Match Preview - Cray Wanderers (A)

Saturday will see us face Cray Wanderers for the fourth time this season; our second game in the league after two FA Cup matches (away and a home replay) much earlier in the season. The two sides are separated by just one point and one place in the league table, so it promises to be a close and intriguing tie between two sides who have had solid seasons and both will be hoping to be finish in the top half.

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 disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, before narrowly avoiding the drop in 2021/22. The following season, 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 the Wands have had a steady season, sat 10th in the table with 57 points from 38 games (W17 D6 L15). Although the Wands now sit in a comfortable mid-table spot, it hasn't all been plain sailing this season, as Cray were sat bottom of the pile after ten matches, with some excellent mid-season form propelling the Chislehurst-based side up into 9th place by the end of January, and it is around this position that they have stayed ever since. After knocking the Blues out of the FA Cup earlier in the season, they went on to reach the 4th Qualifying Round where they were eliminated by Tonbridge Angels, losing by just the one goal. This season has also marked a landmark in the club's history as they now have their own home stadium, Flamingo Park, which the Blues have visited once already in the FA Cup this season.

Gaffer Ahmet Rifat on the ball against Cray Wanderers at the Maurice Rebak Stadium in the 2019/20 season.

Head to Head

The Wands got the better of the Blues this season in the FA Cup. It was a 1-1 draw at Flamingo Park, thanks to an Ogo Obi equaliser from the spot in the 93rd minute which forced a replay at the Maurice Rebak Stadium just three days later. David Smith's goal for the Wands in the dying seconds of the first half was the only goal of the game to see Cray through and the Blues knocked out.

In league, the Blues got a slice of revenge, with a 91st minute winner from Ben Watt the only goal on a bleak January evening in N12.

Last Time Out

The Blues have been on a strong run in recent weeks, with just one defeat in our last ten matches, coming at the hands of Cray Valley. Last week on the road we left Lewes with a single point after a 0-0 draw in Sussex, a game which won't live long in the memory for those that made the journey!

For Cray, it has been an inconsistent set of matches in recent weeks, with a run of seven games seeing alternate wins and losses, if this run continues it will be defeat for the Wands at the weekend! Most recently, Cray defeated title-chasing Billericay Town 2-0 at New Lodge last weekend, before that losing 2-1 at home to playoff hopefuls Dover Athletic.

Players To Watch

In recent weeks, Nyren Clunis has come to the fore in terms of goalscoring, with seven of his ten league goals this season coming since the turn of the year, including a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Bowers & Pitsea last month. Clunis came through the Dulwich Hamlet youth system and made his league debut in 2009, going on to make an impressive 486 appearances for Hamlet scoring 117 goals. He is now into his third season as a Cray Wanderers player, and is enjoying one of his best scoring spells in that time.

As well as the threat of the experienced Clunis, Cray have an exciting young talent in the form of centre-forward Soul Kader. Kader joined on loan from League Two side Bromley in February and has since scored seven goals in seven games for the Wands. As the season draws to an end, Kader will be pushing for more goals to force himself into the reckoning at the EFL side for 2025/26.

For the Blues, Rhamar Garrett-Douglas returned to the starting XI last weekend and helped the Blues to a clean sheet in an ever-dependable performance on the right side of defence. The former Barnet academy man is one of a handful of players that are edging towards 100 appearances for the club and will be keen to retain his place in the starting XI at the weekend.

There were a couple of young faces on the bench last weekend; Tommy Roberts was recalled from his dual-registration with Enfield Borough to cover injuries, while fellow under 18 Bobby Bircham made his debut for the club, coming on in the dying minutes at the Dripping Pan, making it four of our U18s that have made a first team appearance this season as Ahmet Rifat shows no hesitation in throwing the young Blues into the first team.

A reminder to Blues fans that you can now place your vote for player of the season, which will be announced after the Bognor Regis home game on 19th April.

Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.