- 23 hours ago
Catch up with all the latest sports news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:22Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:27up all of Kent's sporting action.
00:29I'm Finn McDermott and here's what you can expect on this Monday 20th April.
00:34Ebb's fleet find four, we take a look at the second to last game week of Kent's non-league
00:39teams.
00:42Up to bat, a 50-year-old rookie has started his baseball training in Tunbridge to realise
00:47a childhood dream.
00:51And footy in Foshan, under-15s team from Medway have headed to China on a football tour.
00:58But first, maybe a round-up of your local headlines. The Gillingham captain Armani Little says he
01:03hopes to get another chance at the club next season after two tough years at the League
01:07Two side.
01:08After Gillingham got beat four goals to one at home to Grimsby Town, a result that summed
01:13up their season. The skipper's focus, he says, is on to the next. Here's what he has to say,
01:18he said, if I'm here next season, hopefully I am. Let's push on. I really want to put things right.
01:23The last two seasons haven't been as planned as we wanted them to go. I want to push this club
01:27forward
01:28and achieve something.
01:29Now to rugby news. Gravesend secured a 38-17 victory over Horsham in the first test of their promotion
01:35payoff challenge.
01:38Gravesend's success started early when, in the first minute, scrum half Matt Breddy darted down
01:42the blindside to set up Andrew Cook to score under the posts. Soon after that, Josh Barnes' penalty
01:47made the score 10-5 and Cook doubled his amount, putting their score 12 points in the lead. But Horsham
01:53responded, bringing the deficit to only seven at half-time. The G's were not help when Les Falafatu
01:59was on the receiving end of a yellow card, but some big tackles and strong running prevented them
02:04taking advantage to keep the score down. Back to football now, and Whitstable boss Jamie Coyle
02:10is tipping Punjab United to finish in the playoff places this season and win promotion with them.
02:15Goals from midfielder Bradley Schaefer and substitute Dean Grant steer the Southern
02:21County's East League Premier Division champions to Sunday's Kent Senior Trophy 2-0 final triumph
02:25over Punjab at Maidstone United to complete a league and cup double. Defeat came for the side just 15
02:32days after their FA Vars semi-final loss to Cockfosters. They narrowly missed out at a spot in a
02:37final at Wembley where Whitstable were victorious against AFC Whiteleaf 12 months ago. Kent Cricket
02:43has confirmed an injury will cut short the tenure of international bowler Glenton Sturman after only one match.
02:50Sturman from South Africa was originally thought to have a mild strain injury
02:54after a match against Durham, but it's been determined after medical testing the injury is
02:58severe enough to wear. He'll need six weeks of recovery, which would be the end of his season
03:03here in Kent. The director Simon Cook said he's disappointed that Glenton's time has been cut
03:08short and that options for a replacement in the next match are being considered.
03:14And lastly, Cray Wanderers won a fourth successive county title after lifting the Kent Merritt
03:19Under-16 Girls' Cup on Sunday. The match was won at Maidstone's Gallagher Stadium with the final score
03:26being 1-7 in favour of the Wanderers. Team manager Oskar Nyai comments,
03:31the girls played really well and the first half was a bit shaky, which is understandable in a cup
03:36final. They led 2-0 at 33 minutes when a long-range free kick went in and they maintained their
03:41efforts,
03:41gaining a stunning goal moments before half-time. Two more goals within the last three minutes
03:46harshened the scoreline for Cray Wanderers. Now let's take a look back at this weekend's football results.
03:53Well, for Ebb's Fleet today, this marks their second-to-last match of the season and their
03:57last home game, this time against Hampton and Richmond Borough. For the reverse fixture,
04:02Borough took the home advantage and ran with it, securing three points in a narrow 3-2 victory.
04:08The Fleet will hope that this game secures them a certain playoff spot, and it looks likely,
04:12but there's plenty of other teams hoping to snag a position as well. The beginning of the fixture saw
04:18a minute's silence for Ebb's Fleet fans who have lost their lives.
