In tonights show we look back at the weekend's football including where Hythe Town bowed out of the FA Trophy after making it further than ever before. Plus we hear the incredible story of a grieving mum from Dartford who is raising money for charity after losing her daughter just months ago.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping up all
00:20 of Kent's sporting action.
00:21 I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on this Monday 15th January.
00:32 Slight error there, we've already seen that one.
00:34 Let's talk about what's coming up in today's programme.
00:36 We'll be speaking about Hythetown bowing out of the FA Trophy whilst Gillingham make it
00:41 three league wins in a row.
00:44 We'll hear from the Medway Running Group encouraging more people to get involved this January.
00:51 And running in her memory, we hear from the inspirational mum from Dartford who's training
00:55 for a marathon after her teenage daughter passed away.
01:00 First of all, a round-up of the headlines and Holcombe Hockey Club has enjoyed a much
01:04 more successful second weekend of Super 6's action.
01:08 Both the men's and women's side completed their Premier Division and Division 1 campaigns
01:13 with just a combined four points from seven matches on weekend one last time out.
01:17 Holcombe won five of their eight weekend two matches, drawing one and losing one by just
01:22 a handful of goals.
01:23 Hulks women enjoyed four straight wins at Polo Farm in Canterbury to secure a fourth
01:28 place finish in Division 1, whilst Holcombe's men survived relegation for the Premier Division
01:32 for 2025.
01:35 Next in Canterbury pushed National 2 East leaders Ayesh Esher all the way before missing out
01:40 36-34 at home on Saturday.
01:44 The City Club held the lead until the final quarter when a yellow card hit them hard as
01:49 Esher made the next ten minutes count, with two crucial tries to extend their winning
01:53 run to nine games.
01:55 A penalty try in the 74th minute brought Canterbury back into contention and had the visitors
01:59 holding on for a nervous victory.
02:01 Elsewhere in the Tunbridge, Juddians were second best at Guernsey on Saturday as the
02:06 hosts ran out 29-24 winners, and Sevenoaks fell behind against Old Albanian to narrowly
02:12 lose out 32-29.
02:14 And a family from Sittingbourne have all become black belts in karate.
02:20 After six years of grafting and hard work, all four members of the Ulrich family collectively
02:26 graduated from Queen Borough Ipun Kabudo and Shokotan Karate Club.
02:31 Son Daniel was the first to join in 2017 and shortly after was joined by sister Amelia,
02:36 mum and dad both following through last.
02:39 The family were all graded on three categories including kihon basic moves, kumite, partner
02:44 work and kata, which involves pre-arranged moves.
02:47 On a weekly basis, the club gathers Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at the Castle Connections
02:51 Hall in Queen Borough.
02:53 Let's take a look back at this weekend's football results, where Hightown welcomed
02:57 Chorley in what was the biggest game in the club's recent history.
03:02 The Canons reached the fourth round of the FA Trophy for the first time ever after having
03:06 caused a number of upsets to get there and manager Steve Watt was keen to make sure it
03:11 was another upset as they fought to make it to the round of 16.
03:15 Plus, Gillingham looked to make it three wins from three in League Two as they travelled
03:19 to face Aquintan Stanley.
03:22 A bumper crowd of 730 packed into Reachfields for what promised to be an exciting last 32
03:27 meeting in the FA Trophy.
03:29 Fifty-two places separate Chorley and Hive, but the underdog hosts weren't waiting around
03:34 and forced three corners in the first few minutes.
03:37 The Canons came close to an early opener when Ethan Smith's persistence down the right saw
03:41 Joe Nkeny meet his cross but unable to get past the Chorley keeper.
03:45 In the 31st minute, a decent run from Aaron Barnes led to a cross in towards the near
03:49 post where after a short kerfuffle, Jake Embry opened the scoring for Hive and suddenly the
03:54 upset was on.
04:02 One aggressive reply from the visitors ended the first half with Oliver Shenton going close
04:06 and Mark Ellis' header forcing a good save from Steve Phillips.
04:10 That pressure paying off a minute before the break however as Jack Samson's layoff in the
04:14 box teed up Hazelhurst who found the equaliser 1-1.
04:22 Into the second half now and both sides kept the pressure high, but unfortunately for the
04:26 Canons a free kick in the 73rd minute found Samson's header and after some bold persistence
04:31 from the hosts, the cup adventure was ultimately over for Hive this year.
04:37 Full time Hive Town 1, Chorley 2.
04:41 In League 2, Gillingham came from behind to beat Accrington Stanley.
04:45 It marked the first time the Gills have won after conceding first since February 2023.
