After a frozen pitch led to the original fixture being postponed at the start of January, the Blues are looking to face Cray Wanderers on Tuesday night for the third time this season, after two FA Cup clashes back in September. After the disappointment of conceding a last minute equaliser on Saturday, Ahmet Rifat and his team will be looking to put things right on Tuesday night.
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 38 points from 27 games (W11 D5 L11), putting Cray four places and six points 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
The Blues have played three times since the original fixture was due to be played; first a 3-1 defeat at Chatham Town, going down to a Freddie Sears hat-trick. This was followed by consecutive home matches, a narrow 2-1 defeat against high-flying Dartford, and a 3-3 thriller on Saturday against Hendon.
For Cray, their last three matches in the same period have been more successful and have helped to solidify their mid-table standing. A 1-0 win over Potters Bar Town was backed up by a 2-1 win at Hastings United before another trip to East Sussex ended in defeat on Saturday, losing 2-0 to a resurgent Whitehawk.
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, we welcomed young goalkeeper Matteo Salamon to the Maurice Rebak Stadium on Saturday. The highly rated QPR youngster made his debut and looked assured between the sticks, deputising for the injured Charlie Grainger.
Meanwhile in the attacking third, Camilo Restrepo scored his 2nd goal in as many games on Saturday, and Andronicos Georgiou scored for the first time since the start of November. Both players will be vying for a starting spot on Tuesday night and looking to add to their respective goal tallies this season.
We look forward to welcoming you to the Maurice Rebak Stadium on Tuesday. Our bar will be open, serving a range of beers from London Brewing Company as well as Guinness and Cruzcampo, 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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