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Catch up with all your latest sports news from around the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:14up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Finn McDermott and here's what you can expect on
00:18Monday the 5th of January.
00:21Hark the Herald Angels draw. We take a look at Tunbridge's first game of the new year
00:25and see which others were called off from poor January weather. Save our snooker to
00:29Tunbridge Wells Victoria Snooker Centre starts campaign to save its historic building from
00:33demolition.
00:35And more than 180 million views. We meet the Tunbridge Darts fan who went viral for his
00:41Ali Pali antics.
00:44But first a round-up of the headlines. New Year's resolutions might spark new beginnings for
00:48many in Kent but for Folkestone and Victor it marks an end to their 12-game win streak.
00:54Jay Sorders' side went into the home derby off the back of an impressive run that sees
00:57them lead the Isthmian league premier table. But their home derby against Chatham Town saw
01:02them drop points in a 2-1 clash with Samseed Richardson and midfielder Kian Moyes scoring
01:07for the Chats. Invicta hadn't dropped a league point since their only other loss of the campaign
01:12against Hashtag United. And Saunders is hopeful they'll be able to start chalking up more wins.
01:17We can hear more from Jay Sonders now.
01:20I thought Chan probably would have been a better side on the day. I don't think there
01:24was bundles of chances in it for either side but they took their couple of chances when they
01:30arose. First goal, good on their part, I thought could have been avoided on ours. Second goal
01:35is just a mass of errors really. Liam Smith and then who let the cross in the box. It was poor
01:43considering it came from our free kick. So disappointed with that side of things. But
01:47like I say, sometimes on the day I thought Chatham probably deserved it. Won the midfield battle.
01:54And yeah, I thought on the day we were the better side. And sometimes you have to hold your hands up.
01:57Were we at it? Probably not. We weren't at it today. I can't say that too often about our lads,
02:03but I thought today we were slightly off it and Chatham were on it and deserved three points.
02:08Over to rugby now where Canterbury finished the year with another victory, this time against
02:13Sevenoaks, telling up a five-game winning run in the National League to East. Canterbury managed a
02:1939-17 win at the Kent Derby, putting them in fifth place. Gary Jones and Charlie McGovern hit back
02:24after Sevenoaks earned a penalty goal and an early lead, making the scoreline a dominant 19-3 at half-time.
02:31Head coach Matt Corker said,
02:32The side bringing their own energy and enthusiasm every single week has allowed us to be a great
02:38place. I hope for people to come and play rugby but also to be successful.
02:44Now to cricket where former England captain Sir Alistair Cook has said that Kent's own
02:48Zach Crawley has been the most backed player ever. The Kent opener is playing his 64th test match for
02:54England in the final game of the Ashes series this week. Dismissed for 16 in England's first innings,
02:59Crawley's test average sits at 31.44 with just five hundreds to his name. Cook said he was a hard
03:06one to judge and was likely the best player ever to average just 30. He did have praise for Crawley's
03:11batsmanship but said the cricketer would need to work on his statistics, adding it was all about
03:16run-making for him in his games ahead. And the winners of Kent Tennis' 2026 awards have been announced,
03:22with the county stars of the sport earning top prizes. Seven different categories were up for
03:29Grabs. Adult Performance Player of the Year going to Bromley's Alice Gillen who won the International Tennis
03:33Federation W15 singles title in Moson, Spain. And has a career best singles ranking of 532.
03:41Plenty of others won awards as well. Well now let's take a look back at this weekend's football results.
03:49Well it might be a new year but it's the same old beautiful game here in the Garden of England.
03:54Plenty of matches have been called off but the Angels are above it all ready to face off against
03:59Dorking Wanderers. Tunbridge have gone winless since taking down Torquay in December while Dorking have
04:05had better form winning their last few games, except for a narrow defeat away to Worthing.
04:10Well, they kick off and it already looks like a done deal for the Angels. Possession taken off
04:14them, Patrick Casey gets it in the box and just rifles it past Laurie Scheler to make it 1-0 for the
04:21visitors. But it's not over yet. Lonnie from Millwall, Freddie Baker bears down on goal. It's taken
04:27off him but he's still keen. Oh and that is not a good challenge from Tony Craig and yet the ref has
04:33pointed to the spot for a penalty. Bailey Aikhurst steps up to the spot and slots it in just too
04:39fast for Harrison Foulkes. 1-1 at the end of the first half. Into the second now. It's played over
04:45to Casey. He twists it over, comes off of Aikhurst. Folks parried it into the waiting boot of James
04:51McShane. What a howler at the back. Really unlucky for the Angels. Corner now for Tunbridge. It's whipped
04:57in, off one head, onto the next. This is a strange sight to see. Everyone's going for it. It bobbles
05:02across the line. Wow. By no means a pretty goal but it is needed. Probably the easiest finish of Tom
05:09Leahy's life. Nearing on full time now and another corner comes in. It's flicked on and what was that?
