Brentwood Town vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier – Saturday 31st October, 3 pm – Match Preview
Pics: Natalie Stribbling, Steve Cullum
Cray Wanderers bring a mainly cup tie busy October to an end on Saturday as the Wands play their first league game since 10th October with a visit to the Brentwood Arena to face Brentwood Town. Kick off 3 pm.
It felt a bit like Halloween came early on Tuesday night as Cray headed to Stanway Rovers for a rare league match but issues with a power outage meant an issue with floodlighting so the match was called off meaning another fixture rearrangement.
With Cray advancing in the FA Cup to the 1st Round for the first time and through to the 2nd Round of the FA Trophy in the last couple of weeks it has been a whirlwind season and certainly one whatever happens for the record books.
However, at the end of the day it is the bread and butter of the league where often at the end of the season teams are judged and Cray will be just looking with a few games in hand on teams around them as the Wands have moved into the bottom four in 19th on twelve points but have played seven games fewer that Maldon & Tiptree in 18th who have fourteen points.
Certainly any thoughts of thinking about Stockport will not be on the agenda and certainly wouldn’t have been at Stanway Rovers where a full strength side would have played and Cray have added experienced winger John Ufuah to the squad.
It will certainly be a tough game against a Brentwood Town side who after a difficult start to the season have begun to move up the table and are 13th with fifteen points and have won their last two league games. On Tuesday night, Brett Munyard’s side following up a fine win against Dartford beat Cheshunt 4-2 at home with goals from Nat Mardell, Alfie Cerulli, Andrew Freeman and Freddie Sears. Brentwood last season were playoff finalists only losing at Billericay after a great 2025-26 campaign where they finished fourth.
Munyard came to Brentwood Town from Aveley in September and moved Town off the bottom of the table after losing six straight league games in August-September. Brentwood also had a fine run in the FA Cup and defeated Concord Rangers after a replay, won at Aveley and an excellent televised win against Dagenham & Redbridge before bowing out at Eastleigh by the odd goal in five.
At home Brentwood Town have beaten Burgess Hill Town (2-0), Maldon & Tiptree (5-1), Dartford (3-0) and Cheshunt (4-2). Their other games ended in defeat against Enfield Town (1-3) and Stanway Rovers (2-3). Away from home Town won at AFC Whyteleafe (2-1) but lost their other games at Dartford, Eastbourne Borough, Carshalton Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet and Chatham Town. In the FA Trophy, Brentwood exited in the 3rd Qualifying Round losing at home to Hashtag United on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Bradley Sach is top scorer with eight goals.
Cray can take heart for the last visit to the Brentwood Arena on 3rd January where Tim O’Shea’s side produced one of the great performances of the season and led four nil at half tiem with goals from Soul Kader (2), Alex Hernandez and Lateef Adaja to win 4-1 with Kymani Thomas netting a consolation for Brentwood. The Essex side were 5-1 winners when the teams met at Flamingo Park in August 2025. The sides met for years in the London Senior League in the 1950’s but in the Isthmian League era only met in the Isthmian North in the 2014-15 season where the teams drew 3-3 at Brentwood while Town won 3-2 at Hayes Lane in a season where Brentwood were promoted in the playoffs.
With Cray needing league points ahead of two cup tie weekends with the league game at home to Three Bridges (10th November) in-between this will be a stern test but one which the Wands can go into with confidence.
Please note this will be Brentwood Town’s Remembrance Fixture so please show respect as we always do their efforts on the day to raise money for the Royal British Legion and for the period of silence before kick off.
DIRECTIONS TO BRENTWOOD TOWN & ADMISSION
The Arena, The Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Brentwood, Essex CM15 9NN
Admission Prices
Adults £14, Concessions £10, Next Generation (17-18) £5, U17s free
Both cash and card payments accepted at the turnstiles.
Printed Match Programme: £3
Pitch 3G:
By Car:
Brentwood lies in Central Essex and from Flamingo Park is 27.8 miles away and via the A20 and M25 can take 45 minutes in good traffic.
Get on to the M25 from Swanley and from the M25 after 3.25 miles continue onto
A282 and the Dartford Tunnel and after 2.7 miles continue on onto M25 (signs for
M11/M1/Stansted Airport) for 8.5 miles. At Junction 28 take the A12 exit to
Chelmsford/A1023/Brentwood for 0.1 mile. At the roundabout take the 4th exit onto Brook Street/A1023 for 1.9 miles. Then turn left onto Weald Road and at the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Western Road and go through 2 roundabouts and at the second mini roundabout take the right hand fork into Doddinghurst Road. The Brentwood Centre is a further half a mile, on the right just after the A12 bridge. Once you enter the Centre the football ground entrance is in the far right hand corner of the car park. There are normally vast amounts of parking available, but beware when special events are taking place at the Brentwood Centre, as the car park can then become very congested.
By Train
Brentwood station is on the Great Eastern Line, approximately 35 minutes from Liverpool Street, and is about 1¾ miles from the Brentwood Centre. To walk it from the station (a bit of a hike, perhaps a cab if you are strapped for time) walk north on Warley Hill/B186 towards St James Rd and follow the B186 for 0.1 mile and at the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Kings Road/B185. After 0.3 miles continue onto Weald Road and at the roundabout take the 1st exit onto Western Road going through 2 roundabouts for 0.4 miles. Then turn left onto Ongar Road/A128 and at the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Doddinghurst Road for 0.6 miles then turn right, then a left and a right and the ground will be on the left. Please see above for information on the Brentwood Centre in which the Arena lies.
There are regular services from Liverpool Street on a Saturday to Brentwood with at least ten trains an hour with direct services taking 38 minutes. You can also get there from Stratford.
By underground
Brentwood can be reached on the Elizabeth Line on the Shenfield branch via Whitechapel. This can be picked up from Abbey Wood, Woolwich and Docklands stations.
By Bus
From Brentwood Station, the 37 (First Bus Company) and 31 (NiBS) bus services both run approximately every 20 minutes, via the High Street and Doddinghurst Road, to the Bishops Hall Estate, turning into Elizabeth Road opposite the Brentwood Centre.
Nearest Pubs: Brentwood is quite a decent sized town so if time you can make a day of it. The Rose & Crown (390 Ongar Road, Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood CM15 9JH) is around 1.1 miles from the ground so a 25 minute walk so perhaps a cab might be the best option or a bus service (as above). Slightly further away is the Black Horse (420 Ongar Road) which is a 16th century built pub with gnarled beamed fireplaces and serves real ale and modern pub food. Also on Ongar Road is the Robin which has live music on the weekends. A lot further away from the ground there are lots of pubs in the High Street including The Dairyman (JD Wetherspoons) as well as plenty of restaurants.
Brentwood is a commuter town in central Essex close to the M25 with a Roman Road which linked London to Colchester passing through the town and during the 13th century was a popular destination for pilgrims to pass through in homage to St Thomas the Martyr (Thomas Becket) of whom there was a chapel in the town.
Brentwood was also one of the key early meeting point ahead of the Peasant’s Revolt and after a riot began the movement which led to the groups’ heading to London. With Brentwood being located fairly close to London the town was renowned for its pubs and inns and was a stopping point for travellers heading to East Anglia.
The area also has a military history with Warley Barracks and later a psychiatric hospital and was home of the Essex Regiment until 1958 and was home of the Ford Motor Company until 2018.
