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On tonight's episode, Abby Hook is joined by Aylesford FC Ladies ahead of their FA Cup Second Round tie against Worthing. Plus: we meet the Maidstone visually imparied rugby player set to make his England debut.
Transcript
00:00Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:18up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Abbey Hook. Here's what to expect on this Monday
00:22the 18th of November. Diamond in the rough. Find out which of our
00:28five sides survives round two of the FA Trophy. Wasps alert. Rugby club confirms controversial
00:34move to Kent Stadium with stadium land acquired. And giant killers Ellsford ladies join us
00:41after they beat a former WSL side to make round two of the FA Trophy.
00:48Exciting stuff but first a round up of the headlines. Where Dover motorcycle racer Jake
00:52Dixon had a disappointing end to his Moto2 season in Barcelona after coming together
00:57with another rider on the final lap. After starting fourth on the grid, Dixon lost positions
01:02after a first lap mistake on what was his final race with Team Asper. Speaking afterwards,
01:07Jake said it was a shame to finish the way he did and wished his team the best for the
01:11future. After two wins, including a first home victory at Silverstone, Dixon finishes
01:16the season in eighth place. Five tennis courts have reopened in Gravesend
01:21following a £120,000 investment to bring them back to life. Funded by Gravesend Council
01:27and supported by the Lawn Tennis Association Foundation, the project has seen the venues
01:32resurfaced and repainted, as well as provided with new nets and gate access technology.
01:38Plans for the refurbished courts included hosting local tennis leagues to help give
01:42people the opportunity to be involved in friendly competitions.
01:47In rugby, National League Two East leaders Tunbridge Juddians made it a perfect ten on
01:52Saturday with a 41-28 win over Old Albanian. Despite a strong start from the visitors,
01:57the Judds responded with six tries to maintain their four-point lead at the top of the table.
02:02Meanwhile, Canterbury soared past the half-century mark for the second week in a row, storming
02:06to a 59-35 victory over Bury St Edmunds. Whilst Seven Oaks lost out to Colchester 28-23, leaving
02:14them 12th, whilst Canterbury at sixth. And as I mentioned, Tunbridge remain on top.
02:19Football now, and on the weekend, where Gillingham had a week off, our attentions turned to the
02:23non-league scene, where action in the FA Trophy second round consumed five of our Kent sides.
02:29Lowly Sittingbourne looked to make history in the competition with the eighth-tier team,
02:33never before progressing past this round. Meanwhile, Maidstone headed over to West
02:37Sussex to take on Lower League Horsham. Here's Bartholomew Hall.
02:40It ended much earlier than last year's historic run. George Alakobi's Maidstone United still had
02:48a leg in the race to Wembley in the FA Trophy, where they were on the road to face Horsham.
02:53However, just two minutes in, and Horsham's Lucas Rodriguez delivered a cross from the right,
02:58finding Daniel Adjikaie, who headed the hosts into an early lead,
03:02signalling the worst possible start for the Stones. It meant Maidstone then struggled to
03:07find their rhythm, and Horsham nearly doubled their advantage midway through the first half,
03:11when Adjikaie broke through on goal again, only for Alexis André Jr to make a crucial save.
03:21The Stones' best chance of the first half fell to Matt Bentley, but his close-range
03:25volley sailed over the bar, leaving the visitors frustrated as they went into the break trailing.
03:32Maidstone improved after the restart though, with much more energy,
03:35but Horsham's defence stood firm. A few substitutes later in the 74th minute,
03:42and a parried save from André Jr fell kindly to Rhys Myles-Meachams,
03:46who buried the loose ball to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
03:50There was late hope for the Stones though. In the 88th minute, Aaron Blair was brought down in the
03:55box, and the referee signalled for a penalty. Ben Brooks stepped forward for his club,
04:00slotting it home and making the score 2-1.
04:06With five minutes of added time, Maidstone pressed for an equaliser,
04:09but Horsham held on to secure their place in round three.
04:16Elsewhere in the trophy, Sittingbourne pulled off a record win over Winchester in what was a
04:20drama-fuelled match. After trailing at half-time, Ryan Maxwell's side equalised with a penalty in
04:25the 81st minute, before three players were red-carded, two for Winchester and one for
04:29the Brickies. The match went to penalties, where Joe Bocey netted the winner for Sittingbourne,
04:33sealing their place in round three and claiming £3,750 in prize money.
