Cray Wanderers vs Canvey Island – Isthmian Premier – Saturday 8th March, 2025 – Match Report
Cray Wanderers 3
Raymond 35 pen, Kader 38, Adaja 71
Canvey Island 1
Harris 56
Cray Wanderers bounced back from last Saturday’s defeat at Chichester City to keep alive their perhaps slim hopes of reaching the playoffs with a home victory against Canvey Island on a warm and very sunny afternoon at Flamingo Park.
After a cagey start to the match, the Wands sprung into life around the half hour mark and took the lead in the 35th minute from the penalty spot scored by Frankie Raymond after Soul Kader was brought down. Three minutes later Kader was on target making it six goals in five matches for the Bromley loanee.
Canvey though staged a fight back early in the second half and pulled a goal back in the 56th minute through top scorer Chris Harris. However, the next goal in the game looked to be crucial and came in the 71st minute for Cray scored by Lateef Adaja and although both teams came close late on the Wands saw out the win whiced moved Neil Smith’s side onto 51 points and beat last season’s total with eight games to spare.
On a remarkably warm early March afternoon and with the Cray Massive in good voice throughout this looked like being a special occasion as the Wands looked to make it 13 unbeaten at home.
Before the game and in the 71st minute there was a minute applause for Cray Wanderers Life President Peter Jackson and was impeccably observed by fans from both clubs.
Cray in 9th place saw one change to the side which played at Chichester with captain Tom Bonner returning in place for Quade Taylor following suspension. Canvey Island who came into the game 18th and four points off the bottom four were unchanged from the team that drew with Dover Athletic last Saturday.
The game began a little bit cagey with perhaps Cray shading possession and looked the more potent and Nyren Clunis headed over from a throw in down the right.
Then, Lateef Adaja who had a superb game coming in from the wing set up Soul Kader with a half chance inside the box who swung a boot at the ball but lacked power and was gathered by Bobby Mason.
This was followed by Josh Williams out on the right putting over a fine cross but just couldn’t get a touch from the head of a diving Adaja inside the six yard box.
The match then went through a bit of a lull for around ten minutes with the game having a sedate feel. Cray were beginning to up the pressure and in the 20th minute In Clunis saw a low shot saved by Mason and then won a corner down the left from which Remi Sutton saw a near post shot blocked.
In the 27th minute Cray came closest yet when Adaja cut inside from the left and saw his low shot heading for the bottom right corner pushed round the post by Mason.
However, Cray were not to be denied and deservedly went in front in the 35th minute from the penalty spot when Kader who showed good skill to cut into the box and was clipped inside the area by Jamie Salmon. Frankie Raymond did the rest with a coolly taken penalty to make it 1-0.
Three minutes later Cray had a grip on the game when Kader latched onto a ball over the top from the back and with incredible confidence and no little impudence lobbed the ball over the advancing Mason from inside the D to keep up his remarkable scoring start to his second stint with the Wands.
Just before half time Adaja saw a shot go wide though Canvey who had been restricted to a couple of blocked efforts and some confident Shaun Rowley handling almost pulled one back right on the interval when Bradley Sach who scored twice when the teams met at Canvey in November saw his effort blocked almost off the line by Tom Bonner.
Canvey boss Brad Wellman made three changes at the break with Chris Harris, Oliver Parsons and Kane Gilbert coming on and certainly made a difference as the Gulls started the second half very much on the front foot and straight away Darren Foxley saw a shot blocked.
In the 50th minute, Rowley was called upon to make two fine saves firstly to deny Jeremy Santos who had a fine second half and pushed the shot round the post for a corner. From the corner kick the ball came to Sach whose effort was tipped over for another corner.
The Wands felt they had weathered that little spell but in the 56th minute Canvey were back in it when Santos played a ball from midfield through to Harris who still had a bit to do but finished tidily burying the ball under Rowley to make it 2-1.
Cray looked to restore the two goal lead and Adaja who had been desperately unlucky not to score in recent home games, cut inside from the right and saw his shot come back off the left post.
In the 66th minute, Canvey came close to a leveller when Santos saw a free kick from 25 yards swerve wickedly but crashed back off the crossbar with Rowley beaten.
However, in the 71st minute coincidentally just as the minute applause was about to begin went 3-1 up when Adaja down the left scored a cracker as he received possession over 20 yards out and placed a shot which may have taken the slightest of deflections past Mason and into the net.
Cray now were able to relax that bit more and there were appearances off the bench for youngsters George Penn, Victor Damyanov, Tom Borders and George Brooke.
Before the end, Eze Ebouzeme who always goes about his business with a quiet authority was unlucky not to score with a shot from twelve yards that required a great save from Mason blocked on the goalline.
Canvey looked to pull back another goal and Oliver Parsons saw a shot blocked by Ike Orji and in added on time from a corner the ball came to the sharp Harris whose header was pushed over by Rowley.
In the end though Cray had deservedly picked up the three points which keeps the Wands at least comfortably placed in the Isthmian Premier on 51 points with eight matches to go and remain 9th ahead of trip to 6th placed Carshalton Athletic next Saturday. At times especially in the first half the Wands purred like a well-oiled machine and there were some fine performances, Rowley who made three fine saves second half, Tom Bonner typically resolute alongside Remi Sutton at the back, while Ike Orji and Darion Dowrich although perhaps more conservative going forward than other games were accomplished defensively. Raymond, Eze and Penn when he came on added steel, Clunis the silk and there was always the pace of Williams, Adaja and Kader to add to the mix. Canvey should be ok with a four point cushion in 18th place but will probably require another at least ten points to be sure.
Cray meanwhile can look forward to the trip to Carshalton which is always a good footballing test ahead of back to back home games to end March vs Bowers & Pitsea and Dover Athletic.
Cray Wanderers: Shaun Rowley, Ike Orji, Remi Sutton, Tom Bonner, Darion Dowrich, Lateef Adaja (Victor Damyanov, 82), Frankie Raymond, Eze Ebouzeme, Nyren Clunis (George Brooke, 90+5), Josh Williams (George Penn, 65), Soul Kader (Tom Borders, 89): Sub: Quade Taylor
MOM — Awarded by Cray Wanderers – U14s Girls – Tom Bonner
Canvey Island: Bobby Mason, Tobi Tinabu (Oliver Parsons, H/T), Tom Stephen, Jamie Salmon (Chris Harris, H/T), Jimmy Wallace (Denim Nnamudi, 82), Elliott Ronto, Emmanuel Adebiyi, Conor Hubble (Kane Gilbert, H/T), Bradley Sach, Jeremy Santos, Darren Foxley (Finley Dorrell, 82)
Booked: Wallace 44
Referee: Daniel Blades
Assistants: Matthew Charles, Matthew Pollington
Att: 555
