Cray Wanderers vs Chippenham Town
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round – Saturday 3rd October, 3 pm – Match Preview
The first Saturday of October sees the FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round take place and Cray Wanderers play their ninth match at this round in their history with a first ever meeting with Southern League Premier South Chippenham Town at Flamingo Park. Kick off 3 pm.
We extend a warm Wands welcome to the officials, management, players and supporters of Chippenham Town travelling via the M4 from Wiltshire and hope they enjoy their stay with us.
Please note as in the previous two rounds if the tie is level after ninety minutes there will be a replay at Hardenhuish Park on Tuesday night.
Cray advanced to the 3rd Qualifying Round and a fifth home time in this round after one of the greatest results in the club’s FA Cup history after winning 2-0 at National South league leaders Maidstone United in the 2nd Qualifying Round replay on 22nd September with a stunning strike from Ola Ogunwamide and the tie wrapped up deep into stoppage time from Ade Yusuff. Cray had earlier beaten Lewes in another tie that required an extra game.
Cray will come into the game high in confidence after a recent run of five games unbeaten in league and cups and victory at Maldon & Tiptree in midweek which resulted in a 5-1 win moved Tim O’Shea’s side up to 11th in the Isthmian Premier League table with twelve points. An own goal, Soul Kader’s fifth goal of the season and a first Cray goal for Sammie McLeod put the Wands three nil up at half time. Second half goals from Ade Yusuff taking his tally to eight and another great strike from Ola Ogunwamide wrapped up a satisfying night in Essex.
Cray have a very busy October and November upcoming with games in FA Cup, FA Trophy, Kent Senior Cup and London Senior Cup as well as some rearranged league matches but the Wands are playing some excellent football of late and a great watch.
We welcome the Bluebirds of Chippenham Town who like Cray have had to get past two rounds that needed a replay. In the 1st Qualifying Round after a 1-1 draw at home Chippenham had an impressive 3-1 win at Havant & Waterlooville with goals from Olaf Koszlea, Joel Oder-Larbi and Felix Miles. In the 2nd Qualifying Round Chippenham advanced after a real war of attrition with Yate Town and after a 0-0 draw at Yate, Chippenham won 2-1 in extra time in a match where both sides were reduced to ten men with goals from Ben Richards-Everton and the extra time winner from Miles.
Chippenham Town have made their return to the Southern League Premier set up for the first time since the 2016-17 season and a nine season stay in the National South after relegation last season. Gary Horgan’s side have perhaps not quite made the start to this campaign they would have wished but will be very dangerous opponents and looking to reach the 4th Qualifying Round.
Town are 20th in the table with seven points from eight games. Away from home Chippenham won 2-1 at Malvern Town but lost at Uxbridge (0-2), Chichester City (0-4), Bath City (0-2) and Evesham United (0-2) on Tuesday night. At home Chippenham beat Plymouth Parkway (3-2) and drew with Yate Town with a defeat against Berkhamsted. In the FA Trophy last weekend, Chippenham drew 2-2 at home to Weymouth but lost 4-3 on penalties.
Chippenham Town were formed in 1884 and most of their early existence were spent in the Wiltshire and Western Leagues winning the Wiltshire League three times, the last in 1928-29. Chippenham were Western League Champions in 1951-52 and Division One Champions in 1980-81.
Perhaps their greatest early achievement came in the 1999-00 season when after beating Wimborne Town, Swindon Supermarine, Northwood, Glossop North End, Wroxham, Bedlington Terriers and Vauxhall reached the last FA Vase Final at the old Wembley stadium losing 0-1 to Deal Town.
In 2001-02 after back to back promotions moved to the Southern League Premier and reached the playoffs finals in 2004-05 and 2009-10 losing to Bedford Town and Nuneaton Town respectively. In 2016-17 The Bluebirds won the Southern League earning promotion to the National South where they spent nine seasons finishing 7th in 2021-22 and after beating Dartford were beaten by Ebbsfleet United in the playoff Semi-Final.
In between that run in the National came their best FA Cup run reaching the 2nd Round in 2022-23 beating Sholing, Met Police, Hendon and a shock win against Lincoln City before losing at Burton Albion. The National South run ended last season but certainly ruffled a few feathers in that time.
This should be a great day for the Wands to showcase the glamour of the FA Cup with the excitement and tension it can bring.
Admission: £15 adults, £10 concessions, £5 u17/18s. U16s free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. Pay on the gate or online at
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/fixture/cray-wanderers-fc/22994.
Please note the club has a no balaclava or uniform policy and anyone doing so will be turned away.
Printed Match Programme £3, merchandise, Golden Goal Tickets £1, September 100 Club Draw, October Supporters Club Draw, hot and cold food/drinks, bars. Croatia v England to follow on the large screen and upstairs from 5 pm.
