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Join Finn Macdiarmid with a roundup of Kent's sporting action.
On today's episode we meet the 18 year old youth football manager who's using the beautiful game to raise money for UNICEF and Children in Gaza, and we take a look at the football results from the first weekend of the League 2 season.
On today's episode we meet the 18 year old youth football manager who's using the beautiful game to raise money for UNICEF and Children in Gaza, and we take a look at the football results from the first weekend of the League 2 season.
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TVTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:24up all of Kent's sporting action.
00:26I'm Finn McDermott and here's what you can expect on this Monday, the 4th of August.
00:32Dartford Derby, a pre-season clash with Ebb's fleet against a strong Dartford side.
00:38Roaring on London, Kent's football fan join national celebrations as the Lionesses celebrate
00:43their victory in London.
00:46And a kick for hope, we meet the 18-year-old manager heading a charity match for UNICEF.
00:55But first tonight, an Oakendon bike polo club is calling for more women to join the sport.
01:01The sport itself dates back to the Victorian era and the sport even featured in the 1908
01:06Olympic Games.
01:07The club described bike polo as the sport you've never heard of but it does need more ladies.
01:14The Oakendon Bells are the only female team in the country and they want more women to
01:18play against and hope that the sport will grow that way.
01:23The members are also hoping that more female teams will be formed ahead of the Union Cycliste
01:27Internationale World Championships in 2027 so they also have an opportunity to participate.
01:34In other news, Ben Compton scored a career best as Kent drew their county championship
01:38Division 2 lap match against Leicestershire in Canterbury.
01:43Newton hit 221 and Harry Finch at 54 but a positive result was far off as the game was
01:49heavily affected by rain, only 9.5 overs bowled.
01:54Kent reached 445 to 8 when Bad Light stopped play and stayed bottom.
02:01Head coach Odd Adam Hollyoak said the rain on the third day put an end to any chance of a
02:06result.
02:07But it was a really good wicket.
02:10In total, Kent gained 13 points from the game however they had been issued an 8 point
02:15penalty earlier in the week.
02:18Also, a member of the Thanet Roadrunners broke the club women's marathon record and there
02:23was a lot of celebration to be had.
02:26Ruby Jones had a tough running journey.
02:29She was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2019.
02:33And after moving back in with her parents, Jones used running as an incentive to turn
02:38a corner not only in her life but in exercise as well.
02:41Her target was to break her club record of 3 hours, 6 minutes and 55 seconds.
02:47And after not quite beating her time at the New York Marathon, she worked with her trainer
02:51and finished the London Marathon in 2 hours, 56 minutes and 21 seconds.
02:58Now let's take a look back at this weekend's football results.
03:01A particularly interesting one with a Kent Derby you won't want to miss.
03:15On this week's Football Roundup we head to Prince's Park where Dartford are preparing
03:19for an improvement on their missed playoff last season.
03:22They play host to a higher league opposition of Epps Fleet United for a pre-season friendly.
03:27Before the whistle blows to kick the game off and in only the fifth minute the balls worked
03:31into the box by the fleet and headed off the post to put them 1-0 up so fast you could barely
03:36see it.
03:37But Dartford don't let up.
03:39They earn themselves a penalty after Ollie Box is brought down, well, in the box.
03:43So Samir Karathars steps up but as is, effort saved by Mark Cousins.
03:47Now at this point the darts have every reason to be looking at the grass but instead Karathars
03:52redeems himself playing a lovely chip from just inside the box getting his revenge on
03:57the fleet keeper.
03:58He must be as pink in the face as his shirt is after that one.
04:02Well that ended the first half 1-1 but Fleet don't let that break stop them.
04:06They had come back in just 10 minutes with a looping cross passing straight by Johnny Henley
04:10for an easy finish by Magdalau.
04:13Now the fleet might have been thinking it was a done deal at this point but the darts came
04:16back with a free kick and header by Callum Jones to complete the score at 2-2.
04:21We heard from Ebb's fleet manager Josh Wright after the match.
04:24In that game in general, I had a lot of frustration today because I think there was so much and
04:31I said to him at half time, so much in the first half that I liked and I loved but so much
04:36that I really, really disliked.
04:39It had a pre-season sort of feel to it.
