MATCH REPORT – By Charlie Bradford
Cray Wanderers Women 8
(Trialist A 35, Ashdown 40, Arnold 46, 90, Rix 61, 83, Francis 85, Brown 88)
Parkwood Rangers Women 1
(Parkwood’s number 4 69)
Sunday 27th July 2025, 2 PM @ Flamingo Park
On a humongous day for women’s football in the country, Cray Wanderers’ Women had their own occasion to showcase their talents as they took to the field for their third pre-season friendly match of the summer.
After racking up six goals against Chatham Town Women Development in game one and seven last week at Horsham in game two, the Wands Women would have been keen to maintain their attacking prowess this afternoon against Parkwood Rangers.
Parkwood are no strangers to Cray Wanderers Women with both clubs having been in the same division last season. Whereas Cray Wanderers finished third in the South East Counties Women,s Football League Premier Division, Parkwood Rangers finished bottom of the pile with just two league wins and a draw to their name last campaign.
That means of course that Parkwood unfortunately suffered relegation meaning Cray would have come into today’s game as the favourites perhaps being in the higher division.
That being said one of the seven points Parkwood Rangers did manage to pick up last season was at home to Cray Wanderers in a 3-3 slobbernocker – Millie Main bagging a hat trick that day for the Wands.
And Parkwood lost to the odd goal in five at Flamingo Park last season – Hannah Atkins, Eleasha Hyner and Mille Main on the scoreboard for the Wands.
So would today prove a stern, closely fought battle? Or would Cray, being the higher league opposition, win?!
Well the answer was an empathic win with Cray’s Chloe Francis curling wide of the right post and Ellie Cole hitting the bar at a free kick early on before Trialist A found themselves in for Cray but struck over the bar.
Cray eventually broke Parkwood down in the 35th minute – Ellie Rivers cutting off the right and having a shot clip the base of the right post with Trialist A on hand to put home the rebound.
Five minutes later Cray doubled their lead when Chloe Ashdown won the ball back on the edge of the Parkwood box before tucking her shot into the bottom left corner.
HT: 2-0.
The second half was barely a minute old when Cray made it 3-0 when Storm Arnold came up with a trickle past Parkwood’s goalkeeper which nestled in the bottom right corner.
Cray were playing some good front foot football at this point and duly made it 4-0 in the 61st minute when Lucy Rix headed a cross into the bottom left.
Cray however did not manage to keep a clean sheet as Parkwood pulled a goal back in the 69th minute – their number 4 running through on goal and through the grasp of Cray goalkeeper Jess Cox.
Cray however ran riot in the last ten minutes to add some gloss to the scoreline – Lucy Rix getting a fifth in the 83rd minute after playing a neat one-two and finding the bottom left.
Two minutes later and it was 6-1 to Cray when Chloe Francis brought down a ball from the left and placed an effort into the bottom left corner.
However the biggest cheer of the day took place in the 88th minute when a ball from the left found the unmarked Okasia Brown at the far right post and she simply could not miss as she tapped home.
Cray added an eighth in the 90th minute – Storm Arnold heading home a ball from the left from a couple of yards out.
Cray then scored six in their first pre season game, seven in their second and today eight in their third and look in good form in front of goal which they will look to carry into the season itself…