05:14Almost looks like a handball from this angle. He seems to bring down a Tunbridge player right in the
05:20box. The fans are crying for a penalty for their fallen Angel but none will come. And that is full
05:26time. 2-2 at the whistle. A hard earned point for Tunbridge but after those last few minutes
05:32it will feel like they've had their wings clipped. Elsewhere in the National League South it was all
05:36postponed. Chelmsford were set to host Maidstone, Ebbsfleet were heading to Bath and Dover would
05:41have had Torquay but all deemed unplayable due to frozen pitch conditions from that January weather.
05:47Coming up Maidstone will head away to Torquay, Ebbsfleet will play Forest Green Rovers in the
05:51Isuzu Trophy and Dover will host Heddle Hempstead. Now to League Two and it was a tough watch for
05:57Gilligan fans as they went down to their rivals Swindon Town and suffered a 2-0 loss. They'll next
06:03head to Newport having games against Notts County and MK Dons postponed, one due to a frozen pitch
06:10and another for an FA Cup involvement. And finally in the Itzmian League Premier, Folkestone hosted Chatham
06:16and saw their 12-game win streak come to an abrupt end with Chatham climbing up the table.
06:21Ramsgate and Dartford didn't have fixtures at the weekend but they'll next face off with Chichester
06:26and Hashtag United. Chatham will play Carlisle in the Isuzu Trophy while Folkestone will head to
06:32Carlsholten Athletic. That's all for this week's Football Roundup.
06:36Now from Kent's first teams to Kent's academies as we chat with the spearheading managers of
06:42Dartford Girls Academy who had a perfect start to their campaign.
06:45Thank you both so much for joining us. First of all, tell me about the origins of
06:50Dartford's Girls Academy. It started in September of last year. What were the key goals of the scheme
06:56going into it?
06:59Yeah, so the origins, I approached Tony, what, a year ago now? A year ago with this kind of project. I've
07:06been a part of Dartford for kind of three, four years myself within the girls pathway, working within the
07:12youth community system here at Dartford. I approached Tony speaking, raising the interest of Dartford and
07:22they would like to kind of set up this girls academy alongside their boys academy. At first,
07:29it was just initial expression of interest, seeing what we could get through the door, seeing the
07:34interest we did get through the door. And then from there, it's kind of just gone up and up and up.
07:40I see. And with your nine wins in nine games, it certainly seems to be going well on the pitch.
07:45Could you talk to me a bit about the balance between making sure that the girls can win games,
07:50but also that development, whether it be going towards professionals or also their educational
07:56development. Tell me a bit about how you maintain that balance within the squad.
08:00Yeah, so we're very, very lucky with the squad we've got this year. They've hit the nail on the
08:07head with their kind of progression. They take ownership of their own development, which is nice.
08:13It is obviously led by myself and Dan, kind of supporting them through it. With the balance, it's
08:21been kind of sometimes a little bit tough, making sure their projects are due in on time. But that's like
08:27any kind of education program. But we make sure it's kind of, it's a 50-50 split. There's no football first or there's no education first.
08:36And with this group of players, with this group of individuals, they need the balance. And I think
08:43that's kind of suited the system, the program quite well.
08:46I see. And Tony, I'd like to come to you now. Tell me more about the origins of this. What was really
08:52the motivation behind getting it set up in the first place?
08:55Well, I think over the last four or five years, we've looked to bring on a girls academy and
09:02starting players at a younger age, under-16s, under-15s, under-14s. We wanted to copy the
09:13pathway through for the boys football, which goes all the way to the first team. And it needed to be
09:19set up with the girls. Every time we tried to bring it to the front of things, it hasn't quite worked.
09:30And I spoke to George after him being our sort of teacher, if you like. And also, he was coaching
09:38one of the younger teams. And we sort of put some things together. And, you know, it looked like it was
09:44the right thing to do. And over a six-month period, we'd done some own work. And it was there that we could
09:50take the opportunity, you know, to set it up. And we know it's our first year at setting this up for the girls.
