Join Bartholomew Hall with reaction to Gillingham's sacking of Stephen Clemence, plus a look back at this year's Buckmore 24 Hour Race.
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:16 up all of Kent's sporting action.
00:19 I'm Bartholomew Hall and here is what to expect on this Monday 29th April.
00:25 Clements out.
00:27 Gillingham FC sacks head coach after six months in charge at Priestfield.
00:32 Maidstones dismay.
00:34 No promotion for United as they're knocked out of the National League South play-offs.
00:39 And done it in 24.
00:42 We speak to one of the podium sitters of this year's Buckmore 24-hour race.
00:48 But we of course start with the news of another sacking where Margate have sacked manager
00:52 Mark Stimson after less than five months in charge.
00:56 Margate followed confirmation of the gate's relegation from the Izmir Premiership at the
01:00 weekend with a 5-3 defeat to Billa Rikki.
01:02 In a statement, the club confirmed its parting ways with the former Gillingham boss and says
01:07 the search for a new manager will start immediately.
01:10 The outgoing 56-year-old ended a near ten-month wait for a competitive win for the gate in
01:15 February before Margate won four of their last seven matches of the season.
01:20 Platz ETH racer Jake Hill has started his British Touring Car Championship season with
01:24 a double podium at a rain-soaked Donington Park.
01:28 The MB Motorsport driver put his BMW on the third step of the podium in both opening races
01:33 of the 24-season before finishing fifth in race three.
01:37 Speaking afterwards, the 30-year-old said it was a successful day, made tricky with
01:41 the conditions.
01:42 The British Touring Car Championship returns to Kent next time out with the first of two
01:46 rounds of this season at Brands Hatch.
01:49 Rugby now.
01:50 Kent's sides in the National League Two East have all ended their seasons and it was a
01:54 strong finale for Canterbury in their derby win over Sevenoaks.
01:58 The 34-21 win for Canterbury sealed their seventh-place finish in front of more than
02:03 600 home supporters, their highest of the season.
02:06 Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Tunbridge Juddians as Westcombe Park took the final
02:10 day National League defeat.
02:12 They finished the season fifth, while Sevenoaks are 11th.
02:17 Water football now.
02:18 It was the last weekend for the rest of Kent's top-flying side.
02:23 Before the news of Gillingham's sacking of head coach Stephen Clements today, the Medway
02:26 side ended their League Two season with a home meeting with Doncaster Rovers.
02:30 Elsewhere, Maidstone United headed to Worthing for their National League South semi-final
02:35 play-off, with George Alakobi's side still hopeful of that promotion.
02:40 This week, Worthing hosted Maidstone in the National League South play-off semi-final.
02:45 With Worthing finishing the calendar season in third and Maidstone trailing by just one
02:49 point to finish fourth, it was going to be a humdinger of a match.
02:53 Worthing started strong.
02:54 The keeper rushed out from his line, sweeping at the feet of the striker.
02:58 The striker fell and the referee blew for a straight penalty.
03:02 Stepping up for the spot kick, he took it well.
03:09 Soaring past the keeper, it was one goal to nil for the home side.
03:13 Maidstone then picked up the momentum, crossed onto the back post, then cleared by a Worthing
03:17 defender.
03:18 Worthing was back into the possession of a Maidstone player, sending the ball into
03:20 the box again, an overhead kick sent the ball straight at the keeper.
03:24 Guided away, it fell to 16.
03:26 His glancing header looped the ball over a leaping keeper for an equaliser.
03:40 Onto the second half now and Worthing had the better start.
03:43 Playing fast paced football, they got a shot from outside the box.
03:48 Maidstone struck back with a powerful towering header that darted whiskers wide.
03:52 Then the chances kept coming for Maidstone, but no matter where they shot from, they couldn't
04:00 convert.
04:01 Maidstone went through on goal, they sent a shot, the keeper parried it, rolling to
04:04 a stone striker, he struck the ball but the crossbar denied his efforts.
04:10 Worthing weren't done yet.
04:11 They found a counter, some quick feats led to a scrambling defence as Worthing's number
04:16 ten finished on the near post for an 87th minute winner.
04:27 Worthing 2, Maidstone 1.
04:29 Worthing will now host the National League South Pole final, where they will face Braintree
04:33 for a chance at promotion.
04:36 Now in League 2, the Gilles finish their season with a 2-2 draw to Doncaster Rovers.
04:40 Here's what Stephen Clements had to say.
04:42 "Always difficult for players when there's one team that's got still a player ambitions
04:49 and obviously they've got there and one team obviously hasn't.
04:52 It's a big test, especially if you've got a goal behind in a game like that.