04:49 A header from Stanley midfielder Alex Henderson opened the scoring five minutes after the
04:54 second half before the Gills managed to turn it around.
04:57 Gonna Masterson levelled from a corner before Macaulay Bond smashed in the second.
05:00 "We've got a good squad, we've got a strong squad and the lads that started the game today
05:05 done really, really well.
05:07 But the ones that have come on have come on and made a difference and helped us out at
05:09 the end so I'm delighted with them all and I think it's the first time we've scored two
05:13 goals away from home this season, it's the first time we've come from behind.
05:15 We've got quite a few monkeys off our back there so it can only give us confidence going
05:19 forward."
05:20 The Gills now move up to 8th in the table, just a couple of points from the playoff positions.
05:25 No National League games this week for Ebbsfleet so we move on to the National South where
05:29 Maidstone saw the end of a winning streak after losing 2-1 to Haverton Waterloo.
05:34 The Stones remain fourth in the table with Tunbridge Angels 11th, Dartford a 15th before
05:39 they face Truro City on Tuesday and Dover Athletic in plum last 24th.
05:44 Folkestone and Victor scored a convincing 2-0 win over Enfield Town in North London
05:48 this weekend.
05:49 Tom Derry broke the deadlock in the 13th minute and Scott Hurd soon followed with his first
05:53 goal of the season.
05:54 Elsewhere in the Izmir Premier, second place Chatham Town edged a five goal game at home
05:58 to struggling Chess Hunt and Margate's search for a first win under Mark Stimson continues
06:03 as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Concord.
06:06 Chatham are still second whilst Folkestone are now 16th and Margate are one place above
06:10 the relegation zone in 18th.
06:12 And that's your football roundup for this week.
06:17 So a win from Gillingham this weekend but off the pitch, business deals, transfers and
06:20 rumours are all flying around League 2 as we continue to move through the transfer window.
06:25 With the club just outside the playoff places in eighth, they'll be keen to bring in players
06:29 who can push them that little bit further to reach promotion.
06:32 I was joined by Tony on the sofa earlier today with this week's transfer update.
06:38 Well last week Gillingham showed interest in striker Marcus Deninga from National League
06:43 side Gateshead.
06:45 He signed in February 2023 on a one year deal with an option to extend for a further year.
06:50 This season he has scored 16 goals in 26 appearances and he's also won player of the month after
06:56 netting eight goals in seven games.
06:58 It's quite interesting that they're linked with another striker this window.
07:02 Clearly if the rumours are true that's exactly what they want to be adding to their squad.
07:06 Well current striker Ollie Hawkins expressed that he's happy to new arrivals coming into
07:10 the squad as he believes they'll help bluster the team and help the promotion push.
07:15 It was also interesting that he expressed that he was excited but still thinks he'll
07:20 have to look over his shoulder but doesn't feel we have to worry unless they sign a six
07:24 foot seven striker.
07:25 I'm excited just like I'm supportive of the other players excited if anyone new comes
07:28 in that can help this team get promoted.
07:31 You know you never want to lose people as well but it's just part of pastoral football
07:33 so for myself I mean unless a six foot seven striker comes in then I might worry.
07:39 But yeah any help is obviously good to and you need a big squad as well to get promoted
07:44 so it don't normally bother me really.
07:48 Ollie Hawkins just coming back from injury as well obviously wanting to keep his place
07:52 at the club after making quite a few appearances as of yet.
07:55 So what have we actually heard from the club itself this window?
07:59 Well in a recent press conference assistant coach Robbie Stockdale actually said that
08:04 they don't expect too many new signings as it's a tough window January.
08:09 Clubs don't want to sell players and players don't really want to leave halfway through
08:12 the season and he doesn't want to make signings for the sake of making signings.
08:17 He only wants to sign signings that will benefit the team and help them push on but he is still
08:22 happy with the current squad.
08:24 Well Tony we'll have to see exactly what the squad looks like on February 1st.
08:27 Thank you very much for those details.
08:28 Thank you for having me.
08:30 And now it might be blue Monday today but at least half of us across Kent have decided
08:34 to make it on New Year's resolution to take up more exercise.
08:38 One of the most popular ways of doing so is by running and whilst many may have already
08:41 given up on doing so or perhaps not even started yet, one running group from Medway is encouraging
08:46 people not to give up and to join them on their running journey instead.
08:50 Founded in 2014, Rebel Runners meet up around four times a week with sessions for people
08:56 of all abilities.
08:57 So I'm here at Medway Park with the Rebel Runners club behind me.
09:00 I'm currently at a track session which happens every Wednesday at 6.45pm.
