Playing football for Lordswood has given Ukrainian teenager Artem Kuchkov the escape from a war at home that has turned his life upside down.

The 19-year-old was playing in the junior ranks at top Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv before the Russian invasion of his country led to him ending up in England, via a six-month spell in Germany.

Kuchkov’s parents remain in Ukraine, in the besieged eastern city of Kharkiv. His dad is a volunteer helping to defend their homeland.

The youngster is part of a youthful Lordswood team competing in the Southern Counties East Football League. They start their season this Saturday with an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round game at home to Egham Town.

He said: “My city is in the danger zone but when I play football I can forget about absolutely everything.

“I forget about our problems, the stress, I can just enjoy myself.

“I am really want to thank Lordswood, they have really helped me when I came to England and I was fortunate to have found the club.

“They have helped me to find a job, they can support me and if I have any problems I can ask them and they will help me. The staff are brilliant, really friendly, and I already have a lot of friends in the team. They are really good people and I appreciate them.”

It didn’t take Kuchkov long to find his feet in Medway.

Shortly after his arrival a neighbour put him in contact with Chatham Town Sunday who play in the Medway Area Sunday League. He made an immediate impact, scoring five goals in one game.

The son of Lordswood director of football Jason Lillis suggested he had a try out at Martyn Grove, who under the management of Matt Barman are happy to give youth a chance. He finished last season there, helping them finish the season strongly.

Lordswood are now hoping to continue their upturn in form - under a new structure off the field.

A big FA Cup game this weekend is the first since Lordswood took on Gillingham at home in their final pre-season fixture last Tuesday. Kuchkov enjoyed the night, playing infront of a big crowd as the hosts beat a Gills XI 1-0.

Kuchkov, sponsored by the 363 Coffee Lounge in Walderslade, said: “I have experienced a crowd of 3,000 before! But it is nice to play infront of a lot of fans, it really motivates you, to push yourself to keep going, to not stop.

“I am so excited for our first game. I am absolutely sure we will show what a really good team we have, really young, with a big future.

“The players here have passion and I can see that everyone in the team wants to fight for every ball and fight for each other.”

Manager Barman has had a busy summer of recruitment with the likes of striker James Jeffrey joining the ranks, along with Quadri Green, Louie Adkins, Will Risdon, Euan Sallis and Connor Miller.

Lordswood will be hoping to end a poor run in the FA Cup when they host Egham on Saturday (3pm). They haven’t got past the first hurdle in the competition since the 2014-15 season.

Winners of Saturday’s tie will pocket £1,125 in prize money and face Cray Valley at home in the next round which takes place on August 19.