Cray returned to the playoff places after a hard fought victory at fellow playoff contenders Brightlingsea Regent.

The win pushes Cray up into fifth place and three points in front of Cheshunt and six ahead of Brightlingsea.

In a tight and tough contest the game burst into life with two goals in the last minutes of the first half with Lea Dawson’s header giving the Wands the lead. The lead lasted one minute as Regent levelled through a Terry Rymer penalty in first half injury time.

The Wands winner came in the 73rd minute courtesy of a penalty of their own after Leigh Bremner was bundled over in the by box by Matt Cripps who was sent off for the challenge. Grant Basey’s dispatched the penalty and Cray held on fairly comfortably with the man advantage to make it three games unbeaten for Tony Russell’s side.

There were a few changes to the side which defeated Waltham Abbey last Saturday with Dean Carpenter starting for Ben Payne, Leigh Bremner returning for suspension in place of suspended Aryan Tajbakhsh and new loan signing Jacob Erskine coming in for Ben Hunt.

The game began with Cray looking to play their usual good passing game on a fairly narrow pitch using the powerful Erskine to hold the ball up getting the midfield runners up to support him. Brightlingsea were a bit more direct with their play and had slightly the better of the early exchanges.

The home side threatened from a Matt Cripps corner which just missed the head of Russell Malton and the ball was cleared. For Cray the nearest they came early on was from a Karl Dent half volley which was deflected toward goalkeeper Sam Cowler. Nick Blue had to be alert to save from Phil Kelly but the flag was already raised for offside.

The best chance for the home side came when the influential Malton, who scored twice at Hayes Lane back in January put over a great ball from the right which fell to Kelly who lashed a shot over the crossbar. Then a Charlie Durling effort was deflected for a corner from which Jake Clowsley’s kick was glanced wide by Kelly.

After half an hour Cray began to threaten more and a good run down the right by Lea Dawson led to a corner. From Basey’s corner kick, the ball fell to Jay Leader who shot over the crossbar. Then shortly after, Kelly fired narrowly wide from Luke Read’s pass for Regent.

The game started to pick up momentum in the last five minutes of the first half. Cray came closest yet when a long ball played up to Erskine who hit a sweet volley which only just went over the top.

Five minutes before the break, Ben Hunt was introduced in place of Dent to give Cray an extra forward player and almost paid dividends straight away when Bremner was brought down it appeared inside the box but the referee deemed the challenge took place outside the area. From the free kick to the right of the D, Basey’s strike was pushed around the left post by Cowler.

In the last minute of the first half the Wands went ahead when Hunt forced a corner down the left. From the corner, James Duckworth’s ball to the far post was headed home by the impressive Dawson which was a goal his performance deserved.

However, Cray’s lead lasted barely a minute as Brightlingsea levelled a minute into stoppage time after the referee awarded Regent a penalty after Leader was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Josh Gould inside the area. From the kick, Terry Rymer sent Blue the wrong way to tie the game up at half time.

Half Time: 1-1

A lot of the quality went out of the game early on in the second half as the match got bogged down with stoppages.

The Wands were looking very comfortable with in particular Dean Carpenter having a tremendous game and with Hunt giving Cray more of a cutting edge looked the livelier side going forward and Erskine tested Cowler with a shot which was well held. For Regent, Malton wasn’t quite as effective as in the first half but he did make a good run forward but his shot was deflected towards Blue.

Cray were unlucky when Dawson found Hunt who cut in from the left and curled a shot which went just wide. Then Malton blasted a shot well wide from 25 yards.

The game appeared to be heading for a draw as the match got a bit bogged down but the game came alive again in the 73rd minute when a patient passing move led to Ade Osifuwa playing Bremner through and as he charged into the box was brought crashing down by Cripps and the referee had no alternative to award a penalty and to send off the Regent captain as last man. Basey’s reliability from penalties continued although Cowler got close to getting a hand to his kick but the ball hit the back of the net to put the Wands back in front.

With the man advantage Cray began to take more control of the game and almost notched a third when from a free kick out on the left, Duckworth’s excellent ball to the far post was headed against the foot of the post by Bremner. As the ball went back into the box, Erskine fired over the top.

A good run from Osifuwa led to a free kick out on the left of the area from which Basey’s effort was claimed by Cowler. Then with three minutes to go Cray almost scored again when from Basey’s corner, the ball was headed over by Leader.

Cray struggled a little bit to shut the game down and with close to seven minutes of added time added through all the many stoppages in the second half Brightlingsea started to threaten the Cray goal. The nearest they came though was in stoppage time when Malton flashed a shot wide.

In the end Cray held out for what could be a huge win as it not only puts Cray back into the playoffs but gives them a six point cushion over seventh placed Regent. This was more like the Cray side that was grinding out wins back in October and November and there were some very good performances all over the pitch.

Cray now go into a double header of home games next Sunday against Soham Town Rangers then the following Tuesday by a crunch game against second placed Thurrock.

Cray: Nick Blue, Adetayo Osifuwa, Grant Basey, Jay Leader, Dean Carpenter, Lea Dawson (Capt.), Sean Roberts, Karl Dent (Ben Hunt, 40), Jacob Erskine (Ray Powell, 90+3), James Duckworth (Jamie Mascoll, 80), Leigh Bremner:

Subs: Jai McKinlay, Sam Faulkner

Booked: Basey, Leader, Osifuwa, Dawson

Brightlingsea: Sam Cowler, Warren Joseph, Jake Gould, Charlie Durling (Keiran Ayling, 75), Josh Gould, Matt Cripps (Capt.), Luke Read, Russell Malton, Terry Rymer, Phil Kelly, Jake Clowsley (Keiron Baker, 78):

Subs: Jake Philips, Lewis Haughton, Ricky Griggs

Sent Off: Cripps 73

Booked: Ayling

Att: 107

Referee: James Whittaker
Assistants: Thomas Whay, James Beal