Carshalton Athletic vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier – Saturday 13th September, 3 pm – Match Preview & Directions
Pics: Steve Cullum
Cray Wanderers continue on their early September league travels on Saturday with a visit to Surrey to face Carshalton Athletic. Kick off at Colston Avenue, 3 pm.
The Wands come into the game in 8th place and continued a steady league start to the season with a gutsy comeback from two nil down with twelve minutes to go to draw at Lewes last Saturday to reach 11 points from the first six games.
After a difficult first half where Cray weren’t really at their best after the break wrested more of the initiative and Ashley Nzala and Quade Taylor netted their first goals for the club to earn a merited point at the finish.
On Tuesday night, Cray fielding a mix of first team and U23s players exited the Kent Senior Cup with a 0-2 defeat to Herne Bay so will be looking now to take a break from cup ties until October and concentrate on strengthening the league position with games in September against Carshalton, Hashtag United, Ramsgate and Dulwich Hamlet. Manager Tim O’Shea will be hoping that the injury situation which blighted August and the start of the month can ease as a full strength Cray side started the season impressively.
Carshalton Athletic come into the game in 17th place with six points and perhaps have made a slower start than expected and have lost their last three league games and like Cray exited the FA Cup at the 1st Qualifying Round stage. Peter Adeniyi’s side though are a fluent and attack minded team and showed they qualities earlier in the season with wins against Cray Valley PM and Billericay Town.
They began the season with a 2-0 win at Cray Valley before being beaten at home by Lewes (1-2) on 11th August. The Robins then beat Billericay Town 1-0 at home on 16th August before over the Bank Holiday weekend losing at Dartford (1-4) and then at home to Chichester City (0-3). Last Saturday they became the latest victim of Brentwood Town’s come from behind victories with a 2-3 defeat. Goals from Sharon Ifeanyi and Kola Salami put Carshalton ahead early in the second half with the winning goal coming in the 85th minute for the league leaders. In the FA Cup, Carshalton were beaten 2-3 at Wingate & Finchley in a replay after a 0-0 draw. Ifeanyi and Salami each have three goals this season.
Carshalton finished last season strongly in 7th place just outside the playoffs on 70 points. Last season fixtures saw a 1-1 draw at Flamingo Park with Nathan Jeche levelling a Abdul Sankoh goal on 26th November. The last meeting was on 15th March at Colston Avenue with Carshalton winning 2-1 with goal from Fabio Saraiva and a late Mason Saunders-Henry goal with Victor Damyanov netting for Cray.
There have been plenty of great games between the sides during the Isthmian League era with 23 previous meetings including one during the 2019-20 season. Cray have won 11, Carshalton 6 and 6 draws and always a good day out for supporters at Carshalton.
Cray will be hoping just to keep the consistency of two games away from home in the league unbeaten with admittedly early days of the season but hoping to return soon to full strength.
DIRECTIONS TO CARSHALTON ATHLETIC & ADMISSION
War Memorial Sports Ground, Colston Avenue, Sutton, Carshalton SM5 2PW
Admission prices
Adults: £13.00 over 18’s (or £12 if purchased online:
https://www.carshaltonathletic.co.uk/tickets
Seniors: £10.00 (£9.00 online) – Under 18’s: £7.00 (£6.00 online)
Matchday Progamme – Online and can be found an evening before the match.
Supporters going to Colston Avenue need to adhere to the following:
Photo ID needs to be provided for purchasing alcohol but also needs to be shown at the gate upon arrival. No drums or clappers are permitted into the ground. Dogs will need to wear a muzzle but are generally welcome.
DIRECTIONS: CAR
If you are driving the best and fastest way is via the A232 picked up from West Wickham. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Wickham Road/A232 follow for 1.4 miles and at the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Shirley Road/A232. At the next roundabout take the 1st exit onto Addiscombe Road/A232 then keep following the A232 for 1.7 miles. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the Croydon flyover/A232 for 1 mile. Then keep right to continue onto Epsom Road, use the middle lane to turn right onto Purley Way/A23, then turn left onto Croydon Road/A232 following the A232 for 2.2 miles. Then continue onto the roundabout taking the 2nd exit onto West Street/A278 then after 0.3 miles turn left into Colston Avenue for the ground.
The entrance to the ground is down a small alley about 150 yards on your right. This is a busy and narrow road so best to avoid parking down here – there is a car park at the ground or park on West Street or Colston Avenue.
Train Travel
Trains to Carshalton go from London Victoria where there are direct trains on a Saturday at 11 and 41 mins past the hour. Returns to Victoria are at 20 & 50 past the hour. You can also go from London Waterloo at 00 and 30 past the hour which require a change at Clapham Junction so probably easier from Victoria. Carshalton station is in Travel Card Zone 5.
The station is only a few minutes’ walk from the ground – take a right out of the exit and walk down the hill. Turn right, walk under the railway bridge and then left into Colston Avenue – ground is 150 yards on your right.
The following bus no’s will take you close to Colston Avenue, 127, 157, 407, 627, S3 & X20.
Carshalton has a few decent pubs within a stone’s throw of the ground. On West Street (take a left out of the station) there are the Racehorse which is a live music venue and also The Hope, whilst in The High Street there is the Greyhound Hotel, Woodman and Coach and Horses – all of which are worth a visit and serve top notch food. The clubhouse at the ground is excellent (one of if not the best in the league) and has done a pretty decent guest ale in the past.
Pub Guide:
The Hope – 48 West Street, SM5 2PR – 7 mins
The Racehorse – 17 West Street, SM5 2PT – 7 mins
The Greyhound Hotel – 2 High Street, SM5 3PE – 13 mins
The Woodman – 6 High Street, SM5 3AG – 14 mins
Coach and Horses – 12 High Street, SM5 3AG – 14 mins
Although by no means a large place there always seems to be lots going on there and there are a couple of lovely ponds, three parks, a Water Tower and well worth a stroll along the River Wandle as well as taking in some breathtaking Surrey scenery. One to definitely recommend for those that like football and making a day of it.
