Cray Wanderers enter the final three weekends of the season on Saturday 13th April with a trip to playoff contenders Horsham.
Cray will be looking to finish the season well after five league games without a win and after Saturday have a London Senior Cup Quarter-Final at home to Dartford on Tuesday 16th April and then the final league game at Hayes Lane vs Bognor Regis Town on 20th April and finish at Dulwich Hamlet on 27th April.
On Tuesday night, Cray travelled to Hornchurch and despite a decent showing against the new Isthmian Premier champions were beaten 0-2 and have dropped down to 16th place in the league table on 47 points but have steered clear of relegation after the good run of form in February and early March. At Hornchurch the Wands were without the likes of Frankie Raymond and George Porter but Nyren Clunis made a welcome ten minute appearance off the bench for the first time since late November.
Horsham are one of nine sides with playoff ambitions and moved up to 5th on Tuesday night after a 1-0 win at Potters Bar Town with a Daniel Ajakaiye goal bouncing back from Saturday’s defeat at Folkestone Invicta. The Hornets have 67 points after 37 games and will still have four games to play after Saturday and are three points clear of Billericay Town who have played 39 games.
Dominic Di Paola’s side have also had a successful season in the cups making national headlines by reaching the 2nd Round of the FA Cup advancing past Barnsley before losing at Sutton United and also the 4th Round of the FA Trophy and have reached the Sussex Senior Cup Final where they face Hastings United on 8th May at the Amex Stadium.
It seems a long time ago since the sides met at Hayes Lane on 16th August with Horsham winning 3-1 with goals from Jack Strange, Bobby Price and Daniel Ajakaiye with Anthony Cook scoring for Cray. The last meeting at Horsham was a midweek match on 22nd November 2022 and finished in a 2-2 draw after goals from Lee Harding and Jack Mazzone for Horsham with Anthony Cook and Nyren Clunis scoring for Cray. All three previous meetings at the Camping World Community Stadium have finished in draws.
At home Horsham have beaten Dulwich Hamlet (3-2), Cheshunt (1-0), Margate (1-0), Canvey Island (2-1), Folkestone Invicta (2-1), Potters Bar Town (2-0), Haringey Borough (1-0), Kingstonian (3-1), Hastings United (2-1) and Bognor Regis Town (5-4). Horsham drew with Billericay Town (0-0), Chatham Town (2-2), Enfield Town (1-1) and Wingate & Finchley (1-1) and were beaten by Hornchurch (1-2), Hashtag United (0-2), Whitehawk (0-1), Lewes (1-3) and Carshalton Athletic (1-2).
Away from home the Hornets won at Cray Wanderers (3-1), Haringey Borough (2-0), Carshalton Athletic (2-1), Kingstonian (2-1), Hashtag United (2-1), Hastings United (2-0), Billericay Town (2-1), Margate (3-1), Canvey Island (2-1) and Potters Bar Town (1-0), drew with Concord Rangers, Dulwich Hamlet and Hornchurch and lost at Whitehawk, Wingate & Finchley, Bognor Regis Town, Enfield Town and Folkestone Invicta. Daniel Ajakaiye is the leading scorer with 17 goals.
This will be a tough test for the Wands against a very good Horsham side but Cray have reserved some of the best performances of the season against playoff contenders and will be looking to put in a positive display as the season heads to its conclusion at the end of the month.
Admission £13/£8