Cray Wanderers return to league action after the FA Cup excitement of last weekend and midweek with a trip to early season league leaders Enfield Town at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium.
The Wands head to North London in a positive frame of mind after a hard fought but ultimately merited victory against Lewes in the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round on Tuesday night settled by an early second half header from Alex Hernandez for his fourth goal of the season.
It was a hard draw against a Rooks side who had won four league games on the bounce before Saturday’s original tie which Cray led with goals from Ade Yusuff and Soul Kader before a late Lewes comeback meant the need for an additional match.
Defensively Cray were excellent in both matches and to be fair the two league wins before the FA Cup break against Eastbourne Borough and Welling United. Especially impressive was the performance of Oscar Johnson in goal on Tuesday night. The 17 year old keeper produced a performance that belied his years and the clean sheet and the reaction to him from the players afterwards will certainly be something he will remember for many years to come.
Cray are 13th in the table but have played a game less than the teams above them after the postponement of the game at Maldon & Tiptree on 29th August so the Wands perhaps quietly start to make their way through a crowded pack to advance up the table.
The win against Lewes set up a mouth-watering and lucrative tie with Maidstone United on 19th September but before all thoughts need to be put out of minds as Enfield Town on Saturday and St Albans City at home on Tuesday night will be tough games and require full attention.
Enfield Town are making their return to the Isthmian Premier after a two season absence in the National South. Billy Holland who won the Manager of the Month Award for August has seen his side settle in nicely and are top scorers in the division with twenty goals in six league games. This pushed to twenty four in seven after a very professional 4-0 win at Frenford in the FA Cup last Saturday with goals form top scorer so far Thomas Avgoustidis (five goals), Billy Leonard, Tom Youngs and an own goal setting up a really fascinating 2nd Qualifying Round tie at Billericay Town next Saturday.
So far in the league Enfield Town have five wins out of six with the only defeat coming in the 93rd minute at home to St Albans City (1-2) on 11th August. At home the Towners have beaten Ramsgate (3-2) and Whitehawk (5-1). Highly coveted striker Luke May-Parrott signed from Hashtag United netted a hat-trick against Whitehawk. Away from home Enfield have been very sharp beating Lewes (4-0), Brentwood Town (3-1) and Wingate & Finchley (4-1) in their last league match on Bank Holiday Monday. Enfield Town with fifteen points are top of the league on goal difference from Carshalton Athletic.
Enfield Town have met Cray on a handful of occasions, all in the Isthmian Premier and are usually very dramatic matches. In the 2013-14 season Enfield had to win at already relegated Cray to preserve their Isthmian Premier status and did so 2-1. The teams have met twelve times and seen many goals. The matches in 2019-20 and 2021-22 saw a 5-3 win for Enfield at Hayes Lane, a 3-2 win for Cray with an injury time winner at Enfield. A 4-4 draw at Hayes Lane at New Year 2022 when Cray led 4-2 and a famous 3-3 draw at Enfield in April 2022 with 16 year old keeper Nathan Boamah making his debut and Soul Kader’s first ever goal for Cray helping the Wands to a point that preserved safety. The last meetings between the sides saw a 2-0 win for Enfield Town at home in August 2023 while Cray won 2-0 at Hayes Lane on 29th December with goals from Tayo Oyebola and Ellis Brown. That season Enfield were promoted from the Isthmian Premier after finishing 3rd and after beating Wingate & Finchley and Chatham Town to reach the National South for the first time. They finished 19th and just above the relegation zone in 2024-25 but last season finished 23rd and returned to the Isthmian Premier. Overall in twelve previous games Cray have won three, Enfield five and four draws.
This will be a hard game but Cray have shown they can go toe to toe with some of the promotion favourites over the last couple of seasons and will be a great test but one to relish.
Images courtesy of Natalie Stribbing