Cray Wanderers vs Chichester City – Isthmian Premier – Tuesday 10th December, 7.45 pm – Match Preview
Cray Wanderers play their final midweek league game of 2024 on Tuesday 10th December as Chichester City visit Flamingo Park for the first time in the Isthmian Premier. Kick off 7.45 pm.
Cray will come into the game buoyed by an important 1-0 win at Bowers & Pitsea on Saturday where Frankie Raymond’s 79th minute penalty proved enough to move Cray up to 17th in the table on 19 points.
On a day where the conditions were extremely difficult due to the game being played amidst Storm Darragh, Cray had the better chances especially in the first half with Nyren Clunis, Lateef Adaja twice, Frankie Raymond and Josh Williams all coming close to scoring. The second half was harder to create openings but Cray stuck to their task after Bowers & Pitsea were reduced to ten men and after Nathan Jeche’s cross was handled, Raymond’s spot kick and a resolute defensive display ensured a big three points on the road for the fourth time this season in the league, each with a clean sheet. Cray will be looking to build on that victory with some tough games against the likes of Dover Athletic, Billericay Town and Hendon up coming but the focus must be on a Chichester City side playing at this level of the Isthmian League for the first time.
Chichester City were promoted from the Isthmian South-East last season after finishing 5th and in the playoffs were 1-0 winners at Ramsgate in the Semi-Final and then were promoted in style winning 5-0 at Three Bridges in the Final. Chichester have only been members of the Isthmian League since 2019-20 after winning promotion from the Southern Combination as champions in 2018-19.
Miles Rutherford’s side lie 15th in the table on 22 points and on Saturday were beaten 2-3 at home by Hastings United with second half goals from Lloyd Rowlatt and top scorer Jimmy Wild who with 15 goals is joint second top scorer in the Division, one behind George Nikaj of Dover Athletic.
So far away from home Chichester have won at Cheshunt (3-2) and Canvey Island (3-2), drew with Wingate & Finchley (1-1) and were beaten at Horsham (1-2), Dover Athletic (2-5), Cray Valley PM (1-2), Bowers & Pitsea (1-2) and Potters Bar Town (3-4). At home Chichester beat Canvey Island (2-1), Bognor Regis Town (2-1), Folkestone Invicta (2-1) and Billericay Town (3-1). They drew with Dulwich Hamlet, Horsham and Dartford and were beaten by Carshalton Athletic, Hashtag United and Hastings United. In the FA Cup, Chichester won at Kingstonian but were beaten in the 2nd Qualifying Round by Slough Town after a replay. Chichester reached the 2nd round of the FA Trophy after beating Herne Bay and Plymouth Parkway before losing narrowly at Worthing.
Chichester City were formed in 2000 as a merger between the original Chichester City club and Portfield FC. The original club were formed in 1873 and were Sussex County League champions on five occasions, the last in 1979-80 and tended to move between Division One and Two. They did host Cray Wanderers in the FA Vase in October 1992 with Cray winning 3-0 with goals from Craig Hanlon, Tony Jackson and Sam Wright.
After the merger the team were renamed Chichester City United until 2009 and were Sussex County League Division One Champions in 2003-04. They played Cray Wanderers in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in September 2008 at Hayes Lane with Cray winning 4-1 with goals from Tyrone Sterling, Danny Chapman, Jamie Kempster and Scott Kinch.
They won the now renamed Southern Combination 1st Division in 2018-19 and were promoted to the Isthmian South-East for the first time for 2019-20. Chichester reached the 2nd Round of the FA Cup that season after Bury were removed from the competition and were beaten at Tranmere Rovers. After some solid seasons in the South-East they were promoted last season after finishing fifth and had to win both playoff games away from home which they did in some style.
This should be a great way to spend an evening under the lights in the run up to Christmas as both teams look to keep moving away from the bottom four.
Admission £12/£6 on gate or online (see ticketing page – www.cray-wanderers.com/tickets/ – Match Programme £3, golden goals £1, tickets for the December Meat Raffle available, £1 or £4 a strip, merchandise, hot food and drinks, bars available
THE PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS/PROGRAMME NOTES OF NEIL SMITH
Cray Wanderers play their final midweek league match of 2024 this evening with a first ever Isthmian Premier League meeting with newcomers Chichester City. Here Neil Smith looks back to Saturday’s big three points at a wet and breezy Bowers & Pitsea and to the challenge of today..