04:42I felt like there was a few going through, not so much the motions but thinking about
04:48next week, thinking about the week coming up and I get it, I've been there as a player
04:52and you slightly protect yourself but just the basics, the basics of the game which make
04:58you successful I thought weren't right today.
05:00Both teams will be looking to move up the football pyramid this season and it was a strong
05:04showing from the darts to grab a draw, just a shame about that penalty.
05:09Elsewhere in the National League South, the Angels also featured in a friendly beating
05:13King Stonian and next week, they'll face Slough Town at home whilst Maidstone are away
05:17to Hemel Hempstead and Ebb's fleet head to Dagenham and Redbridge.
05:20Elsewhere, the Gilles played out their first game of the new season and earned themselves
05:24a draw against Ackhampton Stanley.
05:26But it wasn't exactly total football, they didn't get a single shot on target, their only
05:30goal coming from an own goal courtesy of Stanley defender Devon Matthews.
05:34But the Gilles could redeem themselves when they host Walsall next Saturday at 3.
05:38And in the Isthmian Premier, Chatham saw success in their midweek friendly against Bromley,
05:43beating them 1-0 whilst Starford drew to Ebb's fleet.
05:46Coming up, the Chats will head to St Albans, Folkestone to Chichester City while Ramsgate
05:50host Whitehawk.
05:51That's all for this week's Football Roundup.
05:55And if you want some more football news, don't forget you can keep up to date with it by reading
06:00Kent Online.
06:03You can also have your weekly digest of Gilles news sent directly to your email inbox.
06:08Just search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the website for all the latest written
06:12transfer news, match reports and interviews.
06:14And if the Gilles isn't your cup of tea, well there's plenty more email alerts to choose
06:18from including all the latest non-league football news too.
06:22Now there was also some information about that bike polo story we talked about earlier.
06:27In fact, we spoke to one of the bike polo players about how they're trying to develop the sport.
06:32So bike polo is a five-man sport played on bikes with mallets.
06:36So it's horse polo, but bikes, but also then add in hockey and football tactics.
06:40So a lot, but how it works is quite simple.
06:44You have your goalkeeper, you've got four players and you just have to score a goal.
06:48Sure.
06:49So what about is, like when you're actually playing, what about is exciting?
06:53What about is exhilarating?
06:55What's exhilarating is first we have to go fast.
06:58You've got to move the ball quickly and hastily up the pitch.
07:01It's a rugby sized pitch. It's not a small pitch. You have to travel.
07:04And you've got to hit the ball with the mallet at speed,
07:08while also making sure you're keeping yourself clear and not getting in people's way.
07:12So it's, it's so fun because you have to constantly keep thinking moving
07:17and you're part of a team. So you have to think constantly, where are you?
07:20Where are you? And when you score that goal, it is so good.
07:25And last week, were you one of the Kent fans who joined thousands lining the streets of London
07:29to cheer on the Lionesses at their homecoming parade?
07:32Well, if you weren't, then you wouldn't have seen an open-top bus
07:35that carried the team through the capital before they appeared on stage with some surprise guests
07:39to celebrate a landmark moment in football history.
07:42The pride in the crowd, sorry, showed just how deeply they've inspired the nation,
07:46as Abbey Hook found out.
07:50A royal welcome home for the Queens of Europe.
07:58We're not creative enough, we're not positive enough.
08:00Me too.
08:02We'll go on getting back because I'll get back because I'll get back
08:22There's lots of ways to win a football match, and we repeatedly did it at the hard rate.
08:37But I think that you can see how much we care about playing for England, how much we love it.
08:42What goes through your mind?
08:43Pressure.
08:44Woo!
08:45Pressure!
08:46Woo!
08:47I feel so good.
08:49Your young player.
08:50Woo!
08:52Woo!
08:53Sweet Caroline, bop, bop, bop.
08:58The times never seem so new.
09:01So good! So good! So good!
09:04I've been inclined, bop, bop, bop.
09:09To believe that we've all won the now kind.
09:16Well, they were certainly on the road to European back-to-back championships and today arrived to celebrate a moment in football history.
09:27One kilometre of tears and cheers from both loyal and new fans.
09:33It was a parade to the palace fit for a pride of lionesses.
09:38Woo!
09:40I just think it's really inspirational for young children. It's showing them that resilience is really good. If you keep trying and trying, you will succeed.
09:50Woo!
09:51Absolutely buzzing. This is a moment we've been waiting for for a very long time.