With no Premier League or EFL games why not take a chance as you should for 3 pm football in the FA Cup and VAR free. Have a great day everyone.
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The Pre-match thoughts of Tim O’Shea
Hello Tosh.
It seems a while since we spoke after the last gasp equaliser against St Albans City on 15th September. Since then the team have picked up momentum and no more so than the two games with Maidstone United. You must have taken great pride in the team’s performances.
I think the Maidstone games have been the highlight of the season so far and certainly in the four and a half years I’ve been involved with Cray Wanderers.Two cracking games, both sides going at it and I think over the two games we deserved to get through to today’s game. Those games and beating Maidstone have given the boys more belief to go against a side top of the National South so definitely gave us some momentum.
We showed a lot of character again to get back into the first game didn’t we after falling behind through Rob Strachan’s header but at Maidstone aside from a shot on goal in the opening minute we really took the game to the home side and Ola’s goal was one even the Maidstone fans were complimentary about.
Yes, Ola’s goal was special. He was due one as he had been trying enough and a few minutes later he tried an identical shot which the keeper stood no chance with and came crashing back off the crossbar.
The first game was evenly contested and was the right result and the second game on reflection no-one could begrudge us the 2-0 win.
That’s right, we could have other goals in the closing minutes before Ade put the game to bed. How easy was it though to get the boys up for Cheshunt in the Trophy as was a huge contrast to Maidstone, small crowd, warm day but the team got the job done via the penalty shoot-out.
Yes, the players are only human. It was a special night at Maidstone and to then go to Cheshunt with all due respect it is not the physicality but the psychologically effects that comes into play but to be fair to them again over the ninety minutes we should have won the game but just glad we got through with the right side of the penalties.
We showed a lot of bottle in the penalty shoot-out didn’t we to score all five. JJ Briggs made a good stop for Cheshunt’s fourth kick and Jakob Lowe for one so young showed character to score the winning goal.
He did indeed, he shows no fear Jakob and has a bright future in the game. JJ has come in in goal and settled down really quickly and been excellent.I know if had come to a sixth penalty I think Crossley would have taken it and his bottle was starting to go I know that much.
Then on to Maldon & Tiptree and a useful three points in the league with a professional performance on a murky night with five goals and two more fine strikes from Soul Kader and Ola again.
Yes, the performance was excellent and important as the downside to having decent cup runs is the lack of league games and fall behind in points. We turned up, we were at it but the boys are tired but they went there and did a professional job and just needed to rest up for today.
Yes, we do have an unusual run of Tuesday-Saturday games up to 10th November.The fans though are loving the season so far and the travelling but certainly are looking forward to today. What can we expect from Chippenham Town who did spend a few seasons in the National South?
Yes and exactly that.We are not underestimating anybody and rightly so and will be confident.We will need to be at our very best again so we would have rested up at training on Thursday as we have a couple with knocks and strains in the small squad we have but we are prepared and if the Cray Massive can give their voices to help the team we can have a great afternoon at Flamingo Park.
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DIRECTIONS TO FLAMINGO PARK FOR NEWCOMERS
Flamingo Park Sports & Leisure – Sidcup By-Pass, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6HL
Flamingo Park lies on the A20 and is the new home of Cray Wanderers and used for the Men and Women’s First Team, U23s, Youth Team games and the club house hosts live music and private events. AFC Whyteleafe also play their Isthmian Premier League games at Flamingo Park.
By car
From Kent – Via M20 or A2
M20 – Follow the M20 for 16.8 miles then continue on to A20 for 3.6 miles then continue on to Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 1.9 miles. Continue onto Sidcup By-Pass/A20 for 0.3 miles then take a left into the ground entrance and another left for the car park.
A2 – Get on the M2 from A229 for 5.1 miles. After merging onto the M2 after 5.5 miles continue onto Watling Street/A2 for 8.7 miles. Use the left lane to take the M25 (S) slip road to M23 for 0.7 miles. Merge onto the M25 for 2.4 miles then at junction 3, exit towards A20/London (SE)/Swanley for 0.3 miles. At the Swanley interchange, take the 5th exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.8 miles. Merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles then continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 1.9 miles. Continue onto Sidcup By-Pass/A20 for 0.3 miles then take a left into the ground entrance and another left for the car park.