09:05 These track sessions are more intense than the team runs that they do on Mondays and
09:08 Thursdays and there's usually around 30 members out of the 250 who are in the club.
09:14 It's time for me to find out why the members keep on coming back.
09:18 When I run I just find that I lose everything about the day that's been stressful and I
09:22 can just concentrate on my running, forget about the day and just enjoy.
09:27 I think the club has given me lots of benefits such as helping with mental health.
09:33 Obviously during Covid it was really difficult for lots of people.
09:37 As a woman, a female runner, you don't often feel safe running on your own, particularly
09:42 at night after work so it's really nice to have a safe environment to run in.
09:46 Everyone knows me as Beachy, so it's a marathon and it's one of the toughest marathons.
09:52 It's very hard to do and a lot of the Rebels do it and the Rebels are just like a family.
09:59 Exercise has been proven to help people manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
10:04 We spoke to Natalie Jewell, the South East Manager for the charity Mental Health Matters.
10:09 Something like Red Bull Runners Medway actually provides multiple different aspects of the
10:14 five ways of wellbeing to include the ability to connect with others, the ability to complete
10:20 physical exercise and the ability to be aware of knowledge of your surroundings.
10:26 We spoke to the club's mental health ambassadors.
10:28 So my role involves just looking out for people, spotting signs of potential mental health
10:36 problems.
10:37 Sharing your issues with the wider community helps, certainly it can let you know that
10:42 you're not on your own.
10:44 I decided to take to the track and give it a go myself.
10:49 I was just on one lap and these guys are going to be many more over the next 24 minutes.
10:54 I'm out of breath, I don't know how they do it.
10:57 In the end, it's easy to see how the Rebel Runners have managed to foster such a great
11:02 sense of community.
11:03 This has been Jasmine Sandar for KMTV.
11:06 Gotta run!
11:09 Now before we go to a very quick break, if you want to appear in this week's edition
11:13 of Action Replay, just make sure to send in your clips now.
11:17 It's the segment where we feature pictures and videos of you, the KMTV audience, taking
11:21 part in sport.
11:22 Whatever it is you do, we'll show it here on Invicta Sport.
11:26 Just tag us on social media @KMTVKent or send us an email to sport@kmtv.co.uk.
11:32 Make sure to tell us what part of Kent you come from and what it is you do.
11:39 Now we've reached half time, which means it's time for a break, but coming up we'll be hearing
11:43 from the mum from Dartford who's begun training for a marathon in memory of her daughter Ellie
11:47 who died in October after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
11:50 See you in a few minutes.
11:56 [break]
12:11 [ Silence ]
12:18 [ Silence ]
12:22 [ Silence ]
12:26 [ Silence ]
12:30 [ Silence ]
12:34 [ Silence ]
12:38 [ Silence ]
12:42 [ Silence ]
12:46 [ Silence ]
12:50 [ Silence ]
12:54 [ Silence ]
12:58 [ Silence ]
13:02 [ Silence ]
13:06 [ Silence ]
13:10 [ Silence ]
13:14 [ Silence ]
13:22 [ Silence ]
13:30 [ Silence ]
13:38 [ Silence ]
13:42 [ Silence ]
13:50 [ Silence ]
13:58 [ Silence ]
14:06 [ Silence ]
14:10 [ Silence ]
14:18 [ Silence ]
14:32 [ Silence ]
14:36 [ Silence ]
14:48 [ Silence ]
14:58 [ Silence ]
15:02 [ Sound Effects ]
15:07 Hello and welcome back to Invicta Sport live on KMTV.
15:13 Now, it's time to remind you that you can keep up to date with all the latest sports news, interviews and features from right here on Invicta Sport
15:20 by heading to our website, kmtv.co.uk and clicking on the sports tab.
15:25 There you'll see videos like this one from when we spoke to Sevenoaks' next Olympic star, Isabella Fasnage,
15:30 who's been chosen to represent Team GB at the next Winter Olympics in skeleton.
15:35 Can future skeleton star, Issy Fasnage, is set to make her debut in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games
15:43 after she's been called up to represent Great Britain.
15:46 Hailing from Sevenoaks at 19 years of age, she is studying her A-levels
15:51 but hopes to focus full-time on the amazing opportunity to represent her country.
15:56 So, what is it about the sport that attracts the future Olympic candidate?
16:01 Well, the sport is part of the Winter Olympic Games and consists of a single person lying head first on a sled,
16:07 flying fast down an ice track with the aim to get to the end of the track in the quickest possible time,
16:12 which means competitors will be travelling at staggering speeds of 90 miles per hour with your chin centimeters from the ice.
16:19 In Issy's case, the idea of travelling at astonishing speeds was all it took for her to get hooked and find a new love for skeleton.