04:21What's the game got underway? Right wing finds Seaman, pushes to Paisley, touch over to Barnes,
04:26and passed across to Kwesi Appiah from six yards out. Only inside the two-minute mark,
04:31the Fleet gets the perfect start. Now it's a diagonal ball over to Seaman, takes it on his
04:36shoulder and fires it in. What an extraordinary volley. He was part of the process to the first,
04:41but this was pretty much a solo play. Left-footed magic, but all things considered,
04:46a great pass from Hesse Tyler as well. Kwesi Appiah crashes into the box,
04:50defenders all around him, and he slots into the near post to make it three for the Fleet,
04:54and 12 for the man across the season. Lovely finish. Could we see an Appiah hat-trick?
04:59Fingers crossed, it is only the first half. Edgar turns, a beautiful line-breaking pass to Finlay
05:04Barnes, a great one, and just finished straight down the middle. Maguire tries to stop it,
05:09but there's too much behind it, and that makes four goals and three points for the Fleet.
05:13A really great game for their promotion hopes, but what else have we been seeing in the National League
05:19South? There's been some impressive scorelines, namely an away thrashing courtesy of the Tunbridge
05:23Angels. Six goals to Farnborough, one, an impressive feat by the West Kent side.
05:28Maidstone managed to win with slightly less between them and Worthing, putting two past
05:32them at Gallagher Stadium. And it would have been a clean sweep for Kent's teams this match day,
05:37but Dover continued a poor run of form, with yet another loss. This time, the Gates made
05:41away, marking their sixth defeat in the road. Ebb's fleet will face Worthing away, hoping to keep
05:47their momentum as we head closer to the playoffs. Tunbridge take on Torquay at home, a side that are
05:51also in playoff contention, so the Angels have the opportunity to help out their neighbour in the
05:55Garden of England with a win there. While the Stones will skip their way to Bath, and there's a chance
06:00United could break into those playoff places, but it is a big ask at this stage of the season.
06:05Lastly, Dover Athletic will host Chesham at home.
06:09Up to League Two, and it was an extremely tough watch in front of a home crowd at Priestfield.
06:13Four goals to one against Grimsby, with only Gareth McGleary netting for the Gills.
06:17They'll host Barnett for the last away game of the season, so hopefully this season's last trip
06:22on the squad bus will be a win to fuel up the drive to Kent. But Barnett are unbeaten in
06:27seven
06:27matches, so it is a big ask for the Gills. Down to the Itzmian League Premier. We start with
06:32congratulations for Folkestone Victor, who won the league earlier this month.
06:35This time they recorded a draw against Crave Valley Paper Mills, but it wouldn't have mattered.
06:39They've already confirmed their spot in the next tier, the National League South.
06:43While Dartford also recorded a draw, this time going 2-2 against Chichester City on the road.
06:48Currently the Darts sit just below the playoff place cutoff, while Chatham, who thrashed
06:51Potters Bard Town, six goals to none, do sit within the fifth place spot.
06:55Ramsgate, on the other hand, recorded their third loss in a row, this time to hashtag Givati.
06:59Folkestone will have their last home game against Chess Hunt, likely to be lots of celebrations at that 90-minute
07:04whistle, waving goodbye to the Itzmian League and heading up.
07:07Dartford will host the Crave Valley Paper Mills, but mathematically there's no way for them to leak
07:12Frog Chatham, who will go head-to-head with Lewis at home, and the Rams travel to Canvey Island.
07:16And that's all the time we have for your Football Roundup. See you next week.
07:20Well, as you heard there, it was a difficult weekend for the Jills and their fans with that
07:254-1 defeat to Grimsby, pushing them further down the table.
07:28As we wind down the season, getting to the last few games now, there's lots of questions on the fans'
07:35minds,
07:35all about next season. So, with a couple of games left, will that form pick up?