04:39Meanwhile, Folkestone, Tunbridge and Chatham were all knocked out of the competition,
04:42with the town also having to face a penalty shoot-out of their own.
04:45In the National League, it was further heartbreak for Ebbsfleet, who were thrashed 6-0 by play-off
04:49chasing Solihill Moores in a game that saw both sides reduced to 10 men. Despite dominating the
04:55ball for long periods with a numerical advantage in the first 45, which ended goalless, Ebbsfleet's
05:00attempts to tie it all together came apart in the second half. It's Ebbsfleet's biggest home
05:04defeat for more than three decades, and a furious Harry Watling wasn't holding back
05:08when he spoke to the press after the match.
05:11I'm gobsmacked. I'm livid. I've just spoke to the players in now and I've just been really
05:18clear in terms of what I've tried to do, which I think is the right thing since I've been here,
05:23is come out and protect them. I'm not having that today. Every single time the ball went up the
05:28other end, we looked slow, we looked off it, we looked a little bit scared. I can't accept
05:34players not running around on the football pitch, and I won't accept that. So I've had a strong
05:38conversation with the players and just said to them in now and certain terms, I won't be going
05:42out to defend you this week.
05:44They remain at the bottom of the table, and 11 points from relegation safety.
05:49And in the Izmian Premier, just one game this weekend from our Kent sides, and it was jubilation
05:53for top sitters Dover, who edged past a spirited Canvey Island at home. A stark contrast from
05:58Dover's recent seasons after 15 games played, with the coastal side a comfortable three points clear
06:03at the top of the standings.
06:08So congratulations to Sittingbourne. That's the first time they've made it to the round three
06:12of the FA Trophy. As announced in the draw this afternoon, the Brickies will take on
06:16National League Southside Enfield Town at home on the 7th of December. Ebsley also joined the
06:21competition. They've been drawn away against Sutton. So the very best of luck to both sides.
06:29And we'll have more knockout football later in the show, where Ellsworth Town ladies will be
06:33joining us to tell us about their giant killing of Reading in the Women's FA Cup.
06:38Now, next this evening, former Premiership rugby club Wasps has announced it's a step closer to
06:42its return to the game by securing land to build a new 28,000 seat stadium here in Kent. Whilst
06:48experts say a first professional side in Kent is long overdue, those against the proposal say the
06:54nearby villages simply can't cope with the demand it would bring on local traffic. Bartholomew Hall
06:59has more. When Wasps rugby club went into administration in 2022 and were relegated
07:05from rugby union's top flight, the thought of the Midlands team relocating to a new stadium
07:10here in Kent was nothing short of a pipe dream. But fast forward two years and now looking for
07:15a complete resurgence, the club has announced today it's bought land and is one step closer to
07:20building a 28,000 seater stadium, becoming the county's first professional rugby side.
07:26The club's disappeared. It's trying to come back, trying to come back in the championship. You know,
07:31Seven Oaks have been very welcome to us and Kent. So we just felt this was the best place. It's got
07:38a great rugby heritage down there. There's a lot of clubs. Whilst Wasps haven't announced where
07:43they've acquired land in Kent, the club had previously asked Seven Oaks council to include
07:47an allocation for a stadium at one of two locations near Swanley. But some residents,
07:52particularly those against the proposed 2,500 home garden village on Pedham Place, have been
07:57protesting since the plans were first put forward, saying there simply isn't enough space in the
08:01nearby villages to take so much demand. I think it'd be fantastic to have Wasps as a prestigious
08:07club in Kent. Without a doubt, it'd be fantastic to have them. Just very concerned about the
08:12location. And it's simply because of traffic flow, managing that on a sports weekend. Their
08:19average gates are about 8,500. So they're going to have to drive revenue some other way. And we
08:24suspect that might be through using the stadium for other purposes, in which case we're going to
08:30end up with traffic much more than just every other weekend. Joe Robinson is editor at Rugby
08:36World magazine and also plays for Swanley RFC as a fly half. He says a stadium will have the
08:41power to transform Kent's sporting landscape. It should have happened 15, 20 years ago. London
08:47Wasps, as they were known back then, are one of the biggest clubs in professional rugby. It's akin
08:53to Arsenal or Chelsea going bust. I think what I would say from a sporting perspective is that
08:59I've seen new stadiums be developed in areas. So naturally the net positive that that can have on
09:05an area and a town, specifically a town like Swanley, it can really help a society and really
09:11help sort of younger people specifically get into sport, which we know can improve mental health,
09:16improve fitness, improve a lot of things around someone's life. Wasps rugby has applied to enter
09:22the second tier of rugby union for the 25 to 26 season. But as well as viability on the pitch,
09:28the question now is if local resistance will prove an immovable opponent off it.