04:57 The boys found it difficult but thankfully I thought they showed great character in the
05:01 second half and now just challenge them as far as next season.
05:06 We have to have a mentality where we take that into 90 minutes."
05:09 The Gilles finished in 12th with 64 points, missing out on the playoffs by 6 points.
05:17 Now for the Isthmian Premier, a flurry of fixtures here.
05:20 A relegated Margate managed 3 in a 5-3 loss against Bielericki.
05:25 Folkestone lost 4-0 and Chatham drew 2-2.
05:28 As for the table, the Chats finished in 2nd, Folkestone finished in 16th, while Margate
05:33 were the fourth team to be relegated.
05:35 And that's it for this season.
05:37 I'm James Hill and that was your Football Roundup.
05:39 You heard him speaking there, but less than 48 hours later, Gillingham has announced today
05:46 the sacking of Steven Clements.
05:48 It came in the form of a statement posted to the club's website, which part of it reads
05:52 as follows.
05:53 "Despite an improvement in performances and style of play, sadly results have not met
05:58 the expectations set by the club and as a result the board believe a change is necessary
06:03 to give the club the best possible chance of gaining promotion next season."
06:08 It says, "We are identifying targets we believe could take this club forward and will be looking
06:13 to make an appointment as quickly as possible so the new management team can form an integral
06:18 part of the squad building process straight away."
06:23 Of course, the full statement can be found on the club's website.
06:26 Well, to discuss this, I'm joined now in the studio by David Garth from the Gillingham
06:30 FC Supporters Club.
06:31 David, it was just Friday, we were talking on this programme about the summer, about
06:36 what next season could look like.
06:38 Did you expect to go into the summer without Steven Clements?
06:41 No, not at all.
06:43 It came as a big shock to me and to an awful lot of fans today.
06:46 I think the Jungle Telegraph was just whirring around saying, "Is it true?"
06:52 I think we're still all trying to take it all in, to be honest with you.
06:57 I've got a couple of stats here.
06:58 Second lowest goals scored and sixth most goals conceded.
07:01 I think that was a problem that was identified.
07:03 I think even Steven Clements mentioned it.
07:06 How much could that be attributed to Clements?
07:09 Because if we look at the beginning of the season, when he was on that successive run
07:12 of one-nil wins with Neil Harris, that was a problem that was mentioned then as well.
07:17 Yes, I mean, we all know about the failure to get a striker in.
07:21 Alfie May was often mentioned, of course.
07:23 Then in January, we did make the signing of Josh Andrews, who seemed to be the ideal sort
07:30 of player.
07:31 But he was injured and hadn't any chance of starting.
07:35 And then we got the young lad from Watford, Jorge Hurtado, who was an unknown.
07:41 But at the same time, of course, Bonn left the club on loan and Nicholls went.
07:45 So you've got to say to yourself, "Well, did he really have the tools there to actually
07:49 make a difference?"
07:50 We were making chances and we've made more chances, I think, in the second half of the
07:54 season than we could have dreamt of.
07:56 But no one was sticking the ball in the net.
07:58 I think it's interesting there you mention recruitment.
08:00 I think we mentioned it last week, didn't we, about that list that Steven Clements had
08:04 said that he has a list of players that he's interested in for the summer.
08:08 Is it fair to send him on his way now before he had a chance to develop that squad?
08:13 Well, a lot of people that I've been talking to today from our membership have said the
08:16 same thing.
08:17 He didn't actually have a full summer to recruit.
08:20 All he had was a January transfer window.
08:22 What we don't know, and maybe the club will tell us later, is how much of an input he's
08:27 actually got in deciding which players come.
08:29 We don't know that.
08:30 Yeah, that's interesting because I was going to ask you about this change that we've seen.
08:33 Of course, previous bosses, I suppose, have been managers, whereas he was a head coach.
08:39 And I asked him in press conferences about his kind of role, and Steven Clements would
08:43 always say he has the final say over who gets put in the squad, but he's maybe not necessarily
08:49 at the forefront of recruitment.
08:51 Do you think that's a model that's working?
08:54 It's difficult to say.
08:55 I mean, unless you are inside the club and looking at that and asking his opinion, was
09:00 he strong enough in that area?
09:02 I don't know.
09:03 I mean, did Hesenthaler and Jackett have a bigger say?
09:06 And he didn't really have as big a say as we would all like.
09:09 I think a lot of people are saying we need a manager who will have the final say or the
09:14 full say on recruitment, and then the recruitment team just do all the nitty-gritty side of
09:20 it.