16:26 So, what's next for Issy? Well, she plans to complete her A-levels as well as boosting her skill set in the sport.
16:33 Also, she looks to improve from last season where she won her first medal at the Under-20 Junior European Championships
16:41 in only her second ever competitive race.
16:45 The future 7-O-Star's journey is truly inspiring as she has had to overcome multiple injuries in her young career,
16:52 from tearing a tendon in her hamstring to a broken spine which has meant she has had to miss significant time out on the track.
16:59 But she has not let these injuries stop her from training, progressing in the sport,
17:03 working hard towards her main goal to achieve her dreams of winning a medal in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympic Games.
17:12 So, if you enjoy racing at astounding speeds, watch out for Issy at the Winter Olympic Games.
17:18 Well, before she gets there, she's joined us now in the studio, well virtually.
17:23 Thank you so much, Issy. Welcome to the programme. It's really good to have you here.
17:27 Now, where do we start? Well, where did it start for you?
17:30 Because there's not so many skeleton tracks that I've kind of heard of locally, correct me if I'm wrong.
17:35 How did you get into it?
17:37 No, so I started with Tonbridge Athletics, a club, and I was doing athletics there.
17:43 And then I heard of the Girls for Gold scheme, which is like how I got into skeleton.
17:47 So then I applied to the Girls for Gold scheme and I trialled up in Bath, a lot of it was, because that's where we train now.
17:55 And then after a few, like a good two, three months, I then got selected to go to Norway for a confirmation camp.
18:03 And then from there I got selected onto the team.
18:06 It's quite a surreal feeling. It's kind of something that, like in your dreams, you're kind of like, oh my gosh, one day maybe I'll be an Olympian.
18:13 But for me, that's actually a reality if everything goes to plan.
18:17 So it's a feeling like no weather, the excitement and the joy that you feel once you get selected.
18:22 And then coming through the programme and doing the training and then like you get to travel to all these amazing countries, doing what you love.
18:29 It's just, it's just great, really.
18:32 It's fantastic. What have your sort of friends and family said? Because, you know, you told us about the, you know, the strict regime that you're on,
18:39 the fact that you're travelling all the time. You must miss them from time to time.
18:44 Yeah, definitely, definitely. There's a lot, as most athletes would say, there's a lot you have to give up to be in sport and to be as determined.
18:52 And you have to be so on it with the training that you do miss out on things that maybe, you know, you don't want to miss out on.
18:59 And it is tough. But at the end of the day, the main goal is to get that gold.
19:03 And whatever I have to do to get there is I'll do it.
19:07 Winter Olympics not coming until 2026, of course, but we'll be following all the Olympic news from this year's Paris Games.
19:13 And if you want to watch that full interview with Isabella, you can head to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
19:19 Well, finally, this evening, a grieving mum from Dartford has begun training for a marathon in memory of her special teenage daughter, Ellie,
19:26 who died in October after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
19:30 Catherine O'Connor says the idea of running and raising money for brain tumour research came after she and her daughter spent time with one another
19:37 at boot camp training sessions whilst she was undergoing treatment.
19:40 Sophia Akin spoke with Catherine on the set of Kent Tonight and started by asking just how the last few months have been for her and her family.
19:47 We lost Ellie on the 8th of October 2023, very suddenly.
19:53 She seemed to have been getting better following surgery to remove a tumour from her cerebellum in August 2022.
20:00 And unfortunately, she suddenly developed hydrocephalus and deteriorated very rapidly.
20:08 Within probably 24 hours of starting symptoms, she'd started fitting and then she went into cardiac arrest.
20:16 She was rushed to King's College Hospital from our local hospital, underwent surgery to put a shunt in to reduce the swelling and the pressure on her brain.
20:25 But unfortunately, she never woke up. The damage was catastrophic to her brain from the hydrocephalus.
20:32 And she was pronounced brain stem dead on the 8th of October, just three days after we'd initially taken her to hospital.
20:39 And then she went on to do organ donation.
20:41 It's been very difficult three months for me, for all of our family.
20:47 My husband, her stepsister, her sister, we've all struggled and grappled to try to develop any sort of normality out of what's happened.
20:57 The only thing that we can do is try to continue on in Ellie's memory.
21:02 She was an extremely positive person, very kind, big heart, fun loving.
21:08 And we're just trying to embrace her memory and try to put one foot in front of the other and move forward with life.
21:14 But it's difficult.
21:16 I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you so much for coming on to tell us a little bit more about this.
21:20 Especially as it's happened so recently.
21:22 And you said she was a very positive person.