09:56Yeah, super excited. So proud of the lionesses. I just think it's amazing.
10:00It just shows you can do anything. And, you know, especially now with football, girls are better than the boys, let's face it.
10:07So, I think it just shows what amazing role models. They're all brilliant. So, fantastic.
10:13It has been a massive thing for women. I am so happy. It's boosted so much. Like, the amount of people that have showed up today is crazy.
10:21I think I've had about seven heart attacks, but I think we'll be all right. As a footballer myself, it gives you hope that one day that you might be able to do that.
10:28And seeing, like, the young ones coming on, I think playing at a top level, being able to do that, it's just like a dream.
10:36It's just amazing watching football with her. It makes long memories. She plays football herself, plays academy football.
10:42So, all the other parents who have gone out and supported their girls in the Lioness can sympathise all the journey and all the money they put in travelling around to play football.
10:51Amazing time. Yeah, I came up with my daughter. She's a huge, huge Lioness fan. Watched all the games on TV.
10:57Had heart attacks in the semi-finals, the finals. Yeah, nerve-racking, but great to come up here.
11:02See them come past on the bus. Yeah, amazing.
11:04Such a great atmosphere. We had to come up. The atmosphere is so different to the men's game. It's just such a nice family feeling. Everyone's happy. Everyone's here for the same reason. It's good intentions. Yeah.
11:14It's been so good, especially with women's football as well. It's like how far it's come with all these people here.
11:19Much better. Much better than the men. I think they should do a men v women. Men v women. Who would win? Probably the women.
11:27Yeah. They've changed minds and perceptions of women in sport and just what's possible when you never give up.
11:36They're champions of Europe in 2025, but they'll be champions of fans' hearts forever.
11:43Abi Hook for KMTV.
11:51That's all we have time for. See you just after this short break.
11:55We'll see you next time.
12:25Bye.
12:55Bye.
12:56Bye.
13:25Bye.
13:26Bye.
13:55Bye.
13:56Bye.
14:25Bye.
14:26Bye.
14:55Bye.
14:56Bye.
14:57Bye.
15:07Bye.
15:10Hello and welcome back to Invictus Sport live here on KMTV.
15:15Now, motorsports racer Jake Hill suffered a major setback in defending his British Touring
15:21Car Championship title after illness forced him to withdraw from the Croft Round.
15:26After feeling unwell during practice, Hill was diagnosed with a viral infection and ruled
15:31out of racing by medical staff.
15:33His team, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, did consider substituting in Colin Turkington.
15:38But after a run out for Turkington in practice too, they decided to pull the number one car
15:42from the remainder of the meeting.
15:44He's now 130 points behind leader Tong Imgram, with four rounds remaining.
15:51In other news, an American football team from Maidstone have won their league with a 100%
15:56record.
15:57The South East Legion, under-19's team, travelled down to Berkshire on Sunday, where they only
16:01needed one win.
16:03Tattle's success was theirs after their opponents, Berkshire Renegades, forfeited the match due
16:07to a player shortage.
16:09Both sides still played a friendly match and the South East Legion team won 23-0.
16:14Coach Lee Parsons said there was a feeling of elation at the end, and the Legion have
16:18been seeded number one for the four-team national finals, which will take place in Oxford on
16:22August 16th.
16:25The manager of Aylesford FC's under-15 girls team has organised a charity match, all to
16:30raise money for UNICEF and the Gaza Children Appeal.
16:33The match will see Traders 11 face off against Apnair United this Saturday at Aylesford FC.
16:38Well, I spoke with manager Krish Patel earlier.
16:41Well, thank you so much for joining us, Krish.
16:44And I suppose my first question is, where did this all start?
16:47Where did the idea of the charity match really come from?
16:50Well, when we're, I'm always been into football and me working with our football club and with
16:58the girls team so far, it's, I thought, when looking recently where Diego Jota has sadly
17:04passed away, football comes together for things like this.
17:07So, for charity, we thought, what can we do?
17:10We like charity.
17:11We like to help people.
17:12Let's do a football match, bring everyone together, get lots of money in and help the
17:16children.
17:17I see.
17:18And you're also the coach of the Aylesford under-15 girls.
17:22Tell us a bit about how that started.
17:24So, about two years ago, I was introduced to John Young.
17:30He was the coach for this team and he introduced me to the girls.
