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Join Bartholomew Hall with a roundup of Kent's sporting action.
On today's episode, we celebrate the Lionesses' victory on the European stage, and head to Alessia Russo's old club Bearsted F.C. as well as take a look at the Kent leg of the Baton of Hope relay for suicide awareness.
On today's episode, we celebrate the Lionesses' victory on the European stage, and head to Alessia Russo's old club Bearsted F.C. as well as take a look at the Kent leg of the Baton of Hope relay for suicide awareness.
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00:00Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:17up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall, here's what to expect on this Monday
00:22the 29th of July.
00:25A roaring success, with Kent's Alessia Russo's head in the game, the Lionesses are champions
00:30of Europe once again. Lions, strikers and bears, there really is no place like home as we meet
00:39the next generation of football stars in Beersted. And a symbol of hope, Kent's leg of the bat
00:46and relay for suicide awareness has been unveiled.
00:50But first, heroic legends, history makers and game changers. Just a few ways that Kent fans
00:56have been describing the back-to-back European champions. There were tears and cheers at
01:01Folkestone's harbour arm as the Lionesses became the first English side to win a major tournament
01:07away from home soil. Although they did go a goal down, the Kentish crowd never lost hope.
01:13And once the final penalty hit the top corner, you could probably hear the fans roaring with
01:18pride from across the channel. Finn McDermid was in Folkestone, capturing the ups and downs
01:23and the top bins.
01:24Well it's a rare feeling for us England fans, having a trophy to defend. And here in Folkestone,
01:29the harbour arm hosted 800 Lioness fans, praying for another victory on the European stage.
01:34No one can deny it's been a tournament of narrow victories for the Lionesses, excluding a 6-1
01:39thrashing of Wales. But did fans think that would be the case for the final?
01:432-1 England. 2-1. 3-1 to England.
01:472-1. 2-1. 2-1 win. 2 England.
01:51I reckon 3-1. 2-0 England. Lauren James goals.
01:55Yeah, I think it's going to be 1-0 to us. We're going to score in the first half. Come with that confidence.
01:59Go on England.
02:01Kent's own Alessia Russo started up top as well as the sky darkened. But even when the
02:06weather turned wet, spirits certainly weren't dampened ahead of kick-off.
02:10Come on England!
02:13It looked like a promising start, but only 20 minutes in and Spain sent England 1-0 down.
02:19But people weren't letting it affect their mood, especially when Chloe Kelly came on just
02:23before the end of the first half.
02:25How were you feeling at the half-time break?
02:27A bit disappointed, but still hopeful.
02:30I know I'm not happy with this score right now. We're playing so well, but I just don't
02:35see this.
02:36I'm nervous.
02:37We're going to pull it back.
02:39We got it. We got it.
02:40And they were right to be hopeful when the Kentish hero Alessia Russo scored to keep the
02:45Lionesses fighting, and the pressure lifted as cheers echoed around the harbour arm.
02:49Then it was extra time, and then on to penalties. And our first shot bounced off the keeper's
02:55gloves, and so the atmosphere turned tense. It was a back and forth that kept the harbour
02:59arm on their toes. Score, then save, cries of joy and shouts of frustration rang in the
03:04audience's ears. But then it was down to Chloe Kelly.
03:08Music blared out, plastic cups went flying, children and dogs were being held up, and
03:15there were hugs all around. England are dead.
03:18Yes! Come on, Lionesses! We brung it home again! Woo!
03:23I burst into tears. It was brilliant.
03:26I can't believe it! Back to back! Back to back!
03:29Yeah, back to back winning.
03:30Five major tournaments. She's made every final. The women's a legend. The women are glorious.
03:35What a time to be alive.
03:36Obviously, we've won. Was there ever any doubt?
03:39No doubt. No doubt. No doubt. No doubt. I didn't say 2-1 to England. Yes. And we did it.
03:51Can I have some formula? Yeah. It actually feels like we were there. It feels so good. I can't even believe it was amazing.
03:56800 of us turned out and watched 120 minutes of patience, of pressure, and then of penalties.
04:03Never before has an English senior team won an international trophy back to back, except now.
04:10The Lionesses will be celebrating, the country will be celebrating, and I'm sure Kent will be celebrating as well.
