Cray Wanderers – 2019-20 season – That was the season that wasn’t – A Pictorial Review
FA Trophy 1st QR – Saturday 26th October
Maldon & Tiptree 3 Parish 44, 52, Slew 79
Cray Wanderers 0
Cray’s FA Trophy hopes for the season came to an early end as Maldon & Tiptree who had made a flying start to the season took their chances on a murky afternoon in Essex.
Perhaps you can count on the fingers of one hand those days during the season when perhaps Cray weren’t at their best but despite the scoreline the match was more closer than it suggests but the Jammers took their chances well.
It was something of a cagey first half with a couple of half chances for Maldon & Tiptree with Charlee Hughes shooting over and Danny Parish was denied by the legs of Lewis Carey.
For Cray a cross from Tom Carlse was meant for the head for Bradley Pritchard but Joe Taylor got in the way and flicked the ball away. Then Tom Murphy saw a shot held by keeper Ben McNamara.
It looked like the first goal would be key in a tight game and it came for Maldon & Tiptree who scored a minute before half time when Hughes’ right wing cross was steered home by Parish.
Maldon & Tiptree started the second half well and Parish scored his second in the 52nd minute when he latched onto a through ball and chipped the ball over Carey into the net.
Cray had chances to get back into it with Barney Williams bursting through and unlucky to see his shot roll wide. Then Taylor drove just wide from Jerome Federico’s cross.
Maldon & Tiptree scored a third 11 minutes from time when Parish’s down the right squared the ball across and Jorome Slew tapped in.
It wasn’t Cray’s afternoon and Maldon & Tiptree who had won their first 16 games of the season went on to win at Leyton Orient in the FA Cup shortly after and at the time the season ended had a comfortable lead at the top of the Isthmian North.
Cray Wanderers: Lewis Carey, Barney Williams (Capt.), Tom Carlse, Jay Leader, Mitchell Nelson, Charlie Allen, Bradley Pritchard, Tom Phipp (Karl Dent, 60), Tom Murphy (Lee Lewis, 66), Andre Coker (Jerome Federico, 18), Joe Taylor: Subs: Ben Mundele, Charles Etumnu, Geofrey Okonkwo, Grant Hall
Att: 145
MALDON & TIPTREE vs CRAY WANDERERS – The Thoughts of Tony Russell
I wasn’t happy to be honest and I was very angry particularly at half time. We just seemed to be going through the motions, we never really got going and that we really wanted it enough and that we saw it as a break from the league playing a team below us. We wanted to stop them playing out from the back and make them play it long from the keeper which we were happy with but we seemed to come off the game plan and not sure why and individuals started doing their own things. I was very disappointed we’ve had a very good chance in the first half when Carlesy puts over a cross we’ve had three against one in the box and Pritchard is going to head the ball in from five yards out but JT has got their first and headed it away from goal. For their first goal we were a bit annoyed as we had a goal kick and we just gave the ball back to them and from down the right they put over a dangerous cross and we were one-nil down. For me, there wasn’t a lot between the two sides and there wasn’t nothing in it. They’ve had two chances in the first half and two chances in the second. We’ve had one good chance first half and in the second Barney and JT had opportunities to score. They took their chances but the first two finished from Danny Parish were different class, the first where he has got in front of Mitch and the second was a great through ball and he lifted the ball over Lewis as he’s come out.
For me, if we turn up and put our best foot forward we win but it didn’t really seem like us. It’s one thing we always pride ourselves on that we always put in a performance, we might not necessarily always win but if we lose we like to do it in a certain way and we give everything. I didn’t think that was a good representation of us and I don’t know why that was. We are a very good side when we work as one, we’ve got a terrific group of players, a delight to work with and a credit to the football club but Saturday just wasn’t them and we are better than that. It’s gone now and we move on and we will talk it out on Monday during training and analysis and should be an interesting session to reflect on the performance. Credit to Maldon & Tiptree, a nice club, well managed and I like that sort of chess game type of match and good luck to them for the rest of the season”.
MALDON & TIPTREE vs CRAY WANDERERS – PITCHSIDE VIDEO
Please see here another excellent instalment of Pitchside recorded at the FA Trophy tie at Maldon & Tiptree. Featuring pre-game, match and post match action and comment put together superbly by Ozay Booth.
