Cray made it two straight wins away from home in dramatic fashion as a Karl Dent goal, three minutes into injury time gave the Wands a come from behind victory at Horsham.
An entertaining game got off to a lively start with the home side going in front before Bradley Wood-Garness scored his first goal for Cray in the 18th minute. Horsham went in front with a bizarre goal twenty minutes into the second half but Lea Dawson second goal of the season tied the game up with quarter of an hour to go. With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Dent’s shot from the edge of the penalty area took a slight deflection and wrongfooted the keeper to give Cray a win which moves them up to seventh place.
There were a couple of changes to the side which won at Godalming on Saturday with Jai McKinlay coming in for Paul Lorraine whilst Sean Roberts replaced the poorly Danny Haynes.
This appeared to be an open game right from the kick off and Cray had the first shot towards goal when Sol Taiwo fired a shot wide from twenty five yards.
It was Horsham though that went ahead in the seventh minute with a well taken goal. Cray’s offside trap was sprung and Liam MacDevitt down the left put over a good cross which was finished clinically by Scott Kirkwood.
Cray though were playing the ball around well enough and a goal for the Wands did seem likely and came in the eighteenth minute when after Sean Roberts got himself in a good shooting position and his shot was well parried by Josh Pelling but fell invitingly for Bradley Wood-Garness who was in the right place to tap the ball into the net.
The rest of the half was end to end with Dent shooting wide from distance and Wood-Garness firing over the top. For Horsham Tony Nwachakwu worked an opening with a good run and shot which went straight to Nick Blue.
The half continued at some pace with Brandon Scott setting up Dent for a shot on the edge of the area which went over the top. Matt Whitehead for Horsham also made a strong run forward and got a shot in which was fielded by Blue. Then from a corner the ball came to Dan Sackman whose shot cleared off the line by Jay Leader. Leader then fired well over for Cray before in the closing moments of the half, Alex Duncan’s effort from distance was saved at the second attempt by Blue.
Half Time: 1-1
The second half began the same as the first with plenty of attacking ideas and a strong run forward by Carney saw Blue having to save a shot with his legs to prevent Horsham going back in front.
Cray though would dominate the next fifteen minutes with some good football and Scott was unlucky when his jinking run into the area ended with a shot which hit the post and away.
The Wands continued to push forward and the excellent Taiwo hit a tremendous goal bound strike from twenty five yards which forced Pelling to make an excellent diving save to push the ball round for a corner.
Scott then set up Wood-Garness inside the area but he miskicked when in a good position and Dent saw an attempted header blocked by Ashley Jones inside the area. Then Lea Dawson fired well wide from distance as Cray continued to press.
Twenty minutes into the second half though, Horsham went back in front after a back pass by Jai McKinlay was overhit and as Blue came out to attempt to clear the ball, Carney nipped in and rolled the ball towards goal and cheekily nodded the ball in from the goal line.
The home side could have scored a third when Whitehead fired a shot across goal which just needed a touch from Nwachukwu before for the last fifteen minutes Cray started to get their game back together.
The Wands levelled for the second time in the 76th minute when Roberts ball into the box from the right was inadvertently played to Dent who half hit a ball towards goal and Dawson unmarked finished well for his second goal of the season.
Horsham almost scored again but Kirkwood should really have done better than head straight at Blue from close range. For Cray, Roberts fired narrowly over the angle of post and crossbar as both teams really went for the win in the closing stages.
Understandably considering the pace of the game both teams started to tire but there was a sting in the tail in the third of four added on minutes. Ben Mundele found Dent who sidestepped a challenge and from the edge of the area curled in a shot which took a slight deflection and flew into the net giving Pelling no chance and the Wands incredibly were in front.
The final whistle blew shortly after and Cray showed once again their battling qualities which has really come through in the last two games to keep the Wands just on the fringes of the playoff places after ten games played.
This was a really fine team performance which twice showed character to come back and Dent in particular was in good form and Taiwo had an exceptional game helping to keep the Wands going when things could have gone against them.
Cray now go into October with a series of home games ahead and despite injuries to key players the team has done well in what is turning out to be a really good and competitive Ryman South season with plenty of twists and turns still to come.
Cray: Nick Blue, Ade Osifuwa, Jeysiva Sivapathasundaram, Jay Leader, Jai McKinlay, Lea Dawson (Capt.), Solomon Taiwo, Sean Roberts, Bradley Wood-Garness (Ben Mundele, 84), Karl Dent, Brandon Scott (Timi Osidobu, 90+4).
Subs: Max Wlliams, Paul Lorraine, Sean Law
Horsham: Josh Pelling, Alex Duncan (Charlie Farmer, 62), Lewis Hyde, George Branford, Ashley Jones (Capt.), Dan Sackman, Liam McDevitt, Scott Kirkwood, Tony Nwachukwu, Lee Carney (Scott Harris, 75), Matt Whitehead (Terry Dodd, 77).
Referee: Leigh Crowhurst
Assistants: Andrew Mawby, Christopher Williams
Attendance: 158
Horsham 2
Kirkwood 7, Carney 65
Cray Wanderers 3
Wood-Garness 18, Dawson 76, Dent 90+3