The newly promoted champions arrive at Plainmoor unbeaten – and carrying momentum from a remarkable 12 months
TORQUAY UNITED v FOLKESTONE INVICTA
Enterprise National League South
Saturday 5 September 2026 | 3pm
Plainmoor
There are promoted teams who arrive at a new level hoping simply to survive. Then there are promoted teams who have not yet received the memo that the opposition is supposed to be more difficult.
Folkestone Invicta are firmly in the second category.
Last season’s Isthmian Premier Division champions arrive at Plainmoor unbeaten in their first five National League South matches, third in the table and fresh from successive 2-0 victories over Slough Town and Hemel Hempstead Town.
They have taken 11 points from a possible 15, scored 11 goals and conceded only three. Their postponed fixture against Ebbsfleet United means they have also played a game fewer than most of the division.
This is Folkestone’s first season at Step Two. So far, they look entirely at home.
THE 60-SECOND GUIDE
Club: Folkestone Invicta
Nickname: Invicta / The Stripes
Founded: 1936
Home: The Alcaline Stadium, Cheriton Road
Manager: Jay Saunders
Last season: 1st, Isthmian Premier Division
Current position: 3rd, National League South
Current record: Played 5, Won 3, Drawn 2, Lost 0
Goals: 11 scored, 3 conceded
Last two: Slough Town 0–2 Folkestone; Folkestone 2–0 Hemel Hempstead
Formation: 3-5-2
Three to watch: Joe Pigott, Donell Thomas and Kevin Lokko
The headline: Newly promoted, unbeaten and determined to prove last season was only the beginning.
THE STORY YOU NEED TO KNOW
Folkestone did not creep quietly into the National League South.
They powered their way here.
Jay Saunders’ side won last season’s Isthmian Premier Division with 96 points – 12 clear of runners-up Aveley – after losing only four of their 42 league matches.
They scored freely, defended properly and clinched the title with four games still to play, coming from behind to beat St Albans City 2-1. It was a season which established Folkestone as far more than simply another ambitious non-league club.
Saunders had only been appointed in March 2025, signing a four-year contract after successful managerial spells with Maidstone United, Margate and Tonbridge Angels. Within 13 months he had delivered the club’s first Isthmian Premier Division championship and taken Folkestone to the highest level in their history.
Promotion was not treated as the end of the project. It was treated as the next stage.
The early evidence suggests they were right to think that way.
THE SERIOUS BIT
Folkestone’s opening results tell us plenty.
They began with a thumping 5-1 victory over fellow newcomers Walton & Hersham before collecting creditable draws away to Maidstone United and at home to Chelmsford City.
They then produced what manager Jay Saunders described as a “really professional away performance” to win 2-0 at Slough, before completing an excellent Bank Holiday weekend by beating Hemel Hempstead by the same score.
That leaves the Stripes unbeaten after five games, with 11 goals scored and only three conceded. They have won their last two without conceding.
The shape has also been consistent. Folkestone have operated in a 3-5-2 throughout their opening five league matches, with a strong back three, adventurous wing-backs and two powerful forwards. The personnel have changed, but the structure has not.
Joe Pigott has generally provided the central focal point alongside Aaron Cosgrave, with John Akinde offering another highly experienced option. Donell Thomas and Alejandro Machado supply the movement and attacking support from midfield, while Ben Mason and Dan Quick give them energy and width.
Their second goal at Slough completed a patient 14-pass move. It was useful evidence that Folkestone should not be regarded simply as a physical or direct promoted side.
They possess a strong spine. Captain Kevin Lokko provides authority in defence, Alex Woodyard brings extensive EFL and National League experience in midfield, while Pigott gives them a proven goalscorer at the other end.
Folkestone’s results are not a novelty act. This is a well-constructed and well-coached team.
IN THE DUGOUT
Jay Saunders has a substantial record of success in non-league management.
During seven years in charge of Maidstone United, Saunders delivered three promotions in four seasons, taking the club from the Isthmian League South Division to the National League.
After subsequent spells with Margate and Tonbridge Angels, he joined Folkestone on a four-year contract in March 2025. At Tonbridge, Saunders had taken the club close to the National League South play-offs before establishing them as a competitive side at this level.
His impact at Folkestone was immediate. In his first full season, Invicta accumulated 96 points, lost only four league matches and secured the Isthmian Premier Division title with four games remaining.
Folkestone’s excellent beginning to life at Step Two suggests that momentum has survived promotion.
SUMMER REBUILD
Folkestone’s approach to promotion was based on evolution rather than revolution.
The core of their championship-winning squad remained, including captain Kevin Lokko, goalkeeper Ted Collins, Ben Mason, Jamie Fielding, Donell Thomas, Alejandro Machado and Adam Lovatt.
They then added considerable experience.
Former AFC Wimbledon, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth and Leyton Orient striker Joe Pigott had joined during the previous campaign and remained to lead the line at the higher level.
Midfielder Alex Woodyard, who has played more than 300 senior matches and represented clubs including Lincoln City, AFC Wimbledon and Colchester United, adds control and know-how.
