Folkestone Invicta boss Andy Drury expects to hand Joe Tyrie chance to shine over festive period after new defender makes club debut in 1-0 home Isthmian Premier defeat to Dartford

New defender Joe Tyrie will get his opportunity to impress for Folkestone over the festive period.

Tyrie made his Invicta debut off the substitutes’ bench in last Saturday’s Isthmian Premier 1-0 loss to in-form Dartford in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 at Cheriton Road.

He joins on dual registration from Jay Saunders’ Tonbridge team after a similar stint at Sheppey.

As the matches come thick and fast, he will provide additional defensive competition for Folkestone.

Manager Andy Drury said: “We’ve conceded too many goals in the last couple of games.

“Joe is a promising young defender we thought we could get in to add competition for Gayley (Ian Gayle) and Marvel Ekpiteta, who defended quite well on Saturday. But we hadn’t defended well in the two games prior to that against Potters Bar and Chatham.

“We have got plenty of games coming up so there’s a chance for Joe to step up a league from where he has been on loan at Sheppey and, last year, at Sittingbourne.

“Joe will get his chance over the Christmas period.”

Also having already had a run in Tonbridge’s National League South side this campaign, 21-year-old Tyrie will help bring more youthfulness to the Folkestone squad, too.

“We have got some good youngsters with him, Frankie Morgan and Joel Odeniran,” said Drury. “Tyler Anderson has come in and he’s fairly young. I think we have got a decent blend of young and old.

“There’s a few players in their prime if you look at Jebby (Jack Jebb), Amadou Kassarate and Marv, as well as Tom Derry, who’s 29, and Dan Smith is 25.

“Khale Da Costa is 30 and Matthias Fanimo is 30 so we have got a mixture and that’s quite good. We just need to have a bit more belief in ourselves.

“We’re starting to get bodies back and we need to