25:04We're hyping ourselves up towards it because we've come so far we would hate to lose it.
25:09I'm very optimistic. I come into a lot of games with a very positive atmosphere.
25:14We come there to win. We're not coming for anything else really.
25:18Losing is not an option to us really. So at the end of the day we're going to get it done and I know we're going to get it done.
25:24The team have risen the ranks only recently after building and developing their squad,
25:29with coaches putting an emphasis not just on their physical development as players,
25:33but on their mental and personal development as well.
25:36We want our players to go on to some of the great programmes in the UK,
25:39the NFL Academy, Bristol SGS, just two of them.
25:44So we're trying to develop football players that think for themselves.
25:48As a coach, we've done our job. If they can do it themselves, and even on game day, lots of our players, you know,
25:55they call the plays, you know, they read the game, they read the defences if they're on offense and vice versa.
26:01So yeah, we're trying to build young men which are great football players.
26:04The team's motto is hard work, full gas.
26:07And as they train for hours in the sweltering heat ahead of the finals, it isn't hard to see why.
26:12Let's give it a national finals one, yeah?
26:15Hard work!
26:16Full gas!
26:17Hard work!
26:18Finn McDermott for KMTV in Maidstone.
26:21Unfortunately, the South East Legion didn't end up winning that tournament, ending up in third place nationally.
26:28Still a very good result.
26:30But that is full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport.
26:34And if you want more from KMTV, you can head over to our website, kmtv.co.uk,
26:40where all of our special shows are available to watch back on demand.
26:44And don't forget to follow our social media at KMTVKent
26:47or keep up with the latest from us at KMTV Sport.
26:50Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you soon.
27:04We'll see you soon.
27:05Bye.
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