17:36We started, I just started off as an assistant coach, then we went through one season.
17:41We won the league.
17:42We came up to Aylesford.
17:44We moved to Aylesford.
17:46We managed to get to Division One.
17:50From Division One, we finished second this year, got to the League Cup final as well.
17:54Sadly, lost that in extra time, but we managed to do all them achievements and they thought
18:01that it was the right opportunity for me to step in as manager now and take over and
18:05take the girls to the next step.
18:07Brilliant.
18:08And, obviously, Aylesford are a local team and we're going to be seeing some local teams
18:14in that charity match.
18:15It's called Kick for Hope and it's all in support of UNICEF Gaza Children Appeal.
18:20Tell us a bit about these teams, Apne FC and Trades 11.
18:23Talk to us a bit about them.
18:24So, Trades 11, their sponsor is kindly sponsored by Reto Interior.
18:29So, we've decided that all people who work in trade, so builders, electricians, plumbers,
18:34all who can be connected or not connected to Reto Interiors have come together and they've
18:39been part of that team.
18:40Where, Apne FC, our sponsor is kindly sponsored by Coscutter Mepham, they are obviously a local
18:47shop there.
18:48So, for that team, we've locally just found many people of all different cultures and
18:53races and we've brought them together to have two different teams there.
18:57Tell us a bit about where the conversation started that it was going to go towards UNICEF
19:02and the Gaza Children Appeal.
19:05So, me and my team, we were looking at many different charities and we thought this is
19:10a huge, huge charity that is a big problem at the moment where we've heard a lot about
19:15Gaza recently in the news and all this.
19:17So, we thought, okay, this year we're going to look at Gaza, we'll look at the children
19:20specifically as we believe that the children have done nothing wrong to be treated this way,
19:25to have no reason to be continuously getting hurt and stuff like that, where it's coming
19:32from political views and stuff like that.
19:34So, we believed this year Gaza Children Appeal was the right one, but in the future we could
19:38always look at what the high topics are.
19:42I see.
19:43And actually, I have a quote from you here, it says, this is more than just a game, it's
19:46a chance to use the power of sport to stand in solidarity with the children.
19:50Every donation, every cheer from the sidelines helps make a difference.
19:53So, what do you think the atmosphere is going to be like on that Saturday?
19:56Talk to us a bit about that.
19:58Well, we hope, we hope this Saturday to have lots and lots of fans come down from all over
20:03the place.
20:04We're going to have lots of family and friends and it's just going to be a nice family event
20:08for everyone and they can, it's five pound donation fee for you to enter to come and
20:12watch us all play.
20:14And it's just all the, all, all the money that we've made so far, which is around ÂŁ2,300
20:19will go straight to UNICEF, which is already in our charity pot.
20:23That's amazing.
20:24Just to ask Krish, how old are you?
20:27I'm 18 years old.
20:28You're 18.
20:29So that's, that's incredible.
20:30So, you know, was this always something you knew you wanted to do?
20:33I mean, you mentioned a bit about how you got into coaching.
20:38Was that something you've always enjoyed?
20:39You mentioned you're a, you're a lifelong football fan.
20:41Talk to us a bit about your own journey with this.
20:44When I was younger, I started off playing football and I only had a couple of years in
20:51the game.
20:52Um, unfortunately I had a knee injury and the doctors told me to, to stop playing.
20:55So then that came about, then I, um, COVID came.
20:58So my, our teams started to fold after that.
21:00I just really didn't get back into it.
21:02Um, schools and stuff like that, GCSEs and all that happened.
21:04So then when we moved to this, like where we made stone, we were lucky enough to, for
21:08my uncle who part of Reto Interiors was lucky enough to do a kitchen for, um, for John,
21:14who then got to talk in and was like about the football team.
21:18That's how I got involved in the coaching side of it because I've always loved football
21:21and I've always loved to be part of it.
21:22And this has just brought the love back to the sport from sport, this love of the sport
21:27back to myself.
21:28Yeah.
21:29That is amazing.
21:30And I mean, if things go well this weekend, do you think we could see something more than
21:34maybe an annual event?
21:35Talk to us.
21:36What are the future plans after this Saturday?
21:38As long as everything goes well at the moment, everything's planned perfectly.
21:46We hope as long as everything goes well, everyone has a great day and we make enough money for
21:50charity.