09:21 I think as well, early doors, there were questions over the fact that Steven Clements is his
09:25 first managerial job, and it was maybe a bit of a risk, maybe a bit of a gamble from Brad
09:30 Gallinson to put someone in that role.
09:34 Do you think it was a gamble that ultimately didn't pay off?
09:37 I think it was a gamble.
09:38 I think they were hoping that maybe it would come off a bit like the guy Ipswich has done
09:42 as well.
09:43 There's no doubt that Brad and Shannon are impatient, as we all are, as Gillingham fans
09:48 are impatient to get the good times going again.
09:52 So you could maybe say, well, that's a good thing that they are impatient and they want
09:55 to do it now rather than wait.
09:58 But even so, it's still a surprise.
10:01 Talking to the future then, obviously it's very early doors, throwing names about.
10:07 Do you have someone in mind at this stage who you might want to see in that job?
10:10 There are so many names that are being mentioned at the moment.
10:14 I think the early leader on the bookies side is Gareth Ainsworth, who did reasonably well
10:21 at Wickham, but I think it's far too early to say.
10:25 I think it would be wrong to start to speculate, to be honest with you.
10:28 Do you think it would help to have someone who has had a history with the club, either
10:32 an old player or an old manager, or someone like that who understands the blood of Gillingham?
10:39 We've had that before with some success, Andy Hess and Tara.
10:43 We've had that with some not so good, and I won't mention their names out of due respect
10:47 to them.
10:48 But I don't think it really matters.
10:50 What you do need is someone who is going to be strong.
10:54 Maybe with the greatest respect in the world to Steve Clements, I don't think he was always
10:58 comfortable in front of a camera.
10:59 I don't think he had that extra drive that came out.
11:04 That's his way and I respect that.
11:07 Maybe what we need is somebody a little bit more outgoing, with a little bit more charisma
11:12 that will raise our profile even more.
11:15 Maybe that's what they're looking for.
11:17 Finally, before we go, how soon would you like to see a decision made?
11:21 Obviously you mentioned Brad Gannison doesn't like to rush things, but last time it did
11:24 take a few weeks before Steven was appointed.
11:26 I think it's important that we get this done as soon as possible.
11:29 Yes, they've got to get it right, but whoever comes in is going to have a say surely on
11:34 the retained list and on the list of players that we want.
11:38 So yes, as quickly as possible please.
11:40 David, thank you very much for joining us.
11:42 You're welcome.
11:43 We've reached half time, but after the break we'll be looking back at this weekend's
11:46 Buckmore 24.
11:47 See you in just a few moments.
11:49 Thanks for joining us.
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15:06 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport Live on KMTV.
15:10 Really good to have you back.
15:11 Now, it's time to remind you that you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news,
15:15 interviews and features from here on Invicta Sport by heading along to our website,
15:19 KMTV.co.uk.
15:21 When you get there, click on the sports tab because you'll see videos like this one
15:25 about a wheelchair shooter from Maidstone who's hoping to take his game to the international scene.
15:31 Take a look at this.
15:32 Maidstone shooter Bill Wilson's life hasn't always been this way.
15:36 Becoming a British champion doesn't happen overnight.
15:39 In fact, he only actually picked up shooting after going through rehab for a life-changing injury six years ago.
15:46 Sport has always played a huge part in Bill's life, from becoming a member of Ashford Rugby Club
15:51 to a skiing instructor and even an advanced motorcyclist riding across the globe.
15:57 All those things came to a very abrupt end on the 1st of May 2018 when I had an unfortunate accident in Holland.
16:05 I fell down some stairs and I was taking my mother out to see the Tulip Festival
16:10 and yes, in the blink of an eyelid, your world's changed.
16:14 Yeah, this is my biggest enemy and also my best friend.
16:20 Now paralysed from the chest down, Bill turned to shooting whilst at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
16:25 The secretary there, Damon Hinchcliffe, said you've got a good eye.
16:30 When you leave, join a local club, which I did, Tubbs Lake, just outside Cranbrook.
16:36 I really started sort of entering competitions in 2020, 2019, 2020.
16:41 To my tally now, I think I've got 11 gold medals, four silvers, three bronze.
16:48 Not wanting to lose track between training sessions,
16:51 Bill quickly set up a fairly unconventional approach to home practice.
16:56 So I'm stood here at the start point for what is Bill's homemade 10-metre range, also known as the hallway.
17:02 And if you follow me through to the kitchen area, you can see past the doorway
17:07 and the edge of the wall here is of course sitting at the end of the conservatory, the target.
17:14 It might look like a narrow range, but for a champion dealing with margins of less than a millimetre,
17:20 hitting the target is the least of his worries.