04:15Finn McDermott for KMTV, here in Folkestone.
04:20And Kent's own Alessio Russo is now on the international stage, of course, but she began her football journey as a young girl at Beersted FC.
04:29And today, the club unveiled a mural, celebrating her success and aiming to inspire the next generation of footballers.
04:36Our reporter, Gabriel Morris, has been looking back at her career and the legacy she's left behind.
04:42Years of hard graft happened on this pitch, shaping the lioness she is today.
04:48These two young footballers, trained at Beersted FC, see Alessio Russo as their inspiration, especially after meeting her before the Euros.
04:58Good luck, Beersted Bells! Good luck! Yeah!
05:02And if it weren't for Russo's equaliser yesterday, the final score might have told a different story.
05:08She was amazing and her goal, it was just amazing.
05:13It was absolutely brilliant, the crowd went wild.
05:17Holly and Phoebe say they picked up a few tricks from their idol's performance and can't wait to test them out on the pitch.
05:25I would love to be a lioness like Russo because it's just amazing to be in front of a crowd and performing.
05:34What about you?
05:35I want to be like Russo because I know that she'll be more confident in what she was doing.
05:44This morning the club revealed a mural to mark Russo's rise from local talent to global star.
05:50She started her football journey at West Farley before moving to Beersted FC where she played for both the girls and the boys teams.
06:00She scored 76 goals in one season. She's just showed that little bit of inspiration to the rest of the girls.
06:07And it came through really on Sunday as well, what her determination is.
06:14Russo says she couldn't wait to play after school and in 2010 she led her school to victory in the KM's Mini World Cup.
06:23But after that she moved on to play for Charton, then joining Chelsea before heading to the States for university where her football career kept climbing.
06:33Eventually returning to England and joining the national team.
06:38And as they say, the rest is history.
06:41Despite her rise, Russo has stayed close to Beersted FC.
06:45Her legacy has helped boost girls football here with more teams forming and more young players signing up.
06:52For the girls this season, it's their first season playing together as under-8s.
06:55The Beersted have given us the go-ahead to run an under-8s team.
06:58So it's actually the first ever under-8s team for Beersted FC.
07:02So it's a privilege and an honour to run this under-8s team.
07:07And hopefully we smash them out of the pot this season.
07:10Now all eyes turn to the Women's World Cup in two years.
07:14Holly and Phoebe might be a bit too young for that.
07:17But who knows, we could see them on the international stage in 2035 following Russo's footsteps.
07:25Gabriel Morris for KNTV in Beersted.
07:28And we'll have plenty more reaction to England's second Euros win in a row later in the programme.
07:35But elsewhere today, Gillingham have ended their pre-season schedule with a win over Dartford.
07:40Joe Gabode, whose future at Gilles has been in doubt following rumours of a Luton Town move,
07:45was the saviour of the day, scoring twice for Gillingham to make it 2-0 against the Darts.
07:51And not a bad goal for it as well.
07:54It was the last outing for Gillingham before they head to Accrington-Stanley
07:57for the start of their League Two campaign this coming Saturday.
08:01And this is what the manager had to say. Gareth Ainsworth spoke to us after the match.
08:05I don't like pre-season as a player because it's a lot of fitness work.
08:08We've worked a lot on the mental side as well.
08:10We've worked on an identity and a sort of structure and organisation that we want to put in place.
08:16And as I've said, this is going to take time.
08:19It doesn't come overnight, you know, an identity. You just can't do it.
08:23You know, look at your Man United and your Chelsea and what they've tried to do over the years.
08:27It's really tough, you know.
08:28Man United still can't get hold of something that they want.
08:30There's a lot of games to come up.
08:32There's a lot of times there's going to be a rollercoaster up and down emotions.
08:35But I'm really pleased with the group where we are.
08:38Over to rugby now and Westmalling's Rosie Galligan has got the call-up to join England
08:43for the Women's Rugby World Cup.
08:45It comes after a successful time in the 22 tournament
08:48where the Saracens' Lock scored a hat-trick in a 75-0 thrashing of South Africa.
08:53The Red Roses are hoping to go one step further than back then
08:57when they lost a dramatic final to New Zealand 34-31.
