Sixteenth placed Cray Valley PM entertain Welling United in twenty-second place in an Isthmian League Premier division derby to start the New Year.

It has been a difficult first half of the season for both clubs. Last season, the Millers finished fourth in the table but have found it a bit tougher for them this time around. Meanwhile Welling, who were relegated from the National League South last term, have not bounced back as well as they would have hoped.

After two consecutive wins, Cray have lost three in a row without scoring. The most recent was a five-nil drubbing at Cray Wanderers. Welling have lost their last two after two consecutive league victories. They also lost heavily last time out, crashing four-one at home to Brentwood Town with Bradley Sach their goalscorer.

In August, the two teams contested a league game for the first time ever and the Millers claimed a comfortable three-nil away win. Ibby Akanbi put them ahead in the third minute, and two former Wings, Luke Holness and Marcel Barrington, scored in the second half.

Other than that, the only occasions on which the clubs have met were in the London Senior Cup. The Millers won at Welling in the 2013/14 and 2016/17 then the Wings won away in 2022/23. This season, they met once more at Cray’s Artic Stadium and the hosts bucked the trend with a home win. Emmanuel Adebiyi put them ahead in the fourth minute and Fumnaya Shomotun scored a second with quarter of an hour on the clock. Although Logan Dobbs pulled one back in the second period, the Millers held on to progress.

There should be a bumper crowd for what is an important match as both team look to get 2026 off to a flyer.