From London, North & West
Via A20 – If traveling from London take A3212, A302 and Westminster Bridge Road and at the roundabout take the 3rd exit onto St. George’s Circus/A201 and after 0.3 miles turn left onto New Kent Road/A201 for 0.5 miles. Then keep right staying on New Kent Road/A201 for 0.4 miles and then onto Old Kent Road/A2 for 2.6 miles. Take a slight right onto Amersham Road/A2/A20 then a left onto Amersham Road/A20 for 0.2 miles. Take a slight right onto Lewisham Way/A20 for 1.1 miles and then use the left 3 lanes to turn left onto Rennell Street/A20 for 1.9 miles. Use the right 2 lanes to turn slightly onto Sidcup Road/A20 for 0.3 miles then at the roundabout take the 2nd exit and stay on Sidcup Road/A20 for 3.7 miles. Then take the A222 towards Bromley/Chislehurst/Sidcup for 0.2 miles then at Frognal Corner Roundabout take the 4th exit onto the A20 slip road to C. London/Lewisham for 0.3 miles. Then merge onto the Sidcup By-Pass Road/A20 for 0.6 miles and then onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles. Then take a left into the entrance to the ground and another left into the car park.
From Essex/East Anglia
Via A13 – If traveling from Essex/East Anglia get onto the A13 for 11.6 miles. Use the left lane to take the M25 (N)/M25 (S) slip road to M11/M1/Stansted Airport/Dartford Crossing/A282 for 0.2 miles. At Mardyke Junction take the 1st exit for 0.3 miles and then use the right lane to take the A282 slip road to M25 (S)/Dartford Crossing then keep right at the fork to continue towards A282 for 3.8 miles. Use the right 3 lanes to stay on A282 then follow signs for M20/M23/Gatwick Airport /M25/Channel Tunnel/Dover for 0.6 miles. Continue onto M25 (signs for Dover/M20/Channel Tunnel/M23 for 3.3 miles. At junction 3 exit towards A20/London (SE)/Swanley for 0.3 miles and at Swanley Interchange take the 5th exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.8 miles. Then merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles, continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Rd/A20 for 1.9 miles and then continue onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles then turn left into the entrance to the ground and then a left into the car park.
From: Sussex/South
If traveling from Sussex/South best get on Hastings Road/Pembury By-Pass/A21 in Kent from A267 and after 9.4 miles continue straight onto Sevenoaks Bypass/A21 for 3.8 miles and then keep right to continue onto M25. After 7.9 miles at junction 3 use the left 2 lanes to take the A20 exit to London/Lewisham/Channel Tunnel/Maidstone/M20 for 0.3 miles. At Swanley Interchange take the 2nd exit onto the A20 slip road to London (SE)/Lewisham for 0.5 miles. Merge onto the A20 for 3.5 miles, continue onto Sidcup By-Pass Rd/A20 for 1.9 miles and then continue onto the Sidcup By-Pass for 0.3 miles then turn left into the entrance to the ground and then a left into the car park.
The Car Park is free for supporters and there should be space between 400 cars on site. Please note bays in front of the main entrance are reserved for club officials.
By Train – Nearest BR Station – New Eltham – 1 mile. Trains from London Charing Cross/London Cannon Street/London Bridge or from Dartford/Gravesend. There are four trains an hour heading to New Eltham from London Charing Cross. For returns there are also four trains back to London. Please check National Rail Enquiries for other options.
From the station walk south-east onto Foots Cray Road/A211 for 0.3 miles then turn right onto Thaxted Road for 0.2 miles. Then turn left towards Sidcup Road/A20 and cross over the pedestrian footbridge and take a sharp and then a slight right towards Sidcup Road/A20 for 0.4 miles and then turn right and then a left into the entrance to the ground.
By Bus – The best bet is to get the 233 from Swanley, Sidcup, Eltham or New Eltham which stops on Thaxted Road but is around 0.8 miles to the ground. From Chislehurst station the 162 bus which starts in Bromley stops on Slades Drive where you can access the public footpath opposite the bus stop and is around a ten minute walk to the ground. This bus also stops at New Eltham Station for your return journey. Please be wary though if using the footpath at night.
TAXIS – – ALL DAY CARS – NEW ELTHAM – 020 8850 0032
Nearest Hotel: Premier Inn London Eltham
738 Sidcup Road, Eltham, London
SE9 3NS
Sat Nav Directions: SE9 3TJ
Directions:
From South Circular Road, take A20 Sidcup Bypass until you reach Fiveways, where Sidcup Road meets Green Lane Premier Inn Eltham is situated on the corner and the entrance to the car park is on Green Lane.
https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-eltham.html
The Car Park is free for supporters and there should be space between 700-800 cars on site. Please note bays in front of the main entrance are reserved for club officials.
Close to New Eltham Station are the Beehive pub plus the Pope Street Bar & Kitchen and the Nest offers hot drinks/alcoholic drinks and live music. There are also places to eat and a wide range of takeaway outlets as well as Fish & Chip and a Pie & Mash shop. Alternatively if you travel from Sidcup there are a wide range of pubs to choose from.