09:01Hosts England will be kicking off the tournament against the USA
09:04at the Stadium of Light on the 22nd of August.
09:08And all-rounder Joey Everson has extended his contract with Kent.
09:13The 23-year-old will stay with the county
09:15until at least the end of their 2027 season.
09:18During his time with Kent, Everson's made 96 appearances for the county
09:22across all formats, scoring 2,862 runs.
09:27He'll continue his journey against Norfolk in a one-day match next Monday
09:32before starting their 50-over campaign against Sussex Sharks three days later.
09:36Now it's time to remind you that you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news,
09:41interviews and features from right here on the show by heading over to our website
09:45kmtv.co.uk.
09:47When you get there, just click on the Sports tab and you'll be able to see videos like this one about rowing.
09:52Today, Sink Ports Rowing Club in Favisham have taken place in the Skiffy Worlds,
10:04an international rowing competition specific to coastal rowing boats.
10:08I think it's 79 of the boats you've seen out on the water today, the St. Isles Skiffs,
10:13are going to be competing.
10:15I think there's 2,000 people going.
10:17So it's this world championships, people from four continents,
10:21and we'll be representing Favisham.
10:24As part of a community boat building project,
10:26many people across Favisham have helped build the boat that the team are rowing with today, dubbed Minerva.
10:32I also spoke with a member that said rowing with the community has changed her life significantly.
10:37It's been really useful and helpful in my recovery from two serious illnesses,
10:44one brain hemorrhage and secondly overcoming cancer,
10:48which was my last chemotherapy session, which was December.
10:53Hoping to not embarrass ourselves, basically.
10:57But who knows, we could come back with a medal, which would be fantastic.
11:01As a person that likes to see the glasses half full as opposed to half empty,
11:07it would be fantastic if we did come back with something,
11:11but it's competing is the main thing and just being part of it.
11:15Well, we wish the team the best of luck for the rest of the competition this week
11:19and we hope to see a few gold medals when they return to Kent.
11:22Kai Wei for KameTV in Favisham.
11:25Thank you, Tom.
11:28Plenty more videos just like that over on our website.
11:31Time now for a break.
11:32We have of course reached half time, but in the second half,
11:35we'll be speaking more about the Lionesses
11:37and hearing from potentially your next favourite WSL club.
11:41All that and plenty more after this.
11:55Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV.
12:11Now, if you're anything like us here at the show
12:13and are somewhat feeling a sense of emptiness now that Euro 2025 is over,
12:17well, fear not because the start of the Women's Super League season is just about to start.
12:22It's the top level of women's football in England
12:25and you need not look too far from home if you need a team to start supporting.
12:29The London City Lionesses, who were founded back in 2019,
12:33have become the first independent club to reach the top flight.
12:36And despite the name, they do have a few fair ties to us here in Kent,
12:40playing out their matches just across the border in Bromley
12:43and training at a brand new centre in Owlsford.
12:46The club's managing director tells me they're hoping to pick up a few new fans here in Kent.
12:51I spoke with Sarah Batters earlier.
12:53Sarah, thank you very much for joining us today on Invicta Sport.
12:56It's good to have you on.
12:58First of all, though, what's your reaction to yesterday's win?
13:01Where were you? What's today been like?
13:03It was brilliant, the win yesterday.
13:06So we're in training camp at the moment in Holland.
13:09And so we're watching it with all of our players.
13:13And some of them are under 23 England Lionesses.
13:16And that gave a different element to watching it
13:19because they're supporting not only our England players, but their friends.
13:23But it was a nervy watch.
13:26But it was brilliant that they did it in the end.
13:29And two on the bounce is a great result.
13:32No, it's fantastic.
13:33And of course, a whole new generation now of young Lionesses and future Lionesses
13:38will be inspired to take it forward and see what England looks like in the future.
13:43Yeah, that's the thing.
13:44You know, after the first Euros inspired a generation of girls to start playing football.
13:49And we've seen the supporter base and people interested in women's football grow.
13:54So winning again is just going to multiply that, I think.
13:58And we've had record attendances during the Euros, record TV audience.
14:02And so it just pushes that momentum to keep growing.
14:06Absolutely.
14:07And of course, you've got a professional stake in the growth of women's football as well.