07:40Well, to answer that question, our local student journalist and resident Jills fan,
07:44Tom Fullegar, joins me on the sofa live. So, Tom, first of all, tell me about the game as you
07:50were
07:50going into it. We haven't got the best record against Grimsby. Tell us a bit about the pre-match feelings.
07:55Yeah, so they won 1-0 when we went up to their place early on in the season. I thought,
08:02actually,
08:03we were a bit robbed, in my opinion. I thought the referee was a bit poor and we actually played
08:08well
08:08because we went down to 10. Quite unfortunately, I didn't think it was really right and conceded
08:12a wrongful penalty. But, yeah, going into Saturday, I wasn't that optimistic. They're pushing for the
08:18playoffs. The sun was out and sometimes we played better with the sun being out. But, yeah,
08:23it just wasn't meant to be at all on Saturday. I see. And, tell us, back to the present,
08:29obviously not the kind of scoreline you want to be seeing. So, could you tell from the off that
08:33it was going to be 4-1? I didn't think it was going to be that bad. They were knocking
08:38at the
08:39door very early on. They deserved their first goal. It was a good finish by their forward.
08:45And, you know, we equalised McCleary with a really good goal. It was quite similar to actually
08:51Valverde. He was against City in the Champions League. I thought he took it down really well
08:54from a little pass and he dinked it over the keeper. But, Morris' goal, Morris' howler,
09:00oh my God, it's not what we expect from him. But, I guess, he had a good game to that
09:04point. So,
09:05it was, I didn't really think that that was going to be from him.
09:09I see. Yeah. I think, obviously, Morris, as a keeper, he's quite a good keeper, you know,
09:15throughout the season. But, obviously, he had that knock earlier on and he sort of was changed
09:18out with Turner for a bit. But, yeah, tell me a bit about that goal that he conceded. What
09:25made it so poor? Yeah, he tried to sort of touch it down with his fire and it just didn't
09:29work at
09:29all. Like, for me, it looked like he was still in the box. I think he was just on the
09:32edge. But, I thought,
09:34if he wasn't going to get it, at least call Hutton to deal with it. But, I just thought it
09:37was an absolute
09:38blunder. I mean, with someone that much experience, you just shouldn't be doing that. And, I think that
09:42goal did cost us because we actually were having momentum from the goal that McCleary just scored
09:47and then we just completely lost all composure. I see. And, from then on, it was, I imagine,
09:53just a sort of snowball effect. You mentioned to me earlier, there was another goal from a corner
09:58and then another of it was poor defending. Is this just kind of showing the cracks that have been
10:02building all this season, you think? Yeah, I think the goal from the corner was actually
10:06a pretty decent flick on from them, to be fair. There's not really a lot you can do about that.
10:09But, again, it's another corner we've conceded. I think it's so poor that we're just not getting
10:14up in the air. We're not being physical enough. But, that fourth one, I think the manager,
10:18Grimsby manager, actually said that he said to the team to actually target the full backs because
10:22he knew there were a weakness going into the game. And, he did just that. Targeted Max Clark's side,
10:27crossed it in across to where Hutton plays and then he's just totally unmarked. I think it's really bad
10:31defending. I see. We haven't got too much time left, but I've chosen this image when I went down
10:37to the Gilles recently of an empty stadium. This is what we're going to be seeing when the season
10:42ends. Obviously, boos ringing out at full time. What needs to be made by the Gilles while the stands
10:47look like this, in your opinion? What is the number one priority? Definitely a proper number nine.
10:54A big man. I mean, because I think Hale's a great striker, but we need your Tom Eaves,
11:01your Danny Kedwell, that sort of player. We definitely need loads of other players,
11:08but for me, that's the one. Josh Andrews and Sam Vokes just aren't cutting it.
11:12I think definitely need a new left-back and a new right-back and maybe two or three midfielders
11:19and definitely a left-winger. I see. Well, thank you so much for all your time today, Tom.