17:23 My biggest competitor actually when I'm shooting is me.
17:28 I'm always pushing myself and I think that really is what pushes me.
17:34 I like to be the best at it. I'll shoot as long as my eyesight lets me.
17:39 So I'm happy. It keeps me motivated. It keeps me focused and dealing with obviously my disability.
17:47 And as long as I can do it, enjoy it, I will.
17:51 Now with the wind in his sails and more than 10 British medals under his belt,
17:55 the 61-year-old has his sights set on competing around the world.
18:00 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Maidstone.
18:03 Now this weekend, the Chatham Karting Circuit, where Lewis Hamilton rose to fame in his early days,
18:09 hosted its annual flagship 24-hour endurance race.
18:13 With more than 30 rookie and elite teams taking part, the race started with a Le Mans-style start,
18:18 with drivers racing to their karts on foot before taking on the 24-hour marathon,
18:23 which is the equivalent of driving a kart around the M25 25 times, sorry, in a day.
18:30 Well, in a moment, we'll be joined by one of those elite drivers who finished on the podium.
18:34 But first of all, let's take a look at when the winners crossed that line.
18:38 What a drive it has been for Nameless. They led portions of the race in the opening couple of hours,
18:44 but it was really at the night time when everyone else was tripping up in the wet conditions
18:48 that they just pulled clear of the rest of the field.
18:51 After 24 hours, it is Nameless that will round Café Curve and take the race win for the Buckmore Park.
18:58 24 hours, 2024.
19:01 Jack Goldsmith at the wheel, the team captain.
19:04 What a fantastic drive it's been for them.
19:07 XLR8, Kent Brewery, will take second.
19:11 They're about half a lap behind, and then it is Dav Motorsport a few seconds further back.
19:17 Spicy Boys have crossed the line, as have Señor Frogs.
19:21 So Señor Frogs, the sidemen, will finally get that podium that they have been looking for for so, so long.
19:28 Incredible stuff. Well, I'm joined here by Tom Langford of Team XLR8.
19:32 Tom, thank you very much for being here. Welcome onto the program.
19:35 Now, your team finished second. How are you feeling?
19:38 It sounds and looks like a really tough event to get your head around. 24 hours.
19:45 Yeah, thank you for having me. Yeah, it is a really, really tough event.
19:50 A pleasure to be involved in. But yes, it took us by surprise,
19:55 I think the first year that we competed in it back in 2019.
19:58 I think the longest any of us had ever been in a car continually racing was an hour at that point.
20:04 So, yeah, to do two plus hours in a car really was both physically and mentally exhausting.
20:09 But yeah, I'm feeling a lot better now. I've had a day off from work, which I'm glad I booked off.
20:13 And yeah, feeling a lot better.
20:15 No, good. That's good to hear. I'm glad you've managed to rest.
20:18 What were the conditions like, though? Because we've got a video here of the rain just pouring down.
20:23 And it wasn't just during the day. It was at the night as well, in the dead of the night.
20:27 There we go. With the rain chucking it down. Does that add a bit of excitement?
20:31 Or was it not a nice feeling to be under all of that?
20:36 Yes, it definitely adds some excitement, for sure. If you're spectating, I imagine.
20:41 If you're competing in it, it's good. We like racing in the rain.
20:45 The only problem is when you come off, you're absolutely soaked and then you've got to take the wet race suit off and warm up again.
20:51 But yeah, it's brilliant. It started off dry at the beginning, which is when I did my stint.
20:55 I opened the race for our team. But then after my two-hour, ten-minute stint, it then started to rain.
21:03 And it rained pretty much all the way through the night until the last hour of the race.
21:07 So those conditions make it difficult for the strategy for the teams.
21:11 But also difficult when you're actually physically driving out there as well. It's a tough ask.
21:16 But yeah, it's our fifth time competing in the race now. And it's the same for many other teams on the grid as well.
21:23 So we're quite used to it now. And a lot of us have been racing at Butmore for quite a number of years now.
21:29 So yeah, we're pretty used to racing in all sorts of conditions.
21:32 Yeah, of course. I mentioned in the introduction there, it's quite an iconic circuit here in Kent.
21:37 Obviously, Lewis Hamilton famously rose to fame by driving there as well as other circuits around the country.
21:44 So what is it that brings you back every year then? Because you've had quite a bit of success during the race.
21:50 There's got to be something that brings you back every year.
21:54 I think, well, all of us love karting. We all have a passion for motorsports, first of all.
21:59 But yeah, it's the fact that Butmore is definitely one of the most prestigious and flagship circuits in the UK.
