Carshalton Athletic v Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier, Saturday 2nd October, 3pm – Match Preview and Directions.

Carshalton Athletic v Cray Wanderers – Saturday 2nd October, 3pm – Match Preview and Directions

Pics: www.hilligerpix.com

Cray Wanderers look to return to winning ways after six straight league defeats on Saturday as the Wands make the trip to Carshalton Athletic. Kick off at Colston Avenue is 3pm.

It was certainly a dramatic evening at Hayes Lane on Wednesday night as Wingate & Finchley won 5-3 in a rip-roaring contest. At least Cray ended three games without a goal with a brace from Anthony Cook and Adam Coombes first goal for the club and created plenty of chances but so did Wingate & Finchley and an exciting game ended with the three points going to North London.

Due to injuries during the early weeks of the season there have been many changes to the side which means a lack of continuity with two players making their debuts on Wednesday night, central defender Tom Hanfrey and forward Richard Afrane-Kesey who was unlucky to see a shot come back off the post. Another new arrival, defender Marvin McCoy was an un-used substitute. Hopefully through October the team have more continuity and stability and injuries to key players like Joey Taylor, Ejiro Okosieme and Charlie Allen can stop and the team builds momentum under Danny Kedwell.  After Wednesday, Cray lie in 19^th place in the league.

It will be a tough game as always at Carshalton Athletic who are a fine footballing side under the management of Peter Adeniyi and lie 10^th in the early weeks of the season.  Their scheduled match at Lewes on Tuesday night was understandably postponed so their last outing was last Saturday and an impressive 3-1 win at Cheshunt with two goals from experienced Jordan Cheadle and a Lewis White strike.  Home form has seen one win, one defeat and one draw from the three games. They started the season with a 2-4 defeat to Enfield Town then beat Bishop’ Stortford 2-0 before drawing 0-0 with Bowers & Pitsea on 13^th September. Away from home Carshalton drew 0-0 at Margate, won 3-0 at Leatherhead and lost 0-1 at Bognor Regis Town.  In the FA Cup, the Robins won 3-0 at Kennington in the 1st Qualifying Round before unluckily losing 1-2 to Ebbsfleet at home 18^th September.  Harry Ottaway, Dan Hector, White and Cheadle all have two goals for the season.

The last time the two teams met was in the Isthmian Premier on 30^th September 2019 with Carshalton winning 4-0 at Colston Avenue.  The sides never got to meet in the scheduled final game of the 2019-20 season with Cray second and Carshalton third and in the playoff places when the league ended in March.   They were fourth when the 2020-21 season was curtailed in November 2020 so are always highly placed.    Carshalton were the last winners of the Isthmian South in 2017-18 and took to the Premier Division like a duck to water and finished 2^nd in 2018-19 with 71 points before losing at home to Merstham in the Playoff Semi-Final.

The Robins were formed in 1905 and had been members of the Isthmian League going back to 1973 and they spent thirty years there before being moved to the Conference South in 2004 following a re-structuring of the leagues. They spent two seasons there before relegation back to the Isthmian League where our paths crossed for the first time since the 1920-30’s in the Premier in 2009-10.  Both sides were relegated together in 2013-14 and renewed a pretty decent football rivalry when Cray were re-located to the Isthmian South in 2016-17 season.

Both sides are renowned for good football and should be a great game to watch and with Cray desperate to get back to winning ways but it will be a tough match. Admission costs on the day £12/£9/£4.

DIRECTIONS TO CARSHALTON ATHLETIC FC

War Memorial Sports Ground, Colston Avenue, Sutton, Carshalton            SM5 2PW

Admission prices

Adults: £12.00 over 18’s (or £11 if purchased online: https://www.carshaltonathletic.co.uk/tickets

Seniors: £9.00 (£8.00 online) – Under 18’s: £4.00 (£3.00 online)

Matchday Progamme – Online and can be found an evening before the match.

Supporters going to Colston Avenue need to adhere to the following:

Photo ID needs to be provided for purchasing alcohol but also needs to be shown at the gate upon arrival.   No drums or clappers are permitted into the ground.  Dogs will need to wear a muzzle but are generally welcome.

One of the best trips of the season and one of the more straight forward grounds to get to by train.

If you are driving in the best and fastest way is via the A232 picked up from West Wickham.  At the roundabout take the 2^nd exit onto Wickham Road/A232 follow for 1.4 miles and at the roundabout take the 2^nd exit onto Shirley Road/A232.  At the next roundabout take the 1^st exit onto Addiscombe Road/A232 then keep following the A232 for 1.7 miles. At the roundabout take the 2^nd exit onto the Croydon flyover/A232 for 1 mile.  Then keep right to continue onto Epsom Road, use the middle lane to turn right onto Purley Way/A23, then turn left onto Croydon Road/A232 following the A232 for 2.2 miles.   Then continue onto the roundabout taking the 2^nd exit onto West Street/A278 then after 0.3 miles turn left into Colston Avenue for the ground.

The entrance to the ground is down a small alley about 150 yards on your right.  This is a busy and narrow road so best to avoid parking down here – there is a car park at the ground or park on West Street or Colston Avenue.

With the current difficulties with getting fuel perhaps a train to Carshalton might be the best bet with the station being so close to the ground Trains go direct from London Victoria s on a Saturday at 11, 25, 41 and 55 past the hour.  Returns to Victoria are at 05, 15, 35 and 45 past the hour.  You can also go from London Waterloo at 12, 28, 42 and 58 past the hour which require a change at Clapham Junction or in some cases an additional change at Wimbledon so probably easier from Victoria.  Carshalton station is in Travel Card Zone 5.

The station is only a few minutes’ walk from the ground – take a right out of the exit and walk down the hill.  Turn right, walk under the railway bridge and then left into Colston Avenue – ground is 150 yards on your right.

The following bus no’s will take you close to Colston Avenue, 127, 157, 407, 627, S3 & X20

Carshalton has a few decent pubs within a stone’s throw of the ground.  On West Street (take a left out of the station) there are the Racehorse which is a live music venue and also The Hope, whilst in The High Street there is the Greyhound Hotel, Woodman and Coach and Horses – all of which are worth a visit and serve top notch food.   The clubhouse at the ground is excellent (one of if not the best in the league) and has done a pretty decent guest ale in the past.

If it’s a Chippy you want then Chipsmiths in the High Street should you get there early and decide to have a walkabout should suit you.  Also on the High Street are a couple of decent Indian restaurants, The Blue Bengal and Indian Oasis.

Although by no means a large place there always seems to be lots going on there and there are a couple of lovely ponds, three parks, a Water Tower and well worth a stroll along the River Wandle as well as taking in some breathtaking Surrey scenery.   One to definitely recommend for those that like football and making a day out of it but might be even better if it didn’t rain on a Saturday for a change.