11:26And don't forget, you can keep up to date with all the latest football news by, of course, reading
11:30Kent Online. But did you also know you can have your weekly digest of Gilles news sent
11:37directly to your email inbox? Just search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the website
11:41for all the latest written transfer news, match reports and interviews. And if the Gilles isn't your
11:45cup of tea, there's plenty more alerts to choose from, including all the latest non-league football
11:50news too. Now that is half-time for us, but we'll be back with more of your sports news from
11:57around
11:57the county. See you soon.
12:16.
12:45.
13:15.
13:17.
13:17.
13:17.
13:17.
13:17.
13:18.
13:18.
13:24.
13:25.
13:28.
13:28.
13:28.
13:28.
13:57.
13:57.
13:57.
14:27.
14:28.
14:28.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
14:59.
15:00.
15:01.
15:01.
15:01.
15:01.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:03.
15:04.
15:09.
15:09.
15:10.
15:40.
15:40.
15:40.
15:40.
15:41.
15:42.
15:44.
15:44.
15:45.
15:46.
15:46.
15:46.
15:46The event marks the beginning of the series' 69th season and offers teams and drivers a
15:51final opportunity to test cars before the first round at Donington Park on the 18th
15:56of April.
15:56.
15:56.
15:57.
15:57.
15:57.
15:57.
15:57.
15:57.
15:58.
15:58.
15:58.
15:58.
15:58.
15:59.
15:59.
15:59.
15:59.
15:59.
16:00.
16:02at the right end of the timesheet, very happy with that. We've made some changes in the
16:07office over in the off season and that's beginning to reap rewards already.
16:11But what is it about the BTCC series that draws in so many drivers and attracts a global
16:17fan base?
16:18I've grown up watching British steering cars and I just love the spectacle of it. I
16:24love the close action on the racing, I love the sound of the cars, the way they look.
16:28It's just, for me, in Europe certainly this is the most exciting racing you will
16:34see.
16:34It was here at Brands Hatch back in 1957 that the very first British saloon car championship
16:39race was held. That year saw the time to come down to the head-to-head battle between Tommy
16:44Stockwith and Jack Sears. And at the final round of the season, again held at the Kentish
16:49circuit, it was Sears who claimed victory. But it's been almost 70 years since that inaugural
16:54season and though the name may have changed, the competitive spirit remains the same.
16:59End of the season is really about how many points we score. If we score enough points,
17:04things like the Independent Drivers' Championship, the Independent Teams' Championship, Jack Sears
17:09will take care of themselves. We're only interested in winning this year.
17:12There are familiar faces returning to the paddock as well. Jason Plato began his BTCC career as
17:18a driver. Thirty years later, with two championship titles to his name, he's back, this time as
17:24a team owner. But what does this new role entail?
17:27Well, first thing is I look at when the drivers touch things, like they drive their wing mirrors
17:33or their front wings into tyres. I have a different feeling now to when I was in the
17:37car because I just see pounds going out the window. I mean, it's very different. It's not
17:43easy because I want to be in the car. I've got itchy feet.
17:45With competition high and drivers and teams eager to get out on the track, the season
17:50is off to a flying start.
17:55Next, despite being more than 50 years old, one man has rekindled his childhood dream of
18:00playing baseball right here in Kent. He's calling himself the 50-year-old rookie and
18:05he's started swinging for the fences, playing in the Kent Baseball Club's Division 5 side
18:10based in Tunbridge. Now I went down to the club and stepped up to the plate to find out
18:14a bit about how to play.
18:17At 50 years old, I like to imagine the most exercise I'll be getting is lifting up the
18:21TV remote. But for one Kent Baseball fan, he stepped up to bat at the Kent Baseball Club
18:26in Hadlow near Tunbridge, despite his age, to play the sport he always dreamed of trying
18:30out.