09:36Staying with rugby, in little more than a week, Maidstone player Lee Robshaw will be playing with
09:41England's visually impaired rugby squad for a home tournament. It's the first time he's had
09:45a call to the national side and will be playing in short 20 minute matches against the likes of
09:50Japan, Ireland and Wales, all in the hopes of lifting the Alex Basson Cup at Sutton and Epsom
09:55Rugby Club. Lee, who's registered blind with no sight in one eye, joined us on Kent Tonight last
10:00week. Tell me what it's like, the whole experience of being able to represent England.
10:04Yeah, it's good. It's hard work. A lot of traveling around and going to Stockport and London.
10:15It's every other week going to and from hard training with everybody.
10:23Visually impaired, I started in 2018 because I stopped playing mainstream football because I
10:31broke my ankle. And because of my vision, I realized that I needed to play visually impaired
10:40sport. So I started and went from there really. Absolutely. And of course, turning to sport as
10:47well and how much it's given you over the years. What is it about competitive sports like rugby
10:52and playing visually impaired rugby that gives so much back to you? Well, rugby, everyone is
11:00understand each other because everyone has the same condition playing. So you have the same
11:11mentality and understanding of each other. And visually impaired rugby is fast, it's disciplined
11:23and it's hard. Now we've reached halftime, which means it's time for a break. But coming up,
11:31more news, more sports news from right across the county, including former, including
11:38Aylesford, can't get my words out, Aylesford ladies knocking out former women's Super League
11:43side Reading in the first round of the FA Cup. The coach will be joining us in the studio to
11:48tell us all about that in a few minutes. See you after this short break.
12:18Transcribed by https://otter.ai
14:48.
15:12Hello and welcome back to Invictus Sport live here on KMTV. Now it's time to remind you that
15:17as well as watching us here at six p.m. every Monday, you can keep up to date with all the
15:20latest sports news, interviews and features from Invictus Sport by heading to our website,
15:24skamtv.co.uk and click on the sports tab. There you'll see videos like this one about an expansion
15:30announced for Buckmore Park, which will see the track's new method for finding the next
15:34era of racing driver right here in Kent. So many great British motorsport careers began
15:41passing through these corners, and that's what bosses here at Buckmore Park want to
15:45see continuing on into the future. But bosses say that it might not be on the track that the
15:51next Lewis Hamilton or Orlando Norris is discovered here. Instead, it will be over there. The plan is
15:57to replace a previously overlooked paddock building with a 20,000 square foot hub including
16:03a restaurant, sports bar and 18 top of the line motion simulators. We have obviously leisure
16:09karting and appealing to the general public is a big part of our business, but we also have a lot
16:15of the big F1 stars that have started here at Buckmore Park, and that is with our owner, driver
16:19and visiting series. So that's why it's really important to build the facilities so that they
16:24can still come to us. That's where we see the stars of sort of tomorrow coming through. So
16:29these facilities will also mean that they can come here and use the simulator rooms, which is now
16:34such an important part of training for a motorsport career. Behind the plans is husband and wife duo
16:40Leonora and Richard Martel-Certes, who say they want the circuit to become the go-to place for
16:45both racing leisure and competition. Following Formula One's burst in popularity since the
16:51release of Netflix's Drive to Survive, the track owners say they want to capitalise on Kent's new
16:56wave of motorsport fans and cater to its changing landscape. Buckmore Park has always been a place
17:02that motorsport fans and people when they're young get into karting and karting is typically
17:06the route that people go through for motorsport. We wanted to create somewhere that people could
17:09come whether they're into motorsport or motoring and it's somewhere that is family-friendly and
17:13they can come drive simulators, they can have some great food, drink, meet like-minded people
17:18and generally have a good time. The vision continues on, that's set by Leonora's father
17:23and motorsport legend John Certes, who bought Buckmore Park back in 2015.
