Isthmian League
Premier Division
Tuesday 15th October 2024
Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.48
Cray Wanderers 1 Chatham Town 4, attendance 532
36’ 0-1
38’ 0-2
41’ 0-3
44’ 1-3
47’ 1-4
@ Flamingo Park Sports & Leisure
Sidcup By-Pass (A20)
Chislehurst
BR7 6HL
£12 Admission
£3 Programme available, didn’t bother buying.
I’d visited Cray Wanderers at their former ground in Oxford Road, Sidcup back in May 1994, when they lost 0-2 to Sheppey United in a Kent League match. I’d also seen them play a friendly at home to Crockenhill in 2011, which was played at Hoblingwell Wood Recreation Ground, in St. Paul’s Cray. The ground in Sidcup is still there, now hosting Kent County League matches, but a lack of floodlights meant Cray moving out in 2011, using the ground of Bromley FC in order to meet ground grading requirements, before finally moving into their own ground here at Flamingo Park at the start of this season. Despite having a 3G pitch, it is a proper ground. There’s spectator access on all four sides, with a 300 seat stand being the only cover at present and a large clubhouse behind one goal, which also had a viewing balcony. Plenty of hot food on offer too. Entrance to the ground is off the A20 dual carriageway, on the left hand side when heading in towards London when coming off the M25. Plenty of car parking (free of charge!) and the only downside, is that on exiting, you have to travel half a mile in towards London before the first set of traffic lights, where you’re able to get onto the eastbound carriageway.
It wasn’t the type of game that you’d normally pick as a neutral, with bottom of the table Cray (won just once in 7 games) hosting fifth bottom Chatham (one place outside the relegation zone), who’d only picked up 8 points from their eight games so far, but at least it was a match where both teams would have fancied their chances of picking up a much needed win. It had been pretty uneventful before Sid Nelson broke the deadlock for the visitors nine minutes before halftime, heading in from a corner on the left. Two minutes later Freddie Sears (ex England U19/U20/U21 international and plenty of Football League experience with spells at West Ham United, Colchester United and Ipswich Town) smashed in the second from close range after a corner had been flicked on at the near post and three minutes later he made it 0-3, finishing from close range after the ball was pulled back from the right. There was still time for Stefan Ilic to give Cray hope for the second half, volleying in at the near post to make it 1-3 at the break. We’d only played three minutes of the second half, when Sears completed his hat trick, to put Chatham 1-4 up and there would be no way back for Cray from here.
On Saturday there were over 1,200 here for the F.A. Cup tie versus Tonbridge Angels, but tonight there were ‘only’ 532, with at least a couple of dozen ‘hoppers in attendance and a good turnout from Chatham. I was surprised how quick it was to exit the car park and I was home just before 10.30. So, that’s Step 3 complete once again, leaving just the new Truro City ground (Step 2) required in the top eight levels in England.