09:58But we, as I say, we've been doing the boys academy for the last 10-12 years. And I just wanted it to
10:06match that. And obviously, with the first team doing their business, you know, the women doing so well
10:14in their league. And, you know, it's nice to now be able to get that pathway through to the first team
10:21with the academy starting. And so far, so good. For the first year, it's been going okay.
10:28I see. And what I find really interesting is the fact that the team are playing in an under-21s
10:33division, despite the fact the team's mostly made up of girls between the ages of 16 and 18. And
10:38they're doing so well in this league. What motivated that decision?
10:44It's more than so what's available for girls and women's football. And we looked at kind of the many
10:50leagues that we could have possibly gone into. And we felt kind of the league that we've stepped into
10:56was, was a, wasn't a concern as such, but more of a very one foot in.
11:03Time for a break. But coming up, we'll meet the journeyman striker, Jefferson Lewis,
11:11who this week announced his retirement from the beautiful game after 31 years. And we'll learn
11:17about his stints right here in some Kentish clubs, Gravesend and North Fleet, which has now become
11:22Ebbsfleet and Margate. But that is all the time we have for now. See you after this short break.
11:33See you after this short break.
18:03And I've been finding out more about the man himself.
18:07In football, what is a journeyman?
18:09Well, it's a player who travels between teams almost like a mercenary, popping up for clubs wherever they're needed.
18:15And one journeyman striker who plied his trade right here in Kent, has announced his retirement after a staggering 821 appearance, 257 goals and 31-year playing career.
18:27year.
18:28Jefferson Lewis was born in Harrow, raised in Harleston in London before he moved to
18:32Buckinghamshire and played for local teams Risborough Rangers, Tame United and Aylesbury
18:36United before making his professional debut in League Two with Oxford United.
18:41While at the club he was sent on loan to Woking, scoring five in eight appearances and was
18:45then recalled to the Oxford First team.
18:48But it was the next year that will excite Kent fans.
18:50He joined Gravesend and Northleet on a month-long loan stint, scoring twice in five games, one
18:56of which was against York City in a 4-0 thrashing.
19:00Now his Kent debut might have started well, with Kent Online reporting him as the star
19:04of the match, helping the club clung to third in the nationwide conference, praising his
19:08pace and finishing.
19:10But like I say, it would only last a month, and Kent fans would only get to see him return
19:14to the county after 10 years and 27 more transfers, joining Margate in 2014 on a permanent deal.
19:22But sadly for Kentish fans, he wouldn't be there long either, only making 17 appearances
19:27and netting nine for the gates before departing in the same year for Low Stop Town.
19:32Across his career, Lewis played for 39 unique clubs and 47 moves across his 31-year career,
19:38with his most appearances coming for his home Buckinghamshire side Tame United, with Weldstone
19:42and Chesham also making the podium.
19:44For one of the beautiful game's most underrated journeymen, who might be remembered by some
19:48Gravesend and Margate fans, his journey has now come to an end, with his retirement this
19:53year ending his career right where it started at Tame United.
19:57Finn McDermid for KMTV.
20:00Now a snooker centre in Tunbridge Wells has put out a campaign to save their building.
20:05As the Borough Council are making plans to redevelop Royal Victoria Palace for a new cinema
20:11and restaurants, Victoria's Snooker Centre say they're worried they'll lose their club in
20:15the process.
20:16I went down to find out more.
20:18To some, snooker might seem like a simple game, but actually it's far more skilful and
20:23complicated than people give it credit for.
20:26And just like the game itself, one Tunbridge Wells' Snooker Centre are trying to prove that
20:29there's more than meets the eye when it comes to their venue.
20:32The Victoria Snooker Centre could be demolished as part of redevelopment plans to the nearby
20:36Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre, but locals to the Snooker Hall aren't happy.
20:41They've started a campaign that's now at more than 1600 signatures to try and
20:45change the council's mind about the hall, which has a long legacy of hosting famous
20:49players and exhibition matches, but it's the local community that's said to be the
20:53best part of the Victoria Snooker Centre.
20:56It's the second slash third home for some people.
20:59The community hub that we've created are based around a lot of the leagues we've created
21:03as well, so we run a lot of our in-house leagues, which has created a social circle of
21:10100, 150 people playing with people they never thought they would play with.
21:14While many consider snooker a classic pub game, it's actually quite a specialist sport that
21:19needs a certain level of maintenance, space and cost to set up, which is why the centre's
21:23owners say they don't want locals to lose the Victoria.