Veteran striker John Akinde offers another formidable option, having spent much of his career in the EFL with the likes of Barnet, Lincoln, Colchester and Gillingham.
Saunders has also recently added forward Euan Mutale, increasing his attacking choices shortly before the trip to Plainmoor.
The headline departure was Jake Hutchinson, whose 24 league goals delivered both the Isthmian Premier Golden Boot and a major contribution to promotion. Folkestone have responded by spreading the attacking responsibility across a deeper and more experienced squad.
THREE TO WATCH
JOE PIGOTT
Pigott has started all five of Folkestone’s league games and scored in each of their last two home fixtures.
His penalty secured a point against Chelmsford before he opened the scoring in Monday’s 2-0 victory over Hemel Hempstead.
The 32-year-old has more than 400 senior appearances behind him, including extensive EFL experience with AFC Wimbledon, Ipswich Town, Portsmouth and Leyton Orient.
Strong in the air, intelligent in his movement and capable of bringing others into the game, Pigott provides the focal point in Folkestone’s front two.
DONELL THOMAS
Thomas has also been a regular starter and has become increasingly influential as Folkestone have adapted to the higher level.
He scored in both of their Bank Holiday victories, finishing a flowing team move at Slough before adding the second against Hemel. Against Chelmsford, he also struck the post during a lively attacking performance.
Quick, direct and willing to run beyond the two centre-forwards, Thomas appears to fit the “running ten” role highlighted by Jimmy Ball.
KEVIN LOKKO
The captain and ever-present defensive leader of the side.
Lokko has started all five league matches and anchors the back three at the heart of Folkestone’s 3-5-2. Invicta have conceded only three goals, kept successive clean sheets and are yet to fall behind in an away game this season.
A commanding centre-half with previous experience at Maidstone United, Dover Athletic, Harrogate Town, Aldershot Town and Woking, Lokko is also a threat from set-pieces. He scored the decisive goal when Folkestone secured last season’s championship against St Albans City.
There are no publicly reported fitness concerns surrounding Pigott, Thomas or Lokko, and all three started Monday’s victory over Hemel.
THE MANAGER’S VIEW
Jimmy Ball expects an uncompromising examination from one of the division’s early pace-setters.
“They’ve started very well,” said the Gulls boss. “They’re strong, they don’t concede many goals and they’re difficult to play against.
“They’ve got a good structure. They play 3-5-2, with two physical and aggressive centre-forwards, a running ten who goes beyond, aggressive wing-backs and a strong back three.
“It’s National League South: a hard, scrappy and determined team coming to beat Torquay United. It’s the same again – rinse and repeat.”
Ball is also demanding that his own side rediscover the attacking intensity which characterised much of last season.
“I’m hoping we see the way we approached games last season because that’s all I’ve ever asked for,” he said.
“I want to see the dynamic attacking impetus we brought to games last season. That’s what I’m asking for, that’s what I’m demanding every day – and that’s what I’m hoping to see on Saturday.”
WHEN WE LAST MET
There is very little shared history between Torquay United and Folkestone Invicta.
Indeed, the available records indicate that tomorrow will be the clubs’ first competitive meeting.
Folkestone have spent most of their existence within the Isthmian and Southern League systems, while the Gulls’ history was overwhelmingly in the Football League until 2014.
Promotion last season finally brought the two clubs together – a reminder both of Folkestone’s progress and of the variety this increasingly competitive division continues to provide.
MATCHDAY FACT FILE
Fixture: Torquay United v Folkestone Invicta
Competition: Enterprise National League South
Date: Saturday 5 September 2026
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Plainmoor, Torquay, TQ1 3PS
Supporters are encouraged to buy tickets in advance through the TUFC ticketing website, although matchday admission will also be available.
Turnstiles open ahead of kick-off, with Boots & Laces open for pre-match food and drink.
For those unable to attend, full live commentary will be available through TUFC Radio, with build-up from Plainmoor before kick-off. Jordan Dyer will join the commentary team.
Follow the club’s official website and social-media channels for confirmed team news, live match updates and post-match reaction.
THE VERDICT
Folkestone may be newcomers to National League South, but there is nothing naïve about them.
They arrive with a title-winning mentality, an experienced manager, proven senior players and the confidence generated by an unbeaten start. Eleven points, 11 goals and only three conceded represents an emphatic introduction to Step Two.
For Torquay, the challenge is clear.
Jimmy Ball’s side must match Folkestone’s physicality and energy, prevent Pigott and his strike partner from establishing themselves in the penalty area and avoid allowing Thomas and Machado to make unchecked runs from midfield.
They will also need patience against a disciplined back three which has quickly shown it can withstand pressure.
Folkestone’s position in the table is no early-season accident. They are organised, ambitious and travelling to Devon with no reason to feel inferior.
It promises to be a fascinating first meeting between two clubs whose immediate priorities are very different – but who will both regard three points at Plainmoor as an important statement.
Welcome to Plainmoor, Folkestone Invicta.
