DFDS Kent Junior A Cup Final match report: FC Revo 3 Gillingham Bilbao 1 at Chatham Town’s Bauvill Stadium

An early goal set FC Revo on their way to their Kent Junior A Cup final win against Gillingham Bilbao at Chatham’s Bauvill Stadium on Saturday.

Man-of-the-match James Smith put them into a second-minute lead, adding another as they held a 3-0 half-time advantage after David Crouch had also struck and, while Fin Rushton pulled one back for Bilbao, the Tunbridge Wells team ran out 3-1 victors.

Manager Jonny Ricketts said: “We played well.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game on a hot day. Our focus, as it has been all season, was on starting well. I thought we did that.

“In the first half, we actually played really well. Finals can sometimes be 100mph but, at the right times, people slowed down.

“We said at half-time that they, obviously, were going to come out and throw a bit at us.

“There were a couple of hairy moments at times but, on the whole, I felt we were pretty comfortable in the second half.

“We would have liked to have scored a few more but to win, whether we won by three, by two or by one, winning was the main aim - and I’m delighted we have.”

FC Revo still have a slim chance of winning Kent County League Division 2 Central this season and didn’t take long to break the deadlock.

Smith was able to bundle a cross by Oli Ricketts - the brother of Jonny - past Jayke Phillips to give his side the dream start.

“We’ve had good starts throughout the season,” revealed Jonny. “James up front is a handful.

“We knew, if we got the ball wide, he was always going to have chances in the middle.

“It set the platform but I also felt it settled a lot of people down, myself included!”

Ben Watkins then saw his sixth-minute strike flash wide of Phillips’ post before FC Revo goalkeeper Jack Lazenby spilled Ben Saffery’s effort