Hello Neil. It was another soggy and windy Saturday in Essex at Bowers & Pitsea and a huge three points for us in difficult conditions. What are your thoughts following the game?
Yes, I thought the boys played the conditions very well, a bit like when we played at Canvey Island a couple of weeks ago. On that occasion we didn’t have luck and missed a penalty but against Bowers & Pitsea Frankie Raymond tucked ours away. If we had done that a couple more times before I don’t think we would have ended up with the points we got from those games. So we played the conditions well, put a great shift in and I thought we were thoroughly deserving of the win.
The game saw another clean sheet for Shaun Rowley making it 11 in league and cups this season. Defensively we are conceding very few goals especially away from home.
We were talking about that in the changing room and his clean sheet record this season. Realistically on Saturday he didn’t have many shots to save which is not only full credit for the defenders but also defending from the front with the forwards who made it hard for Bowers & Pitsea defenders in getting the balls forward and then the midfield won the second ball. Then obviously our defenders did very well and Shaun then had to do the rest and although he had little to do what he had to do he did it very well.
It was the second game in a row where he had to play against ten men following a sending off for Bowers & Pitsea. It is not always simple to play against ten men as it may seem!
No it isn’t. Against eleven men and everyone trying to get a game, teams leave opportunities to hit them if they are breaking forward. When Bowers & Pitsea went down to ten men they weren’t looking to break forward and you are having to break down ten players every time. When that happens when you get your chances you have to take them. Albeit it was from a penalty which I thought it was and I felt we should have had one in the first half.
To be fair I thought we had chances to score before the penalty. Nyren had a great chance when the ball hit him on the shoulder and went over and Lateef had a couple of chances too but Bowers & Pitsea were tough opposition because they are in a similar position to us and you are desperate for those three points. We just need to keep believing in ourselves and hopefully get the results.
Onto tonight and we welcome Chichester City for the first time in the Isthmian Premier. Have you had much chance to catch a look of them this season?
They are a good side and had a decent FA Trophy run and did well to get promotion last season. Like a lot of promoted sides they ride on the adrenalin of that and a new league so everyone gets excited so they play on that. We have had them looked at, I just need to regroup with the players, see who is injured and who is not. We have a very thin squad at the moment and we may have to use everybody.
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DIRECTIONS TO FLAMINGO PARK
Cray Wanderers FC – Flamingo Park Sports & Leisure – Sidcup By-Pass, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6HL
Flamingo Park lies on the A20 and is the new home of Cray Wanderers and used for the Men and Women’s First Team, U23s, Youth Team games, Academy side and the club house hosts live music and private events. For the 2024-25 season Bexley FC will also play their Kent County League Premier games at Flamingo Park.
By car
From Kent – Via M20 or A2
M20 – Follow the M20 for 16.8 miles then continue on to A20 for 3.6 miles then continue on to Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 1.9 miles. Continue onto Sidcup By-Pass/A20 for 0.3 miles then take a left into the ground entrance and another left for the car park.
A2 – Get on the M2 from A229 for 5.1 miles. After merging onto the M2 after 5.5 miles continue onto Watling Street/A2 for 8.7 miles. Use the left lane to take the M25 (S) slip road to M23 for 0.7 miles. Merge onto the M25 for 2.4 miles then at junction 3, exit towards A20/London (SE)/Swanley for 0.3 miles. At the Swanley interchange, take the 5th exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.8 miles. Merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles then continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 1.9 miles. Continue onto Sidcup By-Pass/A20 for 0.3 miles then take a left into the ground entrance and another left for the car park.
From London, North & West
Via A20 – If traveling from London take A3212, A302 and Westminster Bridge Road and at the roundabout take the 3rd exit onto St. George’s Circus/A201 and after 0.3 miles turn left onto New Kent Road/A201 for 0.5 miles. Then keep right staying on New Kent Road/A201 for 0.4 miles and then onto Old Kent Road/A2 for 2.6 miles. Take a slight right onto Amersham Road/A2/A20 then a left onto Amersham Road/A20 for 0.2 miles. Take a slight right onto Lewisham Way/A20 for 1.1 miles and then use the left 3 lanes to turn left onto Rennell Street/A20 for 1.9 miles. Use the right 2 lanes to turn slightly onto Sidcup Road/A20 for 0.3 miles then at the roundabout take the 2nd exit and stay on Sidcup Road/A20 for 3.7 miles. Then take the A222 towards Bromley/Chislehurst/Sidcup for 0.2 miles then at Frognal Corner Roundabout take the 4th exit onto the A20 slip road to C. London/Lewisham for 0.3 miles. Then merge onto the Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 0.6 miles and then onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles. Then take a left into the entrance to the ground and another left into the car park.
