Just forty eight hours after Cray Wanderers edged a point outside the playoffs the Wands head to Herne Bay on Easter Monday for perhaps the biggest game of the season.

Cray’s win against Corinthian Casuals at Hayes Lane on Saturday was vital to keep the pressure on Enfield Town in 5th place and after the Towners were beaten at Horsham means Neil Smith’s side along with Horsham, Lewes and Hastings United vie for the playoffs and to extend the season perhaps by another week.

Cray have 67 points, one behind Enfield and two in front of Horsham and Lewes in 7th and 8th places. Hastings United in 9th have 63 points and have a game in hand so cannot be discounted and do have to play Horsham on Monday.

Bishop’s Stortford are league leaders on 79 points with Hornchurch and Canvey Island in 2nd and 3rd on 77 points and all three are confirmed a playoff place.

Aveley in 4th have 74 points and may well need just one more win to confirm their berth in the playoffs and are at Canvey Island on Monday.

Nyren Clunis scored the winner on Saturday just before the half hour and in a rich vein of form but although the Wands couldn’t add to their tally had done more than enough over the game to win and are now six unbeaten and have a healthy goal difference of +26 which could help if points are level by the end of the season.

The quality of the Wands bench on Saturday was impressive too, Anthony Cook, Tom Derry, Yahaya Bamba, Dajon Golding and Rio Campbell and with the traditional Easter quick turnaround of games and another on Monday, the squad strength has really shown itself since the unbeaten run started at the beginning of March.

This will be a big game too for Herne Bay who are looking to stave off relegation and are in 20th place, level with Bowers & Pitsea who are 19th on 33 points and both three points behind Kingstonian in 18th.

Although Herne Bay have been in the bottom four for most of the season they have given themselves a great chance to avoid the drop back into the South-East division by winning three games in March and have picked up points from two tough away games recently, drawing 3-3 at Hastings United on 1st April and again at Lewes on Good Friday, coming back from 3-1 down with fifteen minutes to go to draw through goals from top scorer Marcel Barrington, Troy Williams and Mason Saunders-Henry.

When the two sides met at Hayes Lane on 2nd January it was a much closer game than the 3-0 scoreline would suggest in Cray’s favour with goals from Danny Bassett, Tom Derry and Jalen Jones with the final two goals coming in the last ten minutes.

The last meeting at Herne Bay was in the Isthmian South-East on 20th October 2018 with Cray winning 2-1 with goals from Ben Mundele and a Tom Phipp penalty with Jake Embery scoring for Herne Bay also from the spot. The teams did play a pre-season friendly in July 2021 and drew 1-1.

Kevin Watson’s side at home this season have beaten Lewes (4-1), Bowers & Pitsea (3-1), Corinthian Casuals (3-1), Horsham (3-0) and Bognor Regis Town (2-1). The Bay drew with Kingstonian (1-1), Brightlingsea Regent (1-1), Wingate & Finchley (1-1), Billericay Town (2-2), Margate (1-1) and were beaten by Hornchurch (0-6), Hastings United (0-3), Carshalton Athletic (2-3), Canvey Island (1-4), Folkestone Invicta (1-2), Potters Bar Town (1-3), Aveley (1-2), Haringey Borough (0-1) and Enfield Town (1-3).

Away from home Herne Bay have won at Haringey Borough (4-2), Brightlingsea Regent (2-1) and Carshalton Athletic (3-1) and drawn at Aveley, Kingstonian, Hastings United and Lewes. Marcel Barrington with 16 goals is the leading scorer.

Herne Bay after Monday will be away to Wingate & Finchley on Saturday and end the season on the 22nd April at home to Bishop’s Stortford. Herne Bay are a side with big ambition and have competed well this season despite their lowly league position and do stand a chance of staying up but may feel this is a game they must not lose.

With just two more games to go and with the league title, a couple of playoff and relegation places yet to be confirmed this promises to be the most dramatic finish to the league season for years and there may not be a better match than Herne Bay v Cray Wanderers on Easter Monday.