The Wands bounced back from the defeat against Hythe on Wednesday night with victory at bottom side Godalming Town. 
A goal seven minutes before half time by Danny Haynes broke the deadlock and the Wands had to play forty plus minutes of the second half with ten men following the sending off of Ade Osifuwa for two bookable offences.
Cray took on a side which had been beaten 0-10 at Carshalton on Monday night and were under new management and had a lot to prove and proved stubborn opponents in a first half that Cray dominated. The second was a different story as Cray had to dig deep with being a man short and had very little possession after the break but chances for the home side were restricted to shots from distance.
There were two changes to the side beaten by Hythe with Solomon Taiwo and Karl Dent returning in place of Sean Roberts and Dean Carpenter.
The Wands wearing a rather fetching white and black kit started well and an early goal could really have deflated the home side. Cray were unlucky not to score when Jaysiva Sivapathasundaram down the left put over a very good cross which was met by the head of Lea Dawson who saw his header bring out a sharp save from Oneal Garnes in goal.
Not much was seen of the home side as an attacking force but they did apply themselves well at the back and got in a few early blocks and tackles to prevent shooting opportunities. Their first shot at goal came from Will Hutton whose long range shot went well wide.
Cray created another good opening when Haynes down the right cut in from the touchline, found Bradley Wood-Garness who laid the ball off to Dent who then played in Haynes inside the area who controlled the ball on his chest and his dinked effort on goal was blocked well by Garnes.
Shorty after, Brandon Scott made one of his customary bursts from out on the left towards goal and his shot was perhaps half struck and was comfortably gathered by the keeper.
Cray looked a threat from set pieces and almost scored from a right wing corner from Sivapathasundaram whose ball in was headed off target by Jay Leader. Then from the left side another corner was glanced off goal by Dawson.
The game was just starting to drift into a pretty mundane match when the Wands took the lead in the 38th minute. Scott managed to work a bit of space close from the left touchline and put over a pinpoint cross to the back post which found Haynes who simply guided a header over the outstretched hand of the keeper and into the net.
There was an air of inevitability about the goal and Cray saw out the rest of the half although Ade Osifuwa was booked for kicking the ball away following the award of a free kick.
Half Time: 0-1
Godalming seemed more a lot livelier after the break and Matt Anton directed a header off goal just after the start of the half.
Cray’s plans for the second half were changed just five minutes into the half when Osifuwa was booked for a foul tackle and was shown the red card leaving Cray a long period of the match to go with a man short. From the free kick awarded for the foul, Darren Wheeler curled his shot over the bar.
Then with Cray having to reorganise, Luke Perkins put a ball across from the left but Wheeler couldn’t get a strong enough connection to the ball and was cleared. Anton then headed off goal but Cray were looking in enough command at the back to repel the home side’s attacks.
The last half twenty five minutes seemed to last a life time and there wasn’t a lot of goalmouth activity as Cray found it hard to create openings.
The nearest Cray came came with fifteen minutes to go when Dawson found Scott who received a return pass from Sean Roberts but fired his shot well over the bar.
Godalming were certainly plucky and they did force Nick Blue to make a smart save when Nick Hutchings made a surging run forward and his shot from just outside the area was straight at the keeper.
Then with the game entering three minutes of stoppage time, Perkins from twenty yards fired straight at Blue and that was the sum total of the activity of the second half.
Although by no means a pretty free flowing Cray performance they showed another side to their game and gritted out a win which could be so vital come the end of the season.
The win moved Cray up to eighth in the table with fifteen points but with so much football still to be played it is games like today’s which help to keep the points total ticking over during a long season.
Cray are next in action on Tuesday night when they travel down to Sussex to face twelfth placed Horsham.
Cray: Nick Blue, Ade Osifuwa, Jeysiva Sivapathasundaram, Jay Leader, Paul Lorraine, Lea Dawson (Capt.), Solomon Taiwo, Karl Dent (Jai McKinlay, 51), Bradley Wood-Garness (Sean Roberts, 56), Danny Haynes, Brandon Scott (Ben Mundele, 81): Subs: Max Williams, Timi Osidobu
Sent off: Osifuwa – 50 mins (2 cautions)
Godalming: Oneal Garnes, Chris Musgrove (Jake Kempton, 72), Nick Hutchings, Ashley Lloyd (Capt.), Adam Brice, Tom Willment, Will Hutton, Jack Warburton, Luke Perkins, Darren Wheeler (George Spiers, 78), Matt Anton (Rory Sellick, 66). Subs: Chris Wales, Graeme Purdy.
Referee: Matthew Russell
Assistants: Samuel Williams, Declan Hellyer
Attendance: 115