On a night of incredible drama Cray Wanderers came back from two goals down with twelve minutes to go to win 3-2 against a ten man Sittingbourne side for the last twenty minutes.
The win kept Cray in fourth place and made it 14 games unbeaten in the league but certainly had to do it the hard way.
The Wands had beaten Hythe Town 4-1 on Saturday and were looking for their second successive Kent derby victory of the week. Sittingbourne though were never going to be a pushover and deservedly led at the break courtesy of Kane Rowland’s tenth league goal of the season just after the half hour.
The second half started scrappily but Sittingbourne broke well and doubled their lead on the hour with an excellent strike from David Smith from 25 yards.
Sittingbourne though were reduced to ten men ten minutes later when John Coker was dismissed for a fairly late tackle on Dean Carpenter.
Cray sensed a way back into the game and pulled a goal back twelve minutes from time with Jay Leader finishing well to set up a grandstand fnish.
Then in the 1st minute of injury time Michael Freiter curled home a tremendous free kick to make it 2-2 and give Cray what looked like a hard earned point. There was drama yet to come as two minutes later, Aaron Rhule down the left worked his way to the by line and played the ball into the box and after a melee the ball came to Freddie Parker who steered the ball into the net to cap off the fightback.
There were two changes to the Cray Wanderers lineup from Saturday with Nick Blue returning in goal for Andy McCorkell and Jerome Federico starting in place of Brandon Scott. Sittingbourne’s game at the weekend at home to Guernsey was postponed due to a part frozen pitch.
The drama which unfolded at the end seemed a far cry from the first half which was rather scrappy and disjointed from Cray’s point of view whilst Sittingbourne played very well and broke out well.
The first half chance came to Nick Davis’ Sittingbourne when Ben Mundele gave the ball away to Miles Cornwell who ran towards goal but dithered slightly before electing to shoot and Mundele recovered well to clear the danger.
Then at the other end Mundele became creator as Michael Freiter’s ball found the right back who burst down the right and put over a cross to the near post which Michael Power got a flick to but diverted the ball across goal.
Sittingbourne had the first goal attempt in the ninth minute when Kane Phillip hit a shot from 30 yards which went wide of the right post. Then Cray had a free kick opportunity after Rhule was brought down on the edge of the area but Freiter’s effort came back off the wall.
Then from another free kick out on the left, Freiter’s ball to the far post was palmed away by Jordan Carey and fell to Mitchell Nelson who on the turn fired wide of goal.
The game began to pick up pace and in the 28th minute came the best opening so far for the Brickies when the ball was worked down the right to Kane Rowland who cut to the by line and laid the ball back to Mobolaji Dawodu who from a decent position fired over the bar.
Then two minutes later Cray won a corner down the left and Freiter’s ball was headed out by Dawodu to Power just outside the area who placed his first time shot wide of goal.
In the 32nd minute, Sittingbourne went ahead following the award of a free kick 30 yards from goal. From the free kick, Ben Davisson strike was hit with real power and Nick Blue did extremely well to get down to make a diving save. The loose ball fell to Dawodu who was denied by another fine save from Blue tipping the ball on to the crossbar but as the ball came back into play, Rowland drove a shot into the gap at the left post to make it 1-0 Sittingbourne.
Before half time Jerome Federico shot wide for Cray and then the Wands did have one opportunity to level the scores before the break. Rhule down the right played the ball across and the ball fell to Freiter whose shot from 16 yards was well saved by Carey who did well to grab the ball at the second attempt. Cray hadn’t played well first half by their recent standards set and this was looking like a tough assignment for Tony Russell’s team.
Half Time: 0-1
There didn’t’ seem to be an indication of the drama that would unfurl later in the half as the second half began rather sloppily from both sides although a wintery rain fell quite steadily which didn’t help.
The first opening came for Cray but from Freiter’s corner kick, the ball came to Federico who blazed well over the bar.
