Cray Wanderers are once again on their travels to Surrey on Saturday as the 10th placed Wands visit 20th placed Chipstead.
Kick off at the High Road is 3pm.
Cray come into the game on the back of three straight defeats all against teams above them in the table which currently leaves them eight points off the playoff places.
Wednesday night’s defeat to league leaders Tooting & Mitcham United was by no means a disgrace as they were the best side Cray have played but there is no doubt that the build up of momentum following the three away wins in a week at the beginning of February has stalled.
Cray are certainly still capable of putting a good run together over the final 12 games of the season but certainly need if they can to improve their home form with seven games still to be played at Hayes Lane and with just one win in five.
Away form has been generally good particularly in 2017 with four wins on the road and were rather unlucky last time out to lose at Carshalton after playing so long with 10 men.
Although a difficult game there were still one or two plusses to come from the Tooting defeat. Ben Mundele particularly in the early stages carried the fight when the visitors were on top.
Brandon Scott when he came on offered a threat with his pace whilst Lee Prescott scored a cracking goal his eighth of the season to briefly bring Cray back into the game.
Lea Dawson helped stem the tide when Tooting threatened to run away with the game whilst Zak Henry, from the U21s side made his league debut as a second half substitute and gave a composed display in a difficult second half for Cray. Leigh Bremner made a typically hardworking and industrious appearance off the bench late on.
Unfortunately, Wednesday was the last game of Grant Basey’s career as he announced his retirement on Thursday. We thank Grant for such a great level of service which saw him become an ever present last season and win the supporters player of the year and we wish him well with his ambitions to one day becoming a manager or coach and say a big thank you for his time with Cray.
For all those that have watched Cray this season we know that they are by no means a bad side and in a Ryman South season which has been extremely strong the Wands have been fighting in and around the playoff places for the majority of the season.
With still 36 points to play for there is a lot of football still to be played and a consistent set of results could yet provide some late twists in the season. Especially with Dorking Wanderers, Hastings United and Greenwich Borough, all top 5 sides at the moment to visit Hayes Lane.
Chipstead are also in the middle of a sticky patch of form without a win in seven since a 3-1 home win against Carshalton on 2nd January which has seen them placed just above the relegation pack but do have the comfort of a ten point lead over 22nd placed Chatham Town and a better goal difference.
Anthony Williams’ side do possess a dangerous in form striker in Raheem Sterling-Parker who scored twice in the game at Hayes Lane in November who has 16 goals for the club.
They may also have in goal, Luke Colquhoun who of course was a member of the Cray Wanderers side in 2014-15 which won ten games in a row to avoid relegation from the Ryman North. Home form has been a bit patchy with four wins and eleven defeats at the High Road.
Two of those home wins have come against Godalming and Three Bridges both in the bottom three as well as the Carshalton win and against inconsistent Walton Casuals. They are also the only side beaten by Guernsey on their travels so perhaps at the moment are a side which prefers being away from home with five wins on the road.
It was probably a candidate for the game of the season when the two teams last met on 19th November as Chipstead went 2-0 up early in the second half with both by Sterling-Parker. However, a dramatic last eight minutes saw goals from Dane Luchford, Danny Haynes and a super composed finish by Lea Dawson in injury time to cap a dramatic 3-2 win for Cray that Saturday afternoon.
With so much still to play for the two sides this should be another cracking game of football to mirror that earlier game.