21:51We're well, any money is enough money for charity, but to, if we could get to 2,500, that'd be
21:56our goal this year.
21:57And next year, obviously we'd like to double that if we can, we'd love to do this again.
22:01Um, it's been, we would only be able to do this though because of our amazing sponsors,
22:05Oscar and Reto Interiors, without them, this, this would not happen, but next year we would
22:10like to go bigger and better.
22:12Amazing.
22:13And lastly from me, where can people donate and show their support?
22:17Uh, people can donate at justgiving.com on the kick for hope link, it is, if you type
22:23in justgiving slash kick for hope, I'm pretty sure that will come up to, for you to donate.
22:28Or if you come down on the charity match, if you're local, um, we can take donations for
22:32ÂŁ5 or more for entry and extra, and there'll be food and drinks also available, sponsored
22:38by the club.
22:39Brilliant.
22:40Thank you so much for your time today, Krish.
22:45And don't forget, you can keep up to date with all the latest football news by reading
22:48Kent Online.
22:50But did you also know you can have your weekly digest of non-league news from around the
22:53county sent directly to your email inbox.
22:56Just search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the website for all the latest written
23:00transfer news, match reports and interviews, and there's plenty more email alerts to choose
23:04from including all the latest Gillingham news too.
23:08Now it's time to remind you you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news, interviews
23:12and features from here on Invicta Sport by heading on over to our website, that's kmtv.co.uk
23:18and clicking on the Sport tab.
23:20There you'll see videos like this one, all about Alessio Russo's former club, Bairstead FC,
23:26winning her huge Euros victory.
23:30Years of hard graft happened on this pitch, shaping the lioness she is today.
23:35These two young footballers, trained at Bairstead FC, see Alessio Russo as their inspiration,
23:42especially after meeting her before the Euros.
23:44Good luck, Bairstead Bells.
23:45Good luck!
23:46Yeah!
23:47And if it weren't for Russo's equaliser yesterday, the final score might have told a different
23:54story.
23:55She was amazing and her goal, it was just amazing.
23:59It was absolutely brilliant, the crowd went wild.
24:03Holly and Phoebe say they picked up a few tricks from their idol's performance and can't
24:09wait to test them out on the pitch.
24:11I would love to be a lioness like Russo because it's just amazing to be in front of a crowd
24:19and performing.
24:20What about you?
24:21I want to be like Russo because I know that she'll be more confident in what she was doing.
24:30This morning the club revealed a mural to mark Russo's rise from local talent to global
24:36star.
24:37She started her football journey at West Farley before moving to Bairstead FC where she played
24:43for both the girls and the boys teams.
24:46She scored 76 goals in one season.
24:50She's just showed that little bit of inspiration to the rest of the girls and it came through
24:55really on Sunday as well of what her determination is.
25:00Russo says she couldn't wait to play after school and in 2010 she led her school to victory
25:07in the KM's mini World Cup.
25:10But after that she moved on to play for Charton, then joining Chelsea before heading to the States
25:16for university where her football career kept climbing.
25:20Eventually returning to England and joining the national team.
25:24And as they say, the rest is history.
25:27Despite her rise, Russo has stayed close to Bairstead FC.
25:31Her legacy has helped boost girls football here with more teams forming and more young
25:36players signing up.
25:37For the girls this season, it's their first season playing together as under eights.
25:42The Bairstead have given us the go ahead to run an under eights team.
25:45So it's actually the first ever under eights team for Bairstead.
25:49It's a privilege and an honour to run this under eights team.
25:53And hopefully we smash them out of the pot this season.
25:56Now all eyes turn to the Women's World Cup in two years.
26:00Holly and Phoebe might be a bit too young for that.
26:04But who knows, we could see them on the international stage in 2035 following Russo's footsteps.
26:11Gabriel Morris for KMTV in Bairstead.
26:16And it looks like that's full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport and my first episode
26:22presenting the show properly.
26:24And if you want more from KMTV, you can head over to our website, which is kmtv.co.uk,
26:30where all of our special shows are available to watch back on demand.
26:34So don't forget to follow us on social media at KMTV underscore Kent,
26:38or keep up with the latest from Invictus Sport by following at KMTV Sport.
26:42And if you have a sports story, then please don't hesitate to get in touch.
26:46But for now, that is the full time whistle. See you soon.
26:49See you soon.
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