21:25 So could you tell us a little bit more about what she was like as a person as well?
21:29 She never complained. She was positive in everything in her life.
21:35 She had a part time job at John Lewis in Bluewater.
21:39 She was a student at the University of Greenwich, an undergraduate student studying criminology and criminal justice.
21:46 She had a nice close circle of friends.
21:50 She was supportive to everybody.
21:52 And Ellie was a very non-judgmental, open person.
21:57 She was a people person.
21:59 People instantly felt warmth from her because she never judged anybody.
22:03 She saw the person and not anything about them that was different to her or that maybe sometimes put other people off.
22:12 She went into everything she did with 100% determination to achieve.
22:17 And she was just a really great person to be around because she was so fun loving and loved life.
22:26 And you're doing this fundraiser now as well to try and raise some money and raise awareness as well.
22:32 So tell us a little bit more about that.
22:34 So when Ellie passed away, she was being cremated.
22:39 So rather than people bringing flower donations that we wouldn't really have had anything to do with,
22:44 we thought it would be better for any donations people wanted to make in that respect to go to a charity.
22:51 And of course, Brain Tumour Research is the charity that we supported on behalf of Ellie
22:56 because I want to help to have more positive outcomes for other people.
23:03 And if we can do something towards that in Ellie's name and in her memory, then that for us is something positive.
23:11 If we can help fund research into brain tumours and into causes, treatments, so people have better outcomes,
23:19 then I know that if Ellie was here and she'd survive this, that's what she would push herself into.
23:25 So that's why we're doing it. That is our motivation to help others in her name.
23:31 And you used to do boot camp and exercise sessions with Ellie, didn't you?
23:35 We did.
23:36 Did that help you to get into the training that you're doing now for Ellie?
23:39 Yeah, so I've always come in and out of exercise. I've done a lot of running since I had my children.
23:43 Years and years ago, I probably started about 16 years ago, stopped, started, gym memberships here and there.
23:49 Hadn't done a lot over the last few years. And then after Ellie had surgery in 2022 to remove her brain tumour,
23:57 she sort of struggled to put weight back on and to build muscle.
24:01 So we got her a PT and that person also runs a boot camp, a four seasons boot camp in Bexley.
24:09 And we started going there together to the boot camp.
24:12 So she'd do her PT sessions and then we'd go to the boot camp together.
24:16 And it was just a fun way, you know, you met new people and people support and encourage each other there.
24:22 So it's just a really nice way to exercise while it not feeling like such a challenge.
24:29 And so I went back there a while after Ellie's funeral and continued on.
24:35 And it just kind of it's a positive place for me because I've got really fond memories of the months that me and Ellie spent going there and doing the boot camps together.
24:43 And it's obviously really good training for the marathon as well.
24:46 Yeah. So is the marathon is that sort of different from anything you've done before?
24:50 And how are you finding the training? You finding it difficult preparing for it?
24:54 I think mentally it really helps me because, you know, even if I'm having a bad day, I know that I'm committed to this.
25:01 I'm going to get out of the house. I'm going to go and I'm going to do this.
25:04 In respect of anything I've done before, the most I've done before is a 10k run.
25:09 Other than that, nothing. So the training is a bit gruelling. The long runs are a bit gruelling at times.
25:14 But it's that sense of achievement and sense of you're doing something for a really good cause at the end of it.
25:20 And that drives you through. And often when I'm running, I'm just replaying memories of us, conversations of us playing songs that she liked.
25:28 And that kind of helps me get through as well. So it's kind of it helps me be a bit more positive because sometimes you do find days when it's really difficult.
25:38 To lift yourself from that immense sadness and emptiness that I feel at the loss of my daughter.
25:44 And where can people donate towards this cause as well?
25:48 So there's a Just Giving page and they can donate towards the Just Giving page for my marathon effort.
25:55 Alternatively, anyone can donate towards brain tumour research.
25:59 They're a registered charity and obviously all donations to them are welcome to support the great work that they're doing to research.
26:08 Well, thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it. And I wish you luck with the marathon.
26:13 I hope it all goes well. I'll have to touch base once you've done it as well.
26:17 Yes, definitely.
26:18 Find out how it's gone.
26:19 What an incredible story there, Catherine, who is raising money for brain tumour research.
26:24 We wish her all the best with the fundraising and of course with the marathon training as well.
26:29 Well, that is it. That is full time on today's episode of Invicta Sport.
26:32 If you want more from KMTV, you can watch all our other special programmes, the Kent Politics Show, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate and the Kent Film Club by heading to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
26:43 I'll be back on Friday with another episode. But for now, goodbye.
26:47 [Music]
26:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]