21:26We do see a lot of snooker clubs disappearing and we don't want to be one of those. We do
21:31see that some of them are just turning into sort of sports and social clubs, putting probably
21:35more pool tables in, which is not a problem. But in general, you know, the general consensus
21:41of where we are is snooker and we want to keep this as much of a snooker club as we can.
21:46Now, if you looked around and thought this old hall is more suited to royalty than snooker,
21:52you'd actually only be half right. And that's because this hall has hosted some of the greats
21:56of the snooker world. Mark Selby, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Jimmy White to name a few. And it's that
22:02legacy that the members and owners are trying to protect here.
22:05I was just outraged, really. This club is a thriving family business. It's been here
22:10for 30 years. And under the new owners, it's done really well, especially after lockdown
22:17because, you know, I think I'm not the only person who thought that actually I don't want
22:20my whole life to just be work and looking at my phone. I wanted something more from life
22:24and kind of a community.
22:26A Tunbridge Wells Borough Council spokesperson said all feedback will be carefully reviewed
22:31before finalising the proposals. The council is in regular contact with the owner and their
22:36representatives and a planning application is expected to be submitted around Easter
22:392026. For Martin, Liam and the 400 odd members of the club, they hope a compromise can be found
22:46soon so they can stay in the hall, keep the tables open and the lights on.
22:51Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tunbridge Wells.
22:55Now, what would you do if you went massively viral without even meaning to? A Tunbridge
23:00darts fan who gained more than 150 million views online had that very problem after falling
23:06down an escalator leaving a darts competition. Eight years on from his video, Freddie Andrews
23:10says he doesn't regret what happened and he accepts it as part of his past. I went down
23:15to Freddie's local pub in Tunbridge to find out more, but a warning, this report does show
23:19minor injury.
23:22Once the ref has blown full time, the last try has been scored and the last dart has been
23:26thrown, the celebrations will kick off.
23:28But for one darts fan from Kent leaving the Ali Pali, his celebrations went viral.
23:33Have you guys seen this video?
23:35No.
23:36I have not seen that before.
23:37Yes, I have. I think a couple years back I've seen it.
23:44Now, this video might be a bit painful to watch, but it garnered 150 million views across all
23:50platforms and has been seen by many across Kent and the country. But how does that kind
23:56of attention affect you and what do you do with it? It's been eight years since Freddie
23:59Andrews slid his way to fame while dressed as Bobby Moore and I decided to meet him for
24:03a bit of darts at his local in Tunbridge to find out.
24:09About 15 or 16 hours later. I checked it after six hours and 20,000 views and I was like,
24:18well, that's good. 20,000 views is good for me and I'll take that. Then when you kept refreshing
24:24it, it's gone up by 50,000 views, 50,000 views, 50,000 views, 60,000 views in the space of 10
24:31seconds.
24:32Erm, nothing's really changed at the start of it. Maybe I might have got notice every
24:37now and then. Come to the pub, got a free drink, do you like who you're from and stuff
24:41like that. But nothing really dramatic has changed. I'm still me. I'm still the old
24:45old old eight years ago.
24:47Now I'm sure many of you might be wondering what you would do if you had a video go that
24:51massively viral. Hundreds of millions of views. But the issue is, if you've never had a video
24:56that's gone viral, you might not be sure. Some people might try and merchandise it, some
25:01people might try and make revenue off of YouTube. But for Freddie, he turned to a different idea.
25:05I'll be honest with you, I've never sort of done a video that's gone viral before.
25:11So straight away, people are like, why don't you monetise it for? And I didn't expect it
25:15to go that big. If I had done, I'd have instantly monetised it to get whatever money I can get.
25:21I think they're bringing out some merch, a bit of a sport merch and what this and get
25:26it and finding avenues down it and getting good prices. It never sort of come to shape.
25:34Transport for London routinely advised people not to slide down the escalators, with the
25:37signs specifically there so people don't injure themselves. Luckily for Freddie, he said
25:42he wasn't too hurt and was without any pain after a few days. Eight years on from the video,
25:47Freddie says he doesn't regret what he did and that in life, you simply have to accept
25:51the past and move on. He still likes starts, but doesn't go to Alipali much anymore.
25:55And if he did, he probably would end up taking the stairs.
25:58Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tunbridge.
26:02Well, that is full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport. Thank you so much for watching
26:08and we'll see you soon. Goodbye.
26:09I'll see you soon. Goodbye.
26:10I'll see you soon. Goodbye.
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