From Essex/East Anglia
Via A13 – If traveling from Essex/East Anglia get onto the A13 for 11.6 miles. Use the left lane to take the M25 (N)/M25 (S) slip road to M11/M1/Stansted Airport/Dartford Crossing/A282 for 0.2 miles. At Mardyke Junction take the 1st exit for 0.3 miles and then use the right lane to take the A282 slip road to M25 (S)/Dartford Crossing then keep right at the fork to continue towards A282 for 3.8 miles. Use the right 3 lanes to stay on A282 then follow signs for M20/M23/Gatwick Airport /M25/Channel Tunnel/Dover for 0.6 miles. Continue onto M25 (signs for Dover/M20/Channel Tunnel/M23 for 3.3 miles. At junction 3 exit towards A20/London (SE)/Swanley for 0.3 miles and at Swanley Interchange take the 5th exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.8 miles. Then merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles, continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Rd/A20 for 1.9 miles and then continue onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles then turn left into the entrance to the ground and then a left into the car park.
From: Sussex/South
If traveling from Sussex/South best get on Hastings Road/Pembury By-Pass/A21 in Kent from A267 and after 9.4 miles continue straight onto Sevenoaks Bypass/A21 for 3.8 miles and then keep right to continue onto M25. After 7.9 miles at junction 3 use the left 2 lanes to take the A20 exit to London/Lewisham/Channel Tunnel/Maidstone/M20 for 0.3 miles. At Swanley Interchange take the 2nd exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.5 miles. Merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles, continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Rd/A20 for 1.9 miles and then continue onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles then turn left into the entrance to the ground and then a left into the car park.
The Car Park is free for supporters and there should be space for 400 cars on site. Please note bays in front of the main entrance are reserved for club officials.
By Train – Nearest BR Station – New Eltham – 1 mile. Trains from London Charing Cross/London Cannon Street/London Bridge or from Dartford/Gravesend.
By Train – Nearest BR Station – New Eltham – 1 mile. Trains from London Charing Cross/London Cannon Street/London Bridge or from Dartford/Gravesend. For midweek games there are five trains an hour heading to New Eltham. For returns there are trains back to London at 07 & 37 mins past the hour with the last train at 00:07.
From the station walk south-east onto Foots Cray Road/A211 for 0.3 miles then turn right onto Thaxted Road for 0.2 miles. Then turn left towards Sidcup Road/A20 and cross over the pedestrian footbridge and take a sharp and then a slight right towards Sidcup Road/A20 for 0.4 miles and then turn right and then a left into the entrance to the ground.
By Bus – The best bet is to get the 233 from Swanley, Sidcup, Eltham or New Eltham which stops on Thaxted Road but is around 0.8 miles to the ground. The 160 from Carlton Road, Sidcup stops at Montbelle Road as does the 162 which also stops at New Eltham Station and the Fiveways roundabout and is around a 22 minutes walk to the ground.
TAXIS – TAXIS – ALL DAY CARS – NEW ELTHAM – 020 8850 0032
Nearest Hotel: Premier Inn London Eltham
738 Sidcup Road, Eltham, London
SE9 3NS
Sat Nav Directions:SE9 3TJ
Directions:
From South Circular Road, take A20 Sidcup Bypass until you reach Fiveways, where Sidcup Road meets Green Lane Premier Inn Eltham is situated on the corner and the entrance to the car park is on Green Lane.
https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-eltham.html
The Car Park is free for supporters and there should be space between 700-800 cars on site. Please note bays in front of the main entrance are reserved for club officials.
Close to New Eltham Station are the Beehive pub plus the Pope Street Bar & Kitchen and the Nest offers hot drinks/alcoholic drinks and live music. There are also places to eat and a wide range of takeaway outlets as well as Fish & Chip and a Pie & Mash shop. Alternatively if you travel from Sidcup there are a wide range of pubs to choose from.
