On Saturday, the Blues will make their first journey to Cray Wanderers' new Flamingo Park stadium, with the FA Cup draw providing us with another away fixture, this time against a fellow Isthmian Premier League side, having beaten Southern League Thame United in the previous round. A win for Wingate & Finchley would see us through to the third qualifying round, which would equal our best ever FA Cup performance.
Our Opponents
Cray Wanderers are pretty well known to Blues fans, with The Wands' long history dating back to 1860. We have played together in the Isthmian Premier League since 2019/20 after Cray achieved promotion from the Isthmian South East in 2018/19, as champions.
Their first two seasons in the Premier division were Covid-affected, before narrowly avoiding the drop in 2021/22. In 2022/23, there was a dramatic change in the side's fortunes as they qualified for the Isthmian Premier playoffs but lost to Hornchurch on penalties at the semi-final stage. Last season, Cray Wanderers sat 17th of 22 teams, albeit fairly comfortable with an 11 point gap to the relegation zone two places below.
This season has seen an opening day win over Hashtag United followed by four straight defeats before a goalless stalemate against ten-man Horsham last weekend, giving the Wands four points from their first six matches in the league.
Did you know?
Flamingo Park is the first ground that the Wanderers have owned in their 164 year history. Previous grounds include Star Lane which is now a cemetery, and most recently a groundshare with Bromley FC at Hayes Lane.
Head To Head
Last season Cray did the double over the Blues, with a 3-1 win against ten-man Blues at the Maurice Rebak Stadium in November, the Blues goal coming from Ruben Carvalho, and a narrow 1-0 win at Hayes Lane thanks to an early Gary Lockyer strike, giving the South East London side all three points.
Last Time Out
In the league, Cray got their first point since the opening day on Saturday, thanks to a goalless draw with Horsham. Prior to that it was four straight defeats, the most recent of which being a 2-1 loss at Dulwich Hamlet. In the FA Cup, Cray travelled to Larkfield and New Hythe, of the SCEFL division (Step 5) where they were held to a draw by the Kent side, forcing a replay, and the first FA Cup tie ever, at Flamingo Park. Cray Wanderers did not let the occasion get the better of them, winning 8-0 (eight!) and ensuring that they would host the Blues this weekend.
The Blues' most recent match was on the South coast at Bognor Regis where a late goal from the home side saw them take all three points. After Ogo Obi had given the Blues the lead in the first half, Bognor drew level around the hour mark before Andronicos Georgiou was given his marching orders for a second yellow card. The Blues battled valiantly and could've stolen all three points themselves but the home side's persistence saw them take the win.
Players To Watch
The Cray side is full of experience, including the likes of Tom Bonner, Anthony Cook and Nyren Clunis who all have vast experience at this level and the level above. However one youngster for Blues fans to keep an eye on is Kenny Coker, a 20-year old American forward who signed for the Wands after his release from Norwich City in the summer and netted twice in the 8-0 win over Larkfield & New Hythe. Coker came through at Southend, making his EFL debut as a 16-year old, before being snapped up by Norwich.
For Wingate & Finchley, one of the men likely to be tasked with keeping Coker quiet is captain Billy Cracknell who has started all of our matches this season so far. The Blues kept their first clean sheet of the season against Thame and skipper Cracknell and co will be looking to repeat that this weekend. Meanwhile, Ogo Obi made it seven goals in seven appearances so far this season at the weekend and looks to be on red hot form leading the line.
Flamingo Park is the location for this match (BR7 6HL) and ticket prices are £12 for adults, £6 for concessions. Please note the earlier kick off time of 1pm for Saturday's game.
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
Commentaires