Westfield v Cray Wanderers – PSF – Saturday 29th July, 3 pm – Match Preview
With just two weekends to go before the start of the Isthmian League season, Cray Wanderers play their fifth pre-season game on Saturday with a trip to Woking to face Westfield FC for the first time. Kick off: 3 pm
Cray have had a pretty positive pre-season so far and made it three wins out of four on Tuesday evening with a professional performance at Glebe winning 3-0. George Porter opened the scoring on 4 minutes for his second goal of pre-season followed by an own goal and an Anthony Cook penalty in the second half.
The Wands fielded a very strong side especially in the first half showing respect for Glebe and finished the match with a clean sheet. Defensively Cray have looked strong throughout pre-season with, in particular, new signings Archy Taylor, Jamie Mascoll, Jack Holland and Cameron Black impressing.
With three more games to go before the big kick off at Lewes things seem to be moving in the right direction with perhaps still time to look at a couple of additional players to bolster a squad with a great balance of youth and experience.
Westfield will provide tough opposition on Saturday and have also had a positive pre-season and start their competitive season next Saturday with an FA Cup Extra-Preliminary tie at home to Fisher. Pre-season started with a 2-2 draw at Sandhurst on 8th July followed by a 3-1 home win vs Hanwell Town. A 1-1 draw at home to Woking U23s on 15th July was followed by a 5-1 win at Abbey Rangers. The last two games at home saw Westfield draw 3-3 with Winchester City last Saturday and on Tuesday night defeated Knaphill in a local derby 3-1.
Westfield are managed by a former European Champion with Arsenal, Ian Selley who took over the reins in February 2023 and play in the Isthmian South-Central. They finished 12th last season, reaching the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup and begin the league season on 12th August at Guernsey.
Westfield were formed in 1953 as Westfield Boys Club and started life in the Woking & District League going on to play intermediate football for ten years before joining the Parthenon League in 1962-63 finishing runners-up in their first season. Now known as Wesfield they entered the Surrey Senior League the following season winning the league title and league cup double in 1972-73. They remained there until 1978 joining the then known Home Counties League later becoming the Combined Counties League for twenty-seven seasons.
In 2016-17 Westfield finished 2nd in the Combined Counties Premier and then the following season won the league earning promotion to the Isthmian League for the first time. In 2018-19 under the management of Tony Reid they finished 5th in their first season in the newly created Isthmian South-Central reaching the playoffs before losing to Bracknell Town in the Semi-Final. After the Covid affected seasons Wesfield have finished 16th and last season 12th and seem well settled to life in the Isthmian League.
This will be a good test for both teams and should be an enjoyable day out to Surrey and a first ever meeting between the clubs.
DIRECTIONS TO WESTFIELD FC
The Community Building, Woking Park, Kingfield Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 9BA
Admission £5
The postcode for your satnav to Westfield FC is GU22 9BA
PLEASE SEE HERE THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR PARKING IN WOKING PARK
Parking:
Please use the 261-bay undercover car park opposite the ground entrance.
Parking is free (no ticket required) for 2 hours for afternoon games. Evening
matches no charge applies.
If travelling by coach please advise us in good time so we can reserve your space.
Afternoon matches only
Visiting Club players and officials if staying longer than 2 hours– Please head up to the clubhouse and collect permits from behind the bar to place in your cars.
Match Officials – Upon arrival please head upstairs to the club house and collect parking permits from behind the bar to place in your cars.
Please do not park in the layby areas outside the ground as these are 20min max and traffic wardens patrol the area regularly on match days.
Despite warnings several sides were caught out by this last year and tickets were issued.
By Car from the North, M25, Chertsey
The ground is situated opposite Woking FC’s Kingfield Stadium, next to Woking Leisure Centre, midway between the town centre and Old Woking.
Leave the M25 at junction 11 (Chertsey) and follow the A320 for just over 5 miles until you reach Woking town centre.
The A320 dual-carriageway (Victoria Way) will take you around the main shopping area and is signposted to Guildford. Follow the A320 under the railway arch and on towards Guildford.
After 3/4 mile, at the bottom of the hill, the A320 turns sharp right. At this point, go straight ahead onto Claremont Avenue (one-way) signposted A247 to Dorking, Old Woking & Leisure Centre.
At the end of Claremont Avenue, the road turns left over the bridge, and the approach road to the Leisure Centre is immediately next left, opposite the entrance to Woking Football Club.
