Potters Bar Town vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier, Saturday 21st October, 3 pm – Match Preview
A NOTE FOR THAT THE GAME IS ON FOLLOWING A 10AM PITCH INSPECTION.
Cray Wanderers are on the road this Saturday as the Wands head to Potters Bar Town in a match between the sides 18th and 19th in the Isthmian Premier League table.
Cray will be looking to return to winning ways following Sunday’s home defeat to league leaders Hornchurch but there were some encouraging elements to the game and on another day may have earned more rewards for the performance.
Nyren Clunis made his 50th appearance for the Wands and marked the occasion with a goal, his fifth of the season to make it 2-1 with twenty five minutes to go and were perhaps unfortunate with Gary Lockyer’s disallowed goal just after half time and when Ellis Brown was clipped just before shooting just outside the area. In the end though Hornchurch showed their qualities to add another two goals late on but was perhaps a harsh scoreline in the end.
Saturday’s trip to Hertfordshire sees the first of back to back away games with Cray visiting Canvey Island on Tuesday night. Before that though the Wands visit a Potters Bar Town side in good form and are unbeaten in their last eight league and cup games.
Both Cray and Potters Bar have nine points with the Wands playing one game less than the Scholars with Cray 18th and Potters Bar 19th in the table. Both teams had poor starts to the season with Potters Bar losing their first six league games but both steadied their ships in September and October but both still require points to take them away from the bottom four.
Last Saturday Potters Bar won 3-0 at bottom side Haringey Borough courtesy of a hat-trick from Ore Bello to put them on nine points.
Max Mitchell’s Potters Bar Town side at home have yet to win in the league but have drawn with Chatham Town (0-0), Folkestone Invicta (3-3) and Bognor Regis Town (1-1) and were beaten by Enfield Town (0-2), Lewes (1-2) and Billericay Town (1-3). Away from home Potters Bar won at Hastings United (1-0) and Haringey Borough (3-0) losing at Carshalton Athletic and Chatham Town.
In the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round, Potters Bar were beaten at Enfield Town (0-3) but have advanced in the FA Trophy beating Berkhamstead 4-1 at home in the 3QR earning a home draw with Leiston next Saturday. They also won in the Hertfordshire Senior Cup beating London Lions and in the Isthmian League Cup with victory at Wingate & Finchley.
Last season Potters Bar finished in 13th place in the league table on 53 points and were in no danger of relegation. The two fixtures between the sides last season saw a 1-1 draw at the Lantern Stadium with Mo Kamara’s volley cancelled out by a Mitch Chapman header on 15th October. Cray though were convincing 5-0 winners at Hayes Lane on 11th March with goals from Nyren Clunis, Dan Bassett, Destiny Oladipo, Sam Wood and Rio Campbell.
Potters Bar Town were formed one hundred years after Cray Wanderers in 1960 and were known as Mount Grace Old Scholars after a team was set up for ex-Mount Grace School pupils until 1991. They spent their early existence in the Hertfordshire County League Division One and in 1981-82 were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1991 after being promoted to the South Midlands League Premier and in 1996-97 to the Spartan South Midlands Division North where they came second and the Quarter Finals of the FA Vase.
In 2004-05 the club were promoted from the South Midlands Premier and into the Southern League Division One East where they spent one season before being moved to the Isthmian North for 2005-06. They remained there before being moved back to the Southern League Division One Central for a couple of years thereby missing Cray Wanderers in the Wands two season stay in the North. They returned to the North and were promoted in 2017-18 behind champions Hornchurch to reach the Isthmian Premier for the first time and finished 16th in their first season in 2018-19. Potters Bar reached the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the second time in 2019-20 and were 13th and 15th when the two Covid-19 impacted seasons were stopped before finishing 13th for the last two seasons.
With both sides looking to make an Autumnal climb up the table this promises to be a key game in the league on Saturday.
Please note Potters Bar Town have kindly lowered admission prices for this game to £10 adults, £5 concessions.
DIRECTIONS TO POTTERS BAR TOWN FC
The Lantern Stadium,
Parkfield
Watkins Rise (off The Walk)
Potters Bar
Hertfordshire
EN6 1QB
Admission Prices: Adults: £10.00
Concessions: £5.00 (Over 65’s & students)
U16s/Juniors: £1.00
PLEASE NOTE THAT POTTERS BAR TOWN HAVE REDUCED MATCH DAY ADMISSION FOR THIS GAME.
Match Programme: Online
Travelling By Car
Directions from M25
Come off at Junction 24, take the A111 exit (Southgate Road) towards Potters Bar. Continue to traffic lights then turn right at A1000 on to High Street. After passing BP garage on left and a pedestrian crossing turn left into the Walk after 200 metres turn right into Watkins Rise and the ground is to your right
Please do not park in Mayfair Lodge Care Home car park – as you may be clamped
Please use the Car Park adjacent to the ground. You may also park on one side of the entrance part to Watkins Rise, but ensure you allow access for Emergency vehicles.
Travelling By Train to Potters Bar Station
Trains go to Potters Bar via London Kings Cross station. Trains run half hourly on a Saturday at 27 & 57 past the hour and takes 17 minutes to get there calling at Finsbury Park and then Potters Bar. Returns to Kings Cross are at 00 & 30 past the hour. There is no planned industrial action on the railways this weekend at this time but please check the National Rail Enquiries website.
The ground is 10 minutes’ walk from Potters Bar Station. Exit the station and turn right and almost immediately right again into The Walk. Ground is around a mile on the left hand side.
For buses no’s 84, 298 or 313 will take you close to the ground.
Nearest Pubs/restaurants
As you are fairly close to the High Street there are a number of options available. There is the Cask and Stillage (19 High Street) and the Oakmere House Harvester (an old Country House), while fairly close and if time on your hands there’s the Old Manor and the Admiral Byng on Darkes Lane and going a bit out of your way are the Strafford and the Builders Arms. Also the Chequers on Coopers Lane if you really want to make a day of it.
On Barnet Road is the Fish & Chip Shop (no fancy name required) which is highly rated For Indian food there are the Pubali Tandoori in the High Street and Tamarind on Barnet Road but these won’t be open until after the match as will be the China Style restaurant also on Barnet Road.
Potters Bar is a commuter town in Hertfordshire about 13 miles from central London. It is situated on the Great North Road one of a couple of routes out of the City of London which will take you to the North of England. Much of the town was owned by the Byng family and own the Wrotham Park Estate between Potters Bar and Barnet.
Potters Bar was also the scene of a couple of serious railway incidents, in 1946 and a derailment in May 2002 cost the lives of seven people and injured another 11.
For Golf enthusiasts there is a Golf course in Potters Bar which was used by the great Tony Jacklin who hailed from the town as did clarinettist Acker Bilk who lived partly in Potters Bar and in Somerset. Also actor Martin Freeman comes from the town.
