Cray Wanderers vs Larkfield & New Hythe – FA Cup 1QR – Tuesday 3rd September, 7.45 pm
Tuesday evening sees another first for Cray Wanderers with the first FA Cup tie at Flamingo Park as Larkfield & New Hythe meet again for the right to face Wingate & Finchley in the 2nd Qualifying Round. Kick off 7.45 pm with the match to be decided on the night if level after 90 minutes.
The Wands will be looking to make home advantage tell after a tough battle at Larkfield & New Hythe last Saturday which ended in a 1-1 draw on a windy afternoon in a stirring cup tie in an idyllic rural setting. The greatest cup competition in the world never ceases to provide great stories, matches and memories at this stage of the season which often go under the radar and hopefully Flamingo Park will be the host of many such great moments in the years to come.
The Larks, playing in their first season at Step 5 in the SCEFL Premier came close to pulling off an upset and after Matt Day’s penalty kick was saved by Shaun Rowley later took the lead through Bryan Zepo’s header. However, Cray had to dig in to get back into the game and levelled eleven minutes from time courtesy of an Anthony Cook penalty. Despite both teams efforts to win the game the match ended in a draw and both teams will go again under the lights.
Cray will be looking to pick up their first home win of the season but will have to be at their best against a Larkfield & New Hythe side who played well in the first game and will not be overawed by the occasion.
Larkfield & New Hythe are making their FA Cup debut this season so have reached the 1st Qualifying Round for the first time with wins both at home vs Kennington (2-1) and Lingfield (3-1) with goals from Jack Clark, Chibueze Innocent and Bryan Zepo. The Larks are managed by an ex-Wand in Danny Lye and also assisted by Michael Phillips with both at the club during the 2014-15 season.
Larkfield & New Hythe were promoted to the SCEFL Premier for the first time last season and finishing 2nd and victories against Lewisham Borough and Staplehurst Monarchs in front of a crowd of 835 saw them gain promotion. They have begun well in the league and are 9th unbeaten after three games on 7 points after wins at Rusthall (2-1) and at home to Glebe (2-0) and drew 1-1 at Punjab United. Last Tuesday they made the trip down to Selsey in the FA Vase and were unfortunate to go out on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Zepo scoring.
The club were formed in 1961 as Larkfield & New Hythe Wanderers and played in the Maidstone & District Saturday League with Larkfield Youth formed in 1976. The two clubs merged in 2012. The club moved into the Kent County League Division 2 East in 1996 and were Maidstone District Cup Winners in 2015 and the Les Leckie Cup Winners the following year. They were promoted to Division One in 2020 and in 2021-22 were accepted into the SCEFL Division One after successful ground improvements. They finished 3rd in their first season losing to Sutton Athletic in the playoff final and the following season finished 5th. Last season after a 2nd placed finish and playoff success the club who plan to move to a new ground in the next two years now can aim higher in the SCEFL Premier.
This should be a great night of cup tie football with a competitive edge and there has to be a winner.
Admission £8/£5 on the gate or online at www.cray-wanderers.com/tickets/