18:31If you speak to my wife, you say I've got the mental age of a 16-year-old anyway, but
18:34the body, it doesn't keep up. I'm on my third pacemaker, which I had when I was 26. But
18:40it didn't stop me. You know, you've only got one life and I wanted to give it a go. And
18:46baseball is one of those things that I've always found passionate. I'm not one for going
18:51to the gym all the time. I do go to the gym, but who really enjoys that? I want to
18:54get fit
18:55on doing something I really love and I felt I would love baseball. I thought I'd give it
18:59a try and yeah, I fell in love with it.
19:01He's calling himself the 50-year-old rookie and he's been documenting his experience so
19:05far. He originally fell in love with the sport after visiting family in Canada in the 80s
19:10and watching the Toronto Blue Jays. The Kent Baseball Club play in Division 3 and Division
19:155 of the British Baseball Federation, fielding two teams, the Kent Buccaneers and the Kent Mariners
19:19respectively, who used to be separate clubs, the latter being from Medway and the former
19:23from Tunbridge until they merged to help player numbers.
19:26Now, unlike Simon, I've never seen a game of baseball, so I felt a bit out of my league.
19:31So I took some time to make sure I've covered all my bases.
19:36Now, baseball is a pretty simple sport when you're watching it, but it's a little different
19:40when you're playing. Now, the aim of the game is to get more runs than the other team and
19:44the way you get those runs, well, that's mainly by batting. Once you bat, you can then start
19:51to make your way around the diamond and you get one point once you reach the home plate.
19:55And reaching the home plate gets you that one run, trying to get more than the other
19:59team and you take turns between batting and pitching.
20:04Once my catching practice was over, I learnt a bit more about the curve balls that trip
20:08up beginners the most.
20:10The first hurdle is having a ball coming towards you that's not the lightest thing in the world
20:14that you've got to try and stop from hitting your face, I think. That's probably the hardest
20:18thing for a rookie, to kind of teach them to not be scared of the ball, to put your glove
20:22in front of your face and you will be fine. That is probably the hardest thing to get through
20:26to people, especially when they haven't played a kind of batting ball sport before or one that
20:30involves kind of hand-eye coordination. That's probably the biggest hurdle. In terms of hitting
20:34the ball, people find that relatively easy when they first come to practice. So I think it's more
20:38about getting over that kind of nervousness of that ball coming towards you by someone
20:43that's been playing a lot longer than you.
20:44With that in mind, I thought it was time to try out hitting. Well, it wasn't a home run,
20:50but I was happy with my hits. But next time, I think I'll bring gloves.
20:56Finn McDermid for KMTV in Hadlow.
21:00It doesn't look like it there, but it really hurts your hands unless you're wearing gloves.
21:03Well, next, the under-15 team for the Hempstead Valley Football Club based here in Medway took
21:10a trip down to Foshan, China. But it wasn't just matches they were playing. They were also
21:15getting some new personal experiences. The aim of the tradition that they take every, I think,
21:21every year, they've done it for a couple of years now, is all to not just make sure that
21:24they grow as goalkeepers, defenders, fullbacks, wingers, strikers, midfielders, but also to make
21:30sure they grow as people. I caught up with one of the coaches midway through the trip.
21:35They are back now. But just about what else they might be doing on that trip. A nice little
21:40story for you just to end the show. Let's have a look.
21:43All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Paul. And first of all, I'm really curious
21:47about how exactly the trip to China got off the ground. Tell us a bit about how it all started.
21:54Okay. So it's kind of built on 20 years of a strong Medway-Chan-Chan links through the
22:01Medway-UK-Chan-Chan-Chan-Foshan Friendship Association. And it's kind of a partnership
22:08that's been going on for quite a while now. Rain and Mark Grammar School in Medway. They
22:13actually twin with Foshan Experimental School. And that's where we played our first football
22:17match. Wow. I see. And so going on from that, you're now in, is it Foshan, China, or are
22:24you in a different part of China at the moment? In Foshan, China. Yeah, Foshan, China. So
22:29it's something about from one of our players in Hempstead Valley Football Club. He wanted
22:35to take the team to China. And thanks to, obviously, the generous support from our sponsor, which
22:40is Castle Rock Wealth Management, they were able to contribute some funds and a kit helping
22:46us make the trip possible. So, yeah, thank you very much to them, guys. Amazing. And tell
22:51us a bit about what it's been like so far. Have you stayed in the same sort of spot? Have
22:54you travelled around? And how many young people are out there? How many young players?
