Neil Cugley says his Folkestone players still need to wise up if they are to turn their encouraging first half of the season into a positive finish.

The Boxing Day derby at Tonbridge Angels represents the mid-point of Invicta’s 46-game campaign but in a division where just seven points separate the top 10 from the relegation zone, Cugley says he has to be realistic.

Folkestone allowed a first-half lead to slip to a rare home defeat to title-chasing Bognor on Saturday and he says they need to be more ruthless and focused if they are to achieve their primary goal of survival.

He said: “We were by far the better side in the first half but didn’t put the game to bed.
“Another disappointment is that we didn’t start the second half well, which has happened a few times lately. You can get away with it in Ryman South but not at this level.

"It’s something we need to look at. You can talk as much as you like at half-time but it’s up the players.

“They came back at us, scored a good goal and made us pay for not taking our chances because we could have been two or three-up in the first half.”

Cugley focused on the positives and added: “We showed we are not too far away from one of the top sides.

“Now we have Tonbridge who are another who are going to be right up there. They have the strongest squad in the division and they’ll be in the play-offs.

“If we can get even a draw there we have a couple of home games to come in the new year and hopefully people will turn out and get behind the players.

“We are not looking further than 52 points. We have got to be realistic. If we can accomplish that then we can look at further achievements.”

One blow for Cugley is that Sam Hasler will miss Monday’s game through suspension and the following four until the middle of January, after earning his first red card as a Folkestone player.

The midfielder, who turned 24 last month, arrived at Cheriton Road from Herne Bay in October for an undisclosed fee.

Hasler was sent-off five times last season and was dismissed in successive games for Bay in September, both for violent conduct, which earned him a seven-match ban and a heavy fine.

Cugley said: “He’ll learn from this. When we signed him we agreed that he wouldn’t get any money while he was suspended so that’s going to be a few weeks with no money for him.

“He’s done well for us since he came in and hasn’t caused us any problems. He’s still young and he’ll learn.”

Josh Vincent should be on the bench at Longmead but Ian Draycott and Phil Starkey remain out while Ashley Miller will continue in attack after what Cugley called his best performance of the season against Bognor.