By Car from the South, Guildford & A3
The A320 runs north from Guildford town centre and the A3 for 4.5 miles to the Turnoak roundabout in the residential outskirts of Woking, which is the junction with the A247 to Dorking. It’s the sixth roundabout from the Stoke traffic lights (A25), if you’re counting them! There you will need to turn right, signposted Old Woking & Leisure Centre.
There is an unusual junction (Give Way) just before the road bridge after 1/4 mile, and the approach road for the Leisure Centre is just on the left over the bridge.
Almost there – with Woking Football Ground on your right…
Turn into the Leisure Centre approach road, drive down for 200 yards and turn into the car park on your right. The grey building over on the right, just over the road bridge beyond the car park, is our facility.
The pedestrian entrance and turnstiles are half way along the front of that building.
Parking in the Leisure Centre (Woking Park) car park is only free for 2 hours, thereafter pay and display.
PLEASE NOTE DUE TO INDUSTRIAL ACTION THERE IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE TRAINS RUNNING TO WOKING ON SATURDAY. IF YOU SHOULD FIND YOURSELF NEAR WOKING STATION HERE ARE WALKING DIRECTIONS TO WOKING PARK. You have a choice of two routes.
You can either follow the signposted route ahead of you down White Rose Lane, or turn immediately right along the station approach road to take the more direct route.
If you take the first route, go straight ahead across the car parking areas and along White Rose Lane, until you come to the pedestrian crossing. Go across Oriental Road and then, further on, cross over Heathside Road. Carry on down White Rose Lane until, about 75 yards past the turning for Ockenden Road, you reach the entrance to Woking Park on your right. Go in, turn left around the cricket pitch, and you will quickly notice a path leading to a small pond as part of a stream. Follow this path and it will lead you behind the Leisure Centre and high-level 3G pitches (with car park below). The ground is just beyond the car park, just stay on this path and it will take you around to the grey building, where the ground entrance and turnstiles are situated.
If you take the alternative route from the station, turn immediately right down the station approach road until you come to the pelican crossing. Cross over towards HM Coroner’s Court. Keeping the Court and the Police Station to your left, follow the A320 out of town towards Guildford. You will see the Sovereigns pub on the other side of the road further down. About 300 yards past the Police Station, turn left down Constitution Hill (past Southview Surgery). There is a 5-storey contemporary apartment block on the corner.
Some 75 yards further on, you will come to the gated entrance to Woking Park on your left. Turn in, continue down through the barrier and take the first path on your right. Follow this path all the way through the park, keeping the Swimming Pool to your left. When you arrive at the car park, follow the road through the car park and over the road bridge to the grey building on your right. The ground entrance and turnstiles can be found halfway along this building.
Nearest pubs: As there is a rail strike it may be a bit difficult for a look around the town and the clubhouse at the ground is bound to offer great Surrey hospitality. Otherwise as the ground is fairly close to the Town centre/High Street there is Sovereigns (formerly the Railway Hotel) on Guildford Road is just 0.4 miles from the ground with the Kingfield Arms on Kingfield Road, half a mile from the ground. There is the Slug & Lettuce on Chobham Road (no real ale though) and The Herbert Wells (JD Wetherspoon, named after HG Wells) on Chertsey Road along with the Junction Tap. There should be other establishments around too but maybe a bit out of town.
Woking is a large commuter town in leafy, stockbroker belt Surrey with good transport links between London, Southampton and Portsmouth. Cray Wanderers have never played at Woking FC (aside from an FA Youth Cup game about ten years ago) so Westfield being a stone’s throw away from Woking’s ground is as near as we have played to the Cardinals.
Again with a lack of trains it might mean sightseeing may be an issue but with the ground lying in Woking Park, this will be worth spending time in. There is also the ruins of Woking Palace which was the home of King Henry VII’s mother Lady Margaret Beaufort and also her grandson Henry VIII spent time there. The WWF Living Planet Centre is an innovative environmentally friendly building opened in 2013 by Sir David Attenborough and the conservation home of the World Wildlife Fund.
Woking has a fine literary history with the birthplace of George Bernard Shaw and HG Wells wrote the War of the Worlds in Woking. The Modfather Paul Weller was born in Woking as was the late Status Quo stalwart Rick Parfitt. Also the late comedian Sean Lock lived in Woking and top cook and Norwich City Director Delia Smith was born there. Cray Wanderers manager Neil Smith cut his non-league football teeth at Woking spending five seasons as a player and briefly manager.