22:59OK, so we've got 12 players on our team. And there's parents with each of those players.
23:05We're staying in Foshan. And we're located in the same area. But we have been travelling
23:10around, visiting various different sites in and around this local region. So we've done
23:18AI gaming. We've done legal schools. We've participated in martial arts. We've done pottery making as
23:26a local kiln. We've done visits to local ancestral tent pools. And we've visited some of the local
23:33companies and businesses nearby as well, you know, because their Foshan is rich in their history.
23:38And all these local businesses contribute to that as well.
23:42Absolutely. And what have the games of football been like? Has it all been quite friendly? Or is
23:45that still very, very competitive?
23:49As you well know, football is always competitive when you cross over that white line.
23:53But no, it's both sides. It's been very, very friendly. A lot of respect, a lot of mutual
23:58respect from football. And it's a enjoyable experience.
24:04Amazing. And I'm also curious, obviously, recently, we've had lots of changes to under sevens
24:11football from the FA. In fact, they're going to sort of be reducing the amount of children
24:15that will be goalkeepers. And I feel at the moment, there's always, with football being
24:19such a big industry, there's always these real discussions about how to maximise the potential
24:24of players. But in your experience, trips like these, where it's not just about the football,
24:28it's about growing them as people off the pitch as well. How important is that in today's
24:32kind of current football climate?
24:35Oh, it's huge. You know, we're working with young adults now. You know, this is under
24:4015s team. You know, I've been involved in this team a good few years. I've been for nearly
24:44nine seasons now. And it's very, very important that we're building beliefs and that mutual respect
24:52with everyone that they play football against. It helps them grow as people. And we like to
24:57feel that coaches ourselves have a big influence in their lives as they're growing up.
25:02Absolutely. And you guys are back quite soon. What else have you got planned before heading
25:07back here to the UK?
25:11So, today we attended an international school. And tomorrow we're going to visit another school
25:17and we're going to participate in some paper cutting before we actually have one of our lighter
25:21days planned for this week, where we've got a little bit of free time to go and do a little
25:25bit of shopping and enjoy the local culture ourselves. So, they're quite looking forward
25:29to that.
25:30Amazing. And for you as a coach, is this something you really anticipated? And is this the first
25:35time you've done it? Or has this been something you've repeatedly done?
25:39I mean, it's the first... I did it as a boy when I played football. I did a trip to
25:44America.
25:44So, I did a similar sort of thing. And so, when this came about, something we were very, very,
25:49very keen to get involved with. I'd like to mention that manager Paul Squires, who does
25:57alongside myself, he was unfortunately unable to make this trip. Before he left, you know,
26:02he did speak to the guys and said, look, go out there. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
26:06Make some fantastic memories. Try lots of new things. Try the new food. And I'm just... I'm pleased to
26:12report that the boys have done exactly that. You know, and he would be so proud of what they've
26:17done out here. And, you know, we all miss him. And it's a shame that he wasn't able to make
26:20it
26:20with us. But it's a big, big thank you to Paul. He's been a big influence in their lives as
26:25well.
26:26Well, thank you so much, Paul.
26:29Thank you very much, Finn. It's been a pleasure. Thank you.
26:32And that marks full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport. If you want more from KMTV,
26:37you can head over to our website, kmtv.co.uk, where all of our special shows are available
26:42to watch back on demand. And don't forget to follow us on our social media. And you can keep
26:46up with the latest from Invictus Sport on kmtv.co.uk. But that's all the time we have. Thank you
26:52so
26:52much for watching. And we'll see you soon. Good night.
27:12Good night.
27:12You
Comments