Billericay Town vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier – Saturday 5th April – Match Report
Billericay Town 0
Cray Wanderers 2
Kader 52, Clunis 63
Cray Wanderers produced an outstanding away performance to put a dent in Billericay Town’s title hopes with a merited two goal victory on a sunny Essex afternoon.
After a cagey and scoreless first half Cray took the game to the hosts in the second and went ahead in the 52nd minute when Soul Kader did well down the left to break into the area and fire into the net for his seventh goal in just seven starts since the start of his second return to the Wands.
The Wands repelled what Billericay threw at them after and scored a second in the 63rd minute expertly finished down the right by Nyren Clunis for his eleventh of the season.
From here Cray produced one of the finest away defensive performances I can ever recall and restriced Billericay who only Dover have a better goal difference to no shots on target and Shaun Rowley kept his eighteenth clean sheet of the season.
Billericay trailed Dartford at the top of the Isthmian Premier by just a point but Horsham are also still in the mix and started four behind the leaders. Cray in 11th place to all intents and purposes were out of the playoff picture but with games against Horsham and Dartford to follow this was a great test and good for the team to be involved with games that truly matter than dead rubber games at the end of the campaign.
For Cray there was one change to the side which lost to Dover Athletic last Saturday with Quade Taylor coming in for Eze Ebouzeme in midfield to help counter what was expected to be a strong aerial and set piece threat from Billericay. The Blues who play in the Isthmian League Cup Final on Wednesday against Chatham Town were unchanged from last Saturday’s 5-1 win at Hastings United.
In fine Spring sunshine and a great noise from the Cray Massive behind the goals those were perhaps the highlights of a first half where both defences were on top. Lateef Adaja put over a good cross from the left but no-one could get on the end of and Cray won a couple of early corners which came to nothing.
The only real shooting chance of the first half came to Cray in the 28th minute when Josh Williams cut inside from the right and saw his shot just scrape the crossbar and over.
The back four and keeper were excellent in restricting Billericay to any real chances and aside from one or two free kicks Tom Bonner and Remi Sutton at the back were not really troubled.
Biilericay had to make a late change before half time with Ashley Nzala who scored a late leveller when the sides met at Flamingo Park in December had a half chance when a corner from the right by De-Carrey Sherriff to the far post came to Nzala but never fully connected with his attempted volley and behind for a goal kick.
HT: 0-0
It looked like the first goal in the game would be vital and not too dissimilar to the start of the second half at Dover on 14th December Cray took the lead early on with a fine finish from Soul Kader.
In the 52nd minute Soul chased down a pass from Lateef Adaja down the left and outstripped the defender to break into the box and as Sam Donkin in goal looked to narrow the angle with still a lot to do slipped the ball wide of the keeper and into the net for his seventh in seven games.
The expected Billericay backlash never really materialised and in the 63rd minute Cray added a second with another quality finish this time down the right from Nyren Clunis, currently in a rich vein of form. Nyren receieved a pass from Frankie Raymond and again outpaced the defence to tuck away another tidy finish from 12 yards.
For Cray, the immaculate Quade Taylor hooked an effort well wide and for Billiercay from a corner down the right, Jack Paxman’s cross was hooked wide by Matt Johnson.
Cray came close to a third when the ever sharp Kader set up Adaja down the left but Donkin did superbly to push the ball round the right post for a corner.
For the home side, Paxman saw a shot blocked and top scorer Femi Akinwande saw an effort charged down by the impressive Tom Bonner.
Going into the final moments, Wands substitute Tom Borders just seconds after coming up burst forward but one on one saw his shot saved by Donkin. Then at the other end Nazala hooked a shot wide.
In the end Cray had done enough to register one of the great results of the season and moved up into 10th place on 57 points and considering the last two visits saw 1-2 and 0-6 defeats this was certainly up there with one of the great Wands performances in the Isthmian Premier era. All of the players showed their qualities against a side who could yet still go up as champions. Leaders Dartford came back from 0-2 down to draw at home to Folkestone to go two points clear at the top although Horsham, winners at home to Canvey Island go level on 75 points with Billericay in 3rd and meet the Wands on Good Friday. First, Cray are at home to 11th placed Wingate & Finchley on Saturday and will provide a different type of challenge but make no mistake, this was a performance as stunning as the sunshine and was a great team effort on and off the pitch.
Billericay Town: Sam Donkin, Jay Porter (Montel McKenzie, 68), Matt Johnson (Capt), Frankie Merrifield (Ben Steward, 78), Decarrey Sheriff (Moses Emmanuel, 68), Tyrrell Miller-Rodney (Tommy Davis, 68), Femi Akinwande, Jack Paxman, Bradley Williams, Elliot Long, Alfie Cerulli (Ashley Nzala, 43):
Booked: Paxman 36, Johnson 63, Emmanuel 78
Cray Wanderers: Shaun Rowley, Ike Orji, Remi Sutton, Tom Bonner (Capt), Darion Dowrich, Quade Taylor, Frankie Raymond, Lateef Adaja (George Brooke, 90+7), Nyren Clunis (Eze Ebouzeme, 79), Josh Williams (Victor Damyanov, 90+4), Soul Kader (Tom Borders, 90): Sub: Freddie Warwick
Booked: Bonner 25, Kader 70, Orji 80
Referee: Fabio Roque
Assistants: Jerahl Hall, Jay Knight
Att: 976