14:11There will be a lot of young football fans turning to the WSL, especially here in Kent now.
14:16London City Lionesses, well, that's the club to go to, surely, for Kent football fans.
14:21A hundred percent.
14:22So we're very proudly based in Kent training in Ellsford,
14:26redeveloping the training ground to make it one of the world's leading trading centers
14:31for girls and women's football.
14:34And we're playing our matches at Bromley at Hayes Lane.
14:37And, you know, we're giving girls in Kent the opportunity to watch these stars
14:42that they've seen at the Euros in their local team.
14:47So this summer we've been busy transferring players, buying new players.
14:51And we've got some of the captains from various European teams
14:55now playing for London City Lionesses.
14:57So they can come and see the likes of Daniel Banderdonk from Holland,
15:02Cosimo Arslani from Sweden,
15:05Sani Franci from Finland,
15:07and come and watch them play here in Kent.
15:10I mean, the WSL is the place to be at the moment, isn't it?
15:13We've seen it over the past few years, the amount of international players
15:16that have moved over to play with the best.
15:18So it's the best place to be.
15:20And for yourselves, the first time in the league as well,
15:22the first independent club to make it there.
15:25What's it been like for you, the growth since 2019?
15:28Yeah, so we're very proud that we've made history to be the first independent
15:33women's football club in the WSL.
15:35The season last year was very intense, very competitive.
15:40I mean, it went down to the wire.
15:42But we're just really looking forward to joining those teams.
15:45And we're still pinching ourselves a little bit when we look at the fixture list
15:49in our first matches at the Emirates against Arsenal.
15:52And then we welcome Manchester United to Hayes Lane, you know,
15:58followed by all the other clubs that are well-known and well-supported
16:03for being tied to men's Premier League clubs.
16:05So it's, you know, hugely exciting.
16:08We're really preparing ourselves to compete.
16:11And we're going to be welcoming, you know,
16:13probably all of those Lionesses, more or less.
16:16A couple of them play in the US, but welcoming them to our stadium this season.
16:21Absolutely. And that must be one of the challenges that you face as an independent club,
16:24not being tied to, you know, names of football institution,
16:28the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea.
16:31So being that independent voice, picking up new fans and the success of the Lionesses,
16:35especially here in the South East, must be so important.
16:38So important.
16:40It's a huge benefit to be independent in the way that we can do the right thing for women's football,
16:45get the best experts, treat our players the way, you know, female first.
16:52But the downside of it is not having that men's club we're associated to
16:56and that supporter base that we can draw from.
16:58So we have to work hard for every single fan that we have at London City.
17:02But we do a really great job on a match day when the girls will meet with the fans and sign autographs.
17:09We have a lot of fun football games, face painting, et cetera, to get people to come and try women's football
17:16and come and watch us.
17:17And I think they'll be delighted by the quality that they see on the pitch
17:20and hopefully become London City Lionesses fans where it's just a welcoming, inclusive, you know,
17:26family atmosphere and a great club to support, if I'm a bit biased myself.
17:30Of course, of course.
17:31I've been to a WSL match myself in person.
17:33It was at Chelsea's Stadium and it was an incredible day.
17:38I really enjoyed it.
17:39I wanted to ask about, I mean, we've been speaking with Bearstead Football Club,
17:43where of course Alessia Russo is from, Maidstone, just around the corner from where we are.
17:47Lots of youngsters there looking at what the Lionesses have done now,
17:51wanting to make it in the world of football themselves.
17:54Do you have any plans to look at some of those grassroots football clubs
17:57and maybe pick out the future London City Lionesses?
18:02So we have an academy at London City Lionesses.
18:05We've got four age groups, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 21s.
18:10In May, we held open trials.
18:13So we saw many of grassroots players from across Kent come and try.
18:17And that will continue to do.
18:19Grassroots clubs in Kent also have the opportunity to apply to become one of our sister clubs.
18:26And being a sister club means that you'll be able to take advantage of opportunities of coaching sessions,
18:33open training or being mascots on the day, on our match days.
18:38We'll just be shortly launching the application to become our sister club for next season.
18:44So grassroots clubs with girls teams here to keep a lookout for that.
18:48Of course, I'm sure they'll be keeping their eyes out for that.
