What it’s like to win the league

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Folkestone Invicta are Isthmian Premier Division Champions

Yesterday, we won the league.

After 42 games (and 42 opposition reports), 9 months of hard work, watching about 150 games, Folkestone Invicta got across the line.

It got there with a win at St Albans, watched by a big crowd, including more than 400 Folkestone fans. And me.

This is one of the 400+ Folkestone fans. It’s not me.

It was a great performance. Folkestone has rarely looked beaten in games. On those occasions they’ve gone a goal behind, they’ve always looked strong enough to overturn it. And so it happened again yesterday.

As we reached time added on, and with Aveley winning at Chatham Town, my chest was pounding. We needed Folkestone to stay 2-1 ahead. That meant other results didn’t matter.

Ade Yusuff, if I remember rightly, on his way to the corner flag in the dying moments of the game.

Four agonising minutes later, the whistle blew.

At that moment, I watched the coaching staff celebrate. I watched the players rush to the Folkestone fans. I watched fans jumping up and down in joy.

Players and coaching staff celebrate in front of the Folkestone fans.

The thing I felt most was relief.

All the work had paid off. There would be no end-of-season wobble. The leads we’d had in the league since Christmas were solid. These players deserved the title of Champions.

I left the team to celebrate and made my way back to my car. After all, I had a report to finish on Ramsgate due this morning. There are still four games to play, and we carry on where we left off.

But even I admit I took a look at the National League South to see where we’d be playing next season. Back in the league we were in while working for Tonbridge. It’s a league that gets tougher every year.

Right now, I feel exhausted. But I already can’t wait for next season.