22:07 For a lot of us, it is our local. But obviously, it's such a good facility, such friendly staff.
22:13 The karts are brilliant and maintained really well, which is obviously really important for people that are wanting to compete.
22:18 That's what keeps bringing us back, really. And the event itself grows every year.
22:24 So we thought it was pretty amazing when we did our first one back in 2019.
22:28 But it's just got bigger and bigger ever since.
22:31 And Butmore Park, as they did for this year, usually gets a brand new fleet of karts at the beginning of the race,
22:39 so that everything's as equal and as fair as it can be.
22:42 And I have to say, the karts were really, really brilliant at the start of the race.
22:46 The top 20 – no, sorry, the full grid was separated by about two seconds in qualifying,
22:51 and the top 10 only by about half a second.
22:54 So if you're a competitor, that's really what you look for.
22:56 You look for karts that are just fair and equal and give everyone an equal chance to win the race.
23:04 But yeah, it's fantastic. We all love it. And we'll be back again next year for sure.
23:08 Yeah, it's really interesting what you said there about everyone being in their own kart.
23:12 Obviously, you do see some divisions of karting where it's owner/driver and you have your own kart and you work on it,
23:17 and you own that kart, of course.
23:19 That must add an element of, you know, it's just about the driver.
23:23 It's just you and everybody you're against. There's no kind of differential with the machinery that's under you.
23:29 Yeah, definitely. I think, obviously, motorsport being so expensive, you know, for some of us,
23:35 this is as high-level motorsport as we can afford.
23:39 And for some people, it's as high as they're ever going to take it.
23:42 So some people take it very seriously. And some people are just there for fun.
23:47 And that's all fine. But if you're competing, you just want to make sure that, you know,
23:52 at any circuit that you just want you have fair and equal machinery.
23:54 And that's what it was like. It was just down to the drivers, down to their strategy.
23:59 And that's when usually the people that, you know, the teams that are best prepared and everything,
24:03 they're usually the ones that come out on top.
24:05 But yeah, you know, fair play to everyone for competing.
24:08 Because like I say, 24 hours is a long time to be in a car and a long time to race.
24:13 And it's not just the actual physical driving as well.
24:16 It's when you, you know, when you come off, you have to then be on the radios for your other teammates that are out as well.
24:21 So the physical driving is just one small part of it, actually.
24:24 It's also, you know, you start on the Friday, setting up the awning and stuff.
24:29 And then, or we did. And then you're in on the Saturday morning doing practice and then qualifying.
24:33 And then the 24 hour race. So it's a long time to be at the circuit, a long time to be racing.
24:38 And it's more than just driving. It's brilliant.
24:41 Yeah, it's a real weekend, you know, full weekend event.
24:44 Now you've got next to you there your trophy for being runners up.
24:48 Tell me, how are you and the team going to be getting ready to get on the top step next year?
24:55 Well, we always prepare very well.
24:58 I have to say, we've been competing at Buckmore in the 24 hours for five consecutive years now.
25:07 We've finished on the podium four of those five times, the last three times being the bridesmaids, unfortunately.
25:14 So we're hoping that next year we're going to win it.
25:17 And I have every confidence that we're going to be in contention for the win.
25:20 We just need to just keep doing what we're doing, really.
25:23 And just hopefully that little bit of luck, that extra bit of luck that we need to win will come our way, hopefully very soon.
25:29 Well, Tom, congratulations on being runners up and very best of luck for the future.
25:34 Thank you so much for joining us. Really interesting insight there on the Buckmore 24.
25:37 Thank you very much.
25:39 Thank you very much for having me.
25:42 Brilliant stuff there. Well, that is all the time we have for today's programme.
25:46 Just a reminder, if you want to appear in this week's episode of Action Replay,
25:50 then make sure to send in your clips now.
25:53 This is, of course, the segment, my favourite segment of the show every Friday,
25:57 where we feature pictures and videos of you, the KMTV audience, taking part in sport.
26:02 Whatever it is that you do, we will show it here on the programme.
26:05 All you need to do is tag us on social media @KMTVKent or send us an email to sport@kmtv.co.uk.
26:13 Just make sure to tell us what part of Kent you come from and what it is you do.
26:16 And we'll see you here on Friday.
26:18 Well, that really is full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport.
26:21 If you want more from KMTV, well, just head to our website, KMTV.co.uk,
26:26 where you'll see all of our other special programmes.
26:28 We've got the Kent Politics Show, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate and the Kent Film Club,
26:33 all available by heading, as I said, to KMTV.co.uk.
26:36 I'll be back next week after the local elections with plenty more.
26:41 See you later. Bye bye.
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