18:51Finally then, it's your debut WSL season.
18:54You're currently training away in Holland.
18:57What's the ambition for the season ahead?
19:00Our ambition is way beyond staying up.
19:04Our ambition is to really go up and challenge.
19:07And that's why it's very clear we're investing in our team and some of the talent that we're bringing in.
19:14Not just really seasoned international Champions League level players, but kind of promising youth players.
19:21We've just signed Taya Goldin and Freya Godfrey, who were with us last season,
19:28who are two of promising England talents for the future.
19:31And combining that with the international European experience we're bringing in,
19:35hopefully will be enough and a good recipe for us to really challenge in the WSL.
19:42Well, Sarah, thank you very much for joining us today and best of luck for the season ahead.
19:46We'll be cheering you on as Kent's team, despite the name, we'll be cheering you on.
19:51Thanks very much.
19:54And of course, the best place to keep up to date with all the latest football news is by reading Kent online.
19:59Did you also know you can have your weekly digest of non-league football news by signing up on the website for your email alerts.
20:07You get it straight into your email inbox every Monday.
20:10You can also sign up for all the latest Jill's alerts too.
20:14And I think I'll be campaigning for a WSL one now that Kent has a team pretty much in the WSL.
20:21Now, though, switching gears slightly as we come to a close on today's programme,
20:25more than 130 people across Kent are set to carry an Olympic-style relay torch across the county in aid of suicide prevention.
20:33This year's Baton of Hope will travel from Medway through to Maidstone before heading to Canterbury and finishing off in Margate.
20:40Daisy Page has been finding out more about what the movement stands for.
20:44Hope will travel through Kent and Medway on September the 22nd, as the world's largest suicide prevention campaign has the county placed on its map.
20:52The Baton of Hope Tour is a growing movement aspiring to a zero-suicide society through training, boosting conversation to eliminate stigma, shining a spotlight on support and much more.
21:04The day is set to start here at Mid-Kent College before more than 130 Baton Bearers carry it throughout the county.
21:12The torch will journey across the River Medway to Rochester Cathedral, then make its way onto Maidstone where it will see a number of landmarks such as Maidstone's United Gallagher Stadium, the County Hall and Mote Park.
21:25Then being passed through Canterbury by Baton Bearers before making its final stop through Margate.
21:32The Baton's final county stop will be here at Dreamland where there will be the evening of hope.
21:37There will be singers, dancers and poetry bringing the community together.
21:42The Baton is the only known physical symbol of mental health and is hoped to send a message to the whole of the UK.
21:49The message for me, and I think the charity would agree, is just that, you know, you're not alone.
21:54And I think as well as honouring our loved ones that we've lost to suicide, but also just the people that are struggling or have lived experience, you know, the survivors.
22:03It's just about saying that you're not alone and just opening up those conversations.
22:07You know, talking about suicide, getting rid of that stigma and that taboo that, you know, if you talk about it, it's this, you know, dirty word.
22:13And I just think by having something physical that people can see and touch and hold, it just brings to life those conversations.
22:21Each Baton Bearer, a part of the movement, carries it through the county with their own personal story.
22:27I want to carry that baton in the name of everyone that's not just lost to suicide, but people battling with those thoughts.
22:34There are so many people out there, especially that we work with in the charity, that they live with those thoughts day in, day out.
22:40And this for me is trying to carry that baton to say enough is enough.
22:43We need to stand up against suicide and prevent it.
22:47The nationwide baton tour is set to start in Blackpool on the 1st of September, visiting 20 locations before ending in Wrexham on the 4th of October.
22:57Daisy Page for KMTV.
23:00If you have been affected by the issues raised in this report, the Samaritans can be reached on 116 123.
23:07A very important conversation there.
23:12And don't forget, you can call 116 123, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to reach the Samaritans.
23:19From me, that is it from us on today's Invicta Sport.
23:23We've reached full time and it is full time on my journey here as well.
23:26This is my last episode before I'm handing the reins of a show I saw from very, very first episode all the way through to now.
23:32What better way to finish it with a double Lioness European back-to-back championship.
23:38Thank you very much girls for giving me a good send off.
23:41That is it from me.
23:42As I say, Finn will be here next week.
23:44Thank you very much for watching.
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