Sittingbourne had a very good chance to make it 2-0 in the 58th minute when John Coker’s ball over the top found Cornwell who in a race with Jay Leader bore down on goal and unselfishly laid the ball out to Phillip who shot wide when well placed.
Two minutes later though Cray were not so lucky as Sittingbourne struck again. This seemed no danger when David Smith picked up the ball 25 yards out but finding space struck an excellent strike which gave Blue no chance to save.
Cray started to pick up their game after that and Dean Carpenter who was brought on shortly after came close when he strode forward into the box and his dinked effort went just wide of goal. Then Rhule’s cross from the left was well claimed by Carey.
In the 74th minute Sittingbourne were rocked back when Coker went in strongly on Carpenter 30 yards from goal which led to a bit of a skirmish and was shown a straight red card. Although there had been some strong competitive tackling in the game up until now things were just starting to get a little heated and some tackles were quite cynical.
Freiter tested Carey from distance with a free kick and then down the right, Brandon Scott played the ball to the near post but Rhule turned the ball wide.
With twelve minutes to play, Cray won a corner after Freiter’s ball in was put behind. From the right wing kick, Freiter’s ball to the far post was tipped out by Carey under pressure from Nelson to Leader who struck home a fine finish into the bottom right corner to make it game on once again.
The game was held up for a few minutes following a head injury to Dawodu who was then substituted. The Brickies though nearly sealed the game when his replacement Chris Elliott down the left ran towards goal and hit a fine shot which Blue did extremely well to push on to the post. With time running out Leader hit a shot off target as the game entered injury time.
The Wands looked like they would be presented with their last chance to grab a point in the first minute of stoppage time when Rhule was bundled over by Tyrone Guthrie for a free kick some 25 yards out fairly central. Freiter stepped up to take the free kick and with deadeye accuracy curled a stunning strike round the wall and into the bottom left corner of the net leaving Carey with no chance.
That it seemed would likely be that but two minutes later came even more drama. A quick burst down the left saw Rhule dart into the box and from the by line played the ball into the area where Carey couldn’t claim the cross and Freddie Parker who had only been on the field for four minutes turned the ball over the line to send the Cray fans into euphoric delight.
This wasn’t quite the end as there were another seven minutes of added time but Sittingbourne were quite tired by this stage and Cray were able to see out the remaining minutes for a very big three points.
Cray were not at their best this evening for which Sittingbourne deserve credit but there is a determination and grit about this Cray side which when the chips are down and their backs are to the wall always seem to come up trumps and make no mistake this was as big a three points as they have had this season.
The Wands will next head for Surrey and a first meeting of the season with Whyteleafe on Saturday as this fascinating league season continues and in particular this tough December which has seen Cray play Carshalton, Hythe and Sittingbourne and taken seven points so far.
This was one of those games despite the cold and rain that will be remembered for a very long time and showed why the game of Association Football is still the greatest game on earth.
Cray Wanderers: Nick Blue, Ben Mundele, Barney Williams, Jay Leader, Mitchell Nelson, Lea Dawson (Freddie Parker, 89), Zak Henry (Dean Carpenter, 62), Michael Freiter, Michael Power, Aaron Rhule, Jerome Federico (Brandon Scott, 70).
Subs not used: Ralique Lawrence, Marcus Evans.
Booked: Dawson
Sittingbourne: Jordan Carey, Chris Webber, Salvyn Kistu, David Smith (Tyrone Guthrie, 65), Ben Gorham (Capt.), John Coker, Kane Phillip (Lex Allan 75), Ben Davisson, Kane Rowland, Miles Cornwell, Mobolaji Dawodu (Chris Elliott, 84).
Subs not used: Laurence Ball, Harry Brooks.
Sent Off: Coker 74
Booked: Phillip, Smith, Guthrie
Referee: Damith Bandara
Assistant Referees: Stuart Marriott, Harry Phillips
Att: 127
Cray Wanderers 3
Leader 78, Freiter 90+1, Parker 90+3
Sittingbourne 2
Rowland 32, Smith 60