Sutton Valence made the trip to Folkestone on a cold, blustery day for their first match of 2026 and produced a thrilling performance to claim all three points.
The visitors couldn’t have asked for a better start. Rob Cockayne opened the scoring inside two minutes, setting the tone early. Sutton Valence continued to press and were ruthless in front of goal, adding a second and third before the ten-minute mark to stun the home side.
Folkestone responded by pushing forward for the remainder of the half, but Sutton Valence’s defence stood firm. Steve Vanns, Andy MacV, Bob Sagrott, Dominic Powell and Alec Kennett formed a solid wall at the back, repelling wave after wave of attacks to preserve a 3–0 lead at half-time.
The second half saw a resurgent Folkestone side emerge. They came out strongly and quickly pulled a goal back, before adding two more before the hour mark to level the score at 3–3 and swing momentum their way.
Sutton Valence responded superbly. Shortly after the 50-minute mark, Henry Powell restored the lead with a lovely low finish, bringing calm back to the visitors. With the advantage regained, Sutton Valence dug deep and showed real character as Folkestone searched for an equaliser.
The decisive moment came five minutes from time when William Vanns produced a moment of brilliance. Cutting in from the right side of the D, he struck a superb shot across the goalkeeper and into the left side of the net to seal the win.

A hard-fought and exciting contest ended with Sutton Valence running out 5–3 winners, a perfect start to their 2026 campaign

Goals: Rob Cockayne x3, Henry Powell, William Vanns
Report By: David Turner

Team:
Rob Cockayne
Andy McVarish
Julian Mills
Steve Vanns
Bob Sagrott
David Turner
Ryan Page
Henry Powell
Dominic Powell
William Vanns
Alec Kennett
Matthew Lemmon
Archer Ripley

Next Match: Maidstone (H) 14:00 17/01/2026