By Craig Tucker

Manager Neil Cugley is desperate for an FA Cup run to boost Folkestone Invicta’s finances.

The winners of Saturday’s preliminary round tie at Herne Bay earn £1,750, with boss Cugley (pictured) keen to make enough prizemoney to boost his small squad.

He said: "We desperately need to get through if we can. A run in the cup can be the difference between bringing in a player and not. The money soon mounts up if you get through a few rounds so it’s an important competition for us."

Invicta beat Worthing 2-1 in their opening Ryman League, Division 1 South game of the season on Saturday but it came at a price as injury-plagued striker Paul Jones went off at half-time with a groin problem.

He missed Invicta’s 1-0 win at Sittingbourne on on Wednesday night - courtesy of a Stuart King goal - and is also likely to miss the Herne Bay game and the trip to Chipstead on Bank Holiday Monday.

On top of that, a scan has revealed a cyst in defender Josh Vincent’s groin so Cugley expects him to be out until the end of September.

The boss said: "We had a squad of 13 and now it’s down to 11 before you throw in the youngsters. We’ve got by before and we’ll get on with it this time but it might be that we have to look at bringing someone in."

Jones’ injury should open the door for teenage striker Ryan Philpott. He replaced Jones on Saturday and set up the winning goal for James Everitt.