After a tricky festive period, concluded with a postponed fixture at Potters Bar on New Year's Day, the Blues are back at home looking to put things right on Saturday afternoon as we play Cray Wanderers for the third time this season, after two FA Cup clashes back in September.
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 start to the season, sat 11th in the table with 32 points from 24 games (W9 D5 L10), two places and one point above the Blues having played one game more. 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 and will visit again in the league in April.
Head to Head
As mentioned, the Wands have 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 fixtures, last season saw the Blues lose both matches against Cray Wanderers, first a 3-1 defeat for ten-man Wingate & Finchley at the Maurice Rebak Stadium, before a 1-0 defeat at Hayes Lane, Gary Lockyer with the only goal on that day.
Last Time Out
2025 has yet to get started for the Blues, as the New Year's Day clash was postponed against Potters Bar due to a waterlogged pitch. As such, our most recent game was the topsy-turvy trip to Folkestone Invicta. Invicta took the lead within one minute, before Zack Newton netted his second goal of the season to draw us level in the first half. In the second half, the home side seized the initiative with two goals before a late goal from Ben Ward-Cochrane, his first for the club, ensured a nervy finish but ultimately the game ended 3-2 to the hosts.
For Cray, their December was a good one with four 1-0 wins (Bowers, Chichester, Dover, Hendon), a 1-1 draw against Billericay and a narrow 2-1 defeat at Dartford. They kicked off 2025 in a very similar fashion with yet another 1-0 win against Dulwich Hamlet as they continue to show their defensive resilience, with the third best defensive record in the league.
Players To Watch
As mentioned, the Wands have built their strong start to the season on a sound defensive record, with numerous clean sheets for goalkeeper Shaun Rowley, who came through Shrewsbury's academy, before moving to Northern non-league clubs such as Halifax, Solihull Moors and Kettering. Rowley signed for the Wands in the summer of 2022 and has gone on to make over 100 appearances between the sticks.
In front of Rowley, a talented bunch in defence includes the likes of Ike Orji who has made over 20 appearances this season for the Wands. The 21-year old started his career in impressive fashion at Chatham Town, achieving promotion from step five with the Chats before being signed by Gillingham in 2023, only appearing once for the Gills in an EFL Trophy clash, before being released in the summer, joining Cray after a short spell at Chelmsford City in the National League South.
For the Blues, Ayo Tanimowo has made a return to the Blues side during the festive period, appearing twice from the subs bench and will be looking to push into the starting XI in the New Year. Ayo made an excellent start to the season, scoring three goals and assisting five more in his 19 appearances so far this season before an injury in early November kept him out for a couple of months.
Meanwhile in the attacking third, Zack Newton scored against Folkestone to net his second goal of the season. While he has bagged numerous assists this season and played a crucial part of our attacking success, I am sure that Zack will be looking to increase his goal tally further as the season progresses, in an attempt to beat last season's tally of seven goals in all competitions so he will be one to watch.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Maurice Rebak Stadium on Saturday. Our bar will be open from 1pm, and hot food will be served. Cash and card is accepted throughout the stadium and tickets can be bought in advance here, or on the gate on matchday.
Photos courtesy of Martin Addison.
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