Cray Wanderers play the final game of what has seemed like an endless March on Saturday as Dover Athletic are the visitors to Flamingo Park for the first time. 

Kick off 3pm.

Both sides will be looking to keep their playoff hopes going strong going into the final month of the season although theoretically Dover could yet still catch league leaders on 63 points with Dartford being ten points in front but the teams have to meet on 18^th April at Princes Park. 

They do have a healthy goal difference of +31 which is considerably better than any of the other playoff sides. Chichester City who Dover visit on the final day of the season are 6^th on 61 points, with Hashtag United and Carshalton Athletic on 58, Chatham Town and Wingate & Finchley with 55 respecitvely and then Cray Wanderers are in 11^th on 54 points, nine behind Dover and probably rank outsiders for the play offs having to play other contenders Billericay Town, Wingate & Finchley, Horsham and Dartford in the coming weeks following Dover’s visit.  

The Wands have turned Flamingo Park into something of a fortress and Tim O’Shea’s side are unbeaten in fourteen matches at home since mid October and have won the last four matches.  

Last Saturday in what was an emotional afternoon following the departure of Neil Smith last Friday the Wands put in a professional performance to beat relegated Bowers & Pitsea 4-0 with Ike Orji scoring just his first goal for the club in first half stoppage time and Nyren Clunis bagged his first ever career hat-trick in the second half taking him to 10 goals for the season making him top scorer and for Cray’s biggest home league win of the season.

With the transfer deadline for new arrivals now coming to an end and it seems like no departures from the club, the Wands go into Saturday with just one major injury concern for loanee Soul Kader who has missed the last two games but were missing Tom Bonner last week and hopefully can return for the visit of Dover.

One of the many plusses with the home run has been the inclusion on the bench for five young players to help fatten up what has been a fairly thin squad this season and last Saturday forwards, Michael Ihiedi and Victor Damyanov who have both scored for the first team, fellow striker Tom Borders (pictured) and midfielder Freddie Warwick were all called upon + 16 year old goalkeeper George Clark also included in the match day sixteen.

Cray definitely produced one of the great performances of the season throughout the league on 14^th December when an understrength Wands side visited the Crabble and came away with a deserved 1-0 win courtesy of Clunis’s 47^th minute winner and a strong rearguard action. 

That ended at the time an 11 game league unbeaten run for Dover which had taken them to the top of the table.  Since then form has been much more patchier and slipped down to 5^th and have won four and lost seven in 2025 but will still provide stern opposition once again.

Last Saturday in front of a 3000+ crowd at the Crabble Jake Leberl’s side were 1-0 winners against Dulwich Hamlet with Luke Coccorachio’s 12^th minute goal proving decisive.

Away form has seen Dover win at Potters Bar Town (8-0), Horsham (3-1), Whitehawk (2-0), Folkestone Invicta (1-0), Bowers & Pitsea (2-0), Lewes (3-1), Dulwich Hamlet (4-1), Cheshunt (2-1), Hastings United (2-0), Hendon (3-0) and Bognor Regis Town (2-1). They drew at Billericay Town (1-1), Carshalton Athletic (1-1), Chatham Town (1-1) and Canvey Island (0-0). Their only defeats all in 2025 came at Hashtag United (1-2), Wingate & Finchley (1-2) and Cray Valley PM (1-2). 

At home Dover beat Chichester City (5-2), Dartford (5-1), Bognor Regis Town (1-0), Hashtag United (4-2), Potters Bar Town (3-0), Canvey Island (3-2), Bowers & Pitsea (2-0) and Dulwich Hamlet (1-0). Dover drew at home to Cray Valley PM, and Lewes and lost to Folkestone Invicta, Wingate & Finchley, Cray Wanderers, Billericay Town, Horsham, Carshalton Athletic, Whitehawk and Chatham Town.  Top scorer is George Nikaj with 19 goals with Ruben Soares one behind on 18.       

This will be the first league game between the sides at Cray since the 2007-08 season in the Isthmian Division One South and finished in a 1-1 draw with Michael Power scoring for Cray in a season where Dover won the league and Cray finished 3^rd.     

This promises to be one of the games of the day and in front of perhaps one of the biggest if not the biggest crowd of the season and another win for Cray will keep the pot boiling nicely going into April and the final five games of the 2024-25 season.

Admission £12 adults, £6 concessions, on gate or online at www.cray-wanderers.com/tickets/. Printed Match Programme, £3, Cray Wanderers 100 Club Draw for March + merchandise, vintage programmes, books, hot food/drink and bars open.  Please note due to a function the bar upstairs will only be open briefly but will be open downstairs after the match.

Pictures supplied by Steve Cullum.