17:28Yes, I think my dad would be really pleased to see what we're launching today.
17:33For him, he always had so many plans with Buckmore and sadly he wasn't really able to
17:38see his vision fulfilled but I know for certain that he'd be absolutely delighted with how that's
17:44going to secure the future of Buckmore as really staying at the forefront of not just karting but
17:49now motoring and motorsport in the UK. Buckmore Park has a long and at times complicated history
17:56from royal visits, future international stars passing through its ranks to almost shutting
18:01down entirely. But with planning approval alone standing in the way, it's hoped when the paddock
18:08opens in 2027 the Kent circuit will be future-proofed in the ever-evolving world of
18:13motorsport. Bartholomew Hall for KMTV at Buckmore Park.
18:20Meet our next guest this evening after knocking out former women's super league side Reading in
18:25the first round of the FA Cup, Aylesford ladies are for the first time ever preparing for the
18:30competition's second round. However the 3-1 home win wasn't their only bout of success in the run
18:36so far having racked up a whopping 21 goals and only conceding one. It's safe to say the cup magic
18:41is well and truly with Aylesford. Well I'm pleased to say some of the members join me in the studio
18:46now. Dwayne and George thank you both so much for joining us. Now take me through the game itself,
18:51what was the approach going into a game where you knew you were the underdogs? I think you've got
18:56to take precaution in every game and we've got a very good bunch of girls in our squad this year
19:01so I think we went into it fully expecting it to be a really tough battle from minute one to
19:05minute 90 but actually we had confidence, a lot of self-confidence in ourselves. The girls have
19:11had a really smashing season so far so we took it like we took every game in terms of making
19:18sure we're really solid at the back and actually go out, be really aggressive, take our chances and
19:23then like you say the magic of the FA Cup walks away with a three-man victory. And that score
19:29three-one, could you quite believe it? The celebrations were massive. Yeah it was a big
19:34day for the village so it's only the second time we've ever made the first round before but it's
19:40the first time we've won in that first round tie so to go ahead midway through the first half was
19:46obviously brilliant then we got pegged back conceding a penalty which they scored but then
19:51I think the cheers when we scored right in the half time and then in the second half as well and
19:57then full time was just brilliant and just having so many like young girls in our club as well was
20:04just like really good to give them a really good day that I can remember. Yeah you both said you've
20:07got a really fantastic group of girls and young girls up and coming through as well. We have to
20:11address of course we are talking to both of you men talking about the women's game of course but
20:16it's important in I suppose mentioning that when we look at sort of the men's game you don't really
20:21have any female managers of the men's game pretty much at all but in the women's game you sometimes
20:27do. What's that like? What's that dynamic like and I suppose what can you offer to the team
20:32and that difference between the men and women's game? Yeah like you said you don't actually find
20:37a lot of women coaching in a men's game but I think for us like I absolutely love managing
20:45in the women's game. I think all of our girls want to learn they're so coachable every time
20:51we're at training they're asking how can I get better every match just saying oh if this happens
20:56or what could we do to better it so as a coach it's really really enjoyable because you actually
21:01do that you coach loads and loads and loads in training and in match days so for myself
21:08from my aspect I actually love it and again I think when we look at a few of the girls in the squad
21:14and the questions they ask, their intellect, hopefully obviously one day that they become
21:19coaches themselves either in a women's game and inspire our student and our community or venture
21:26off kind of on their own adventure. And inspire a whole host of young girls up and coming as well
21:31is that something you've seen? Yeah absolutely so we've worked really hard on having a really thriving
21:36I guess women and girls section at the club so we've now got 13 teams from under eights all the
21:42way through to veterans players and we've also got like our little Wildcats program and girls
21:47development sessions so and even for the game against Reading we had our under nines, under
21:52tens with mascots for the game and the first team players were signing all grass at the end of the
21:56game as well so it's really something that we really focus on in terms of trying to really
22:01feed for the next generation of female players. And something we should add you came away 5-0
