Eighteenth placed Cray Valley PM entertain Welling United in twenty-first place in a massive Isthmian League Premier division local derby.

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

Both clubs won four points from four games in February and will be looking for a good haul in March as they strive to avoid relegation.

On Saturday, the Millers earned all three points in a game in which neither goalkeeper was unduly troubled. The deadlock was broken with eight minutes remaining when Makise Evans netted from close range at the far post. Meanwhile, Welling’s local derby with Dartford appeared to be heading for a stalemate until they suffered the heartbreak of a stoppage time decider when Rohan Vaughan forced home a low cross.

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 (who signed for Welling last week) 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 just quarter of an hour on the clock. Although Logan Dobbs pulled one back in the second period, the Millers held on to progress.

Having twice fallen foul of the weather, the two clubs will be hoping for third time lucky in what is likely to be a very tense encounter.

Image courtesy of Seth Maile