Cray Wanderers vs Wingate & Finchley – Isthmian Premier – Saturday 12th April, 3 pm – Match Preview
Cray Wanderers play the penultimate home game of an historic first season at Flamingo Park as 10th placed Wands host 11th placed Wingate & Finchley in what will be the fourth meeting of the season. Kick off 3 pm.
Cray will come into the game high in confidence after a terrific 2-0 win at Billericay Town last Saturday. The game plan was perfected virtually to the letter as after a cagey first half Cray showed far more attacking potency than the title contenders and Soul Kader early on made it seven goals in seven games with a classy run and finish. Nyren Clunis is another finished the season as per usual in good form and notched his 11th goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 64th minute.
Cray defended stoutly to complete an eighteenth clean sheet of the season for keeper Shaun Rowley but the back four were outstanding as were the whole team who helped give the final month of the season a great start.
After Saturday Cray have a huge say in who will be going up as Champions as over Easter the Wands visit Horsham and on Monday finish the home fixtures against Dartford so a great boost for the team to have tough opponents to play towards the end of the season rather than tame end of season affairs.
Certainly Saturday’s game will not fit into this category as both teams look to aim for a 60+ point haul for the season and Wingate & Finchley themselves at points in the season have looked like live playoff contenders.
The teams met twice early in the campaign in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup which ended in a 1-1 draw at Flamingo Park in September with David Ijaha’s goal cancelled out by top scorer, Ogo Obi’s penalty in added time. Cray though won the replay three nights later, 1-0 through a David Smith strike. The two teams met in the league on 28th January on a wet and grim night and the game matched the mood for the most part of it but Ben Watt notched another injury time goal to win the match for the home side.
Ahmet Rifat’s side have had an incredible run of results away from home against four of the title contenders having won at Dover, Dartford, Horsham and Billiercay Town. They were up with the contenders going into November but a run of ten games without a win was ended by the 1-0 win against Cray in January and went on to lose only one of the next nine games. Last Saturday Wingate & Finchley picked up a point from a goalless draw at Lewes.
Away form has been very good with wins at Canvey Island (3-2), Dover Athletic (2-1), Dartford (3-2), Hendon (6-1), Whitehawk (2-0), Bowers & Pitsea (6-0), Horsham (2-1), Hastings United (2-0) and Billericay Town (3-1). They drew at Potters Bar Town (0-0) and Lewes (0-0) and were beaten at Carshalton Athletic (2-3), Bognor Regis Town (1-2), Dulwich Hamlet (1-2), Hashtag United (1-4), Cray Valley PM (3-5), Folkestone Invicta (2-3), Chatham Town (1-3) and Chichester City (1-2). At home Wingate & Finchley beat Dulwich Hamlet (3-2), Bowers & Pitsea (3-1), Carshalton Athletic (2-1), Hastings United (2-1), Cray Wanderers (1-0), Dover Athletic (2-1), Whitehawk (3-1) and drew with Folkestone Invicta, Chichester City, Chatham Town, Lewes, Hendon and Hashtag United. The only home defeats came against Potters Bar Town, Horsham, Billiercay Town, Chichester City, Dartford and Cray Valley PM. Top scorer is Ogo Obi with 27 goals in all competitions. The Blues finish the season with a home match with Bognor Regis Town on Saturday 19th, away to Cheshunt on Easter Monday and end at home to Canvey Island.
Neither side can reach the playoffs but there are three key matches on Saturday which could narrow down the options for promotion with Chatham hosting Chichester, Carshalton Athletic vs Horsham and Hashtag United v Cray Valley means with three games remaining names could start to tumble out of the race and could mean the winners tomorrow can either cement a top 10 finish or enough of the nine points remaining to go higher.
Admission £12 adults, £6 concessions, U16s-U13s, on gate or via the ticketing page. £3 printed programme, merchandise, vintage programmes for sale, hot food and drinks, bars – Also Crystal Palace v Man City and Arsenal v Brentford matches shown live.
THE PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS OF TIM O’SHEA
The Wands penultimate home game of the 2024-25 season sees the Wands face Wingate & Finchley this afternoon for the fourth time this season. Here Tim O’Shea looks back to last Saturday outstanding 2-0 win at Billericay Town and the challenge for today.
Hello Tim. Let’s start by looking back to the excellent win at Billericay Town last Saturday. Not many would have had that result down on their bingo cards but you must have believed it was possible and it was a classic away performance!
It was and Smudge, myself and all the management team have always believed in these boys. The biggest factor has always been do those boys believe in themselves. I can’t tell you how disappointed they were after the Dover game. With the result rather than the performance which we couldn’t knock too much. To them though that was it. It was now mathematically not possible to reach the playoffs but for them to pick themselves up and come to perhaps the wannabe champions and put in a performance like that spoke volumes. We put a bit of work in on the Thursday at training and they have come here and that belief which I beiieve in but do the dressing room! When we arrived at 1.15 pm I could tell in the changing room that we were not going to get beaten.
A special mention to Quade Taylor who came into the midfield for the match and was outstanding against a strong physical side as were the whole team. Also, I don’t think Billiercay had a shot on target in the whole game.
There were a few raised eyebrows before the game, even the Chairman thought we were playing three at the back. I said, Billericay have a real physicality about them at times. They have a long throw so what Quade gives us there is stability. What they were playing and credit to Alfie George for looking at that we knew they would play like a box in there with two 10’s and two midfield players so it made sense for us to have two players sitting there in front as we knew we would have enough pace and ability. Once we broke them down we won the ball back. So it was possibly one of the most complete performances I’ve seen in a long while.
I know Shaun Rowley gets a lot of credit for his record of 18 clean sheets which I think makes him second in the league but you also have to give a great shout out to the boys in front, Tom and Remi. Even at the end at 2-0 with a minute or so to go, Tom has put his body on the line and got a great block in. They have been outstanding those two and Remi deserves a mention as he is underrated, he goes about his business and does it so efficiently and a really good player.
It wasn’t a game of many chances but when the chances came for Soul and Nyren they were both dispatched superbly especially Soul’s as it wasn’t an easy one to finish off.
That’s right, in the first half we had a couple of situations especially for Soul but each time he got snuffed out, couldn’t get his feet right or Matt Johnson did well to get back and stop him doing what he did for the goal. The goal though was Soul at his best. I’m not being funny he still had loads to do when he went through. There wasn’t much room there so for him to tuck it away like he did was thoroughly deserved and for the shift he put in. He has been brilliant.
Looking ahead to today and the fourth meeting of the season with Wingate & Finchley. Another team perhaps a bit like us that goes under the radar but they are always strong, stern games when we play them.
It will be a similar game to as it was at their place in January. To be fair they do try to overload down the flanks and show great rotation and movement. I think when we lost to them they then went on an amazing run. They do play some great football and should be a decent game.
I said to the boys after the game on Saturday don’t let the season just fade away. Keep on going, we are one of the best teams in this league and the second half of the season just proves it.
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DIRECTIONS FOR NEWCOMERS TO FLAMINGO PARK – IMPORTANT TRAIN TRAVEL INFORMATION
For details of rail replacement services please consult https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
Directions to Flamingo Park for newcomers
Cray Wanderers FC
Flamingo Park – Directions
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 between 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. PLEASE SEE ABOVE MESSAGE
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 162 bus which starts in Bromley stops on Slades Drive where you can access the public footpath opposite the bus stop and is around a ten minute walk to the ground. This bus also stops at New Eltham Station for your return journey.
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.