22:06in your game at the weekend where's all the goal scoring success come from? Well funny you say that
22:11I think whenever we look at other teams and obviously we think okay how can we beat this team
22:15how can be that team usually there's one or two players that score the goals but actually we've
22:21got a whole load of team a whole load of players that score the goals I think in the top 20 in the
22:27league I think we've got six or seven of the top goal scorers so I think as a whole group we've
22:33worked a lot of different ways we can score what best suits our players because we've got a lot
22:40of players that offer a lot of different things and if I'm honest I think the buzz and the vibe
22:45in the group because everyone's got such positive energy we play an extra 25-30 percent
22:53yeah we can score from the back I think my captain Alex she scored seven goals
22:59in about 12 games and then we've got our top scorer in the league well for us Cara who's on 13 now so
23:06yeah they come from everywhere and taking that positivity and that drive that you put in against
23:12a big one this weekend against Worthing a team a few leagues higher than yourselves how do you
23:16approach it how's it different? So I think we take every game in terms of as George says you know
23:23we think about how can we find ways to win how can we find ways to score so as you say they're
23:27two divisions higher so they'll go in as as the favourites as probably they rightly will do
23:33but you know we have a belief in our players and and how we manage things so we're hoping that you
23:38know being at home we'll have another big crowd so we had 296 for the Reading game all all packed
23:45into there to the 3G so hopefully we'll have another big crowd and the supporters also help
23:49us along but as you know hopefully we'll keep scoring the goals and get through another round
23:53and that's what's key about the community that come and watch and support as well they really
23:57are true fans all the way through what's the response like from the community and the fans
24:01in particular we've spoken about the young girls inspiring but what about the fans? I think after
24:06the Reading game it kind of hit me especially and all the girls because I think after obviously
24:11going back up in this first half the energy from the crowd just gave everyone a bit of goosebumps
24:17and then obviously when we scored a penalty in the second half obviously 3-1 we're actually like
24:22we're gonna win like we've deserved it at the end of the game just hearing the crowd cheer walking
24:27over clapping the fans clapping the community and the fact we just looked around and everyone had a
24:33smile on their face like you said like Duane said from the mascots to the parents of the players
24:39granddads of the players it just brought everyone together and those are the moments that we
24:44absolutely love here to talk about on Invictus Sport but love seeing from local teams and
24:49congratulations on all your success and best of luck this weekend and for the future and beyond
24:54thank you very much thank you cheers thank you now we've reached full time on today's episode but of
24:59course there's a few minutes of extra time to take a look at this week's action replay it's the
25:04segment where we take a look at the clips and pictures that you the KMTV audience have sent
25:08in of you taking part in sport so let's see what's in store for this week's action replay
25:13first up on today's action replay watch more than 10 million times on social media this video of a
25:20Canterbury punter has left many extremely impressed using the century-old technique
25:24known as legging the nonchalant punter smoothly passed through the narrow waterways
25:30next up a massive congratulations to St Michael's girls as they place ninth in the national IAP's
25:36finals earlier this month despite previously losing and drawing undeterred the girls kept
25:42their heads up and played some of their best football yet resulting in a 2-1 victory against
25:47St George's school allowing them to take that ninth place a massive well done to the St Michael's
25:53girls and finally over 100 NHS staff volunteers and members of the local community abseiled in
26:01the name of charity at Tunbridge Wells Hospital last month at the end of the event more than
26:0741,000 pounds was raised for the MTW hospitals charity the funds will help support ongoing
26:14projects at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust including a visual hub for stroke patients
26:21to help intensify rehabilitation that's it for this week's action replay don't forget it could
26:28be you in next week's edition just send your pictures and videos on social media or to sport
26:33at kmtv.co.uk that really is full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport if you want more from
26:41KMTV you can head over to our website kmtv.co.uk but that's all from me and our guests this evening
26:47I'll see you again next Monday, bye-bye.

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