We will take Guernsey very seriously, says Cray Wanderers assistant Joe Vines

CRAY WANDERERS assistant manager Joe Vines says his side will take struggling Guernsey very seriously tomorrow.

Tony Russell’s side remain in second-place in the Bostik South table on 59 points from 28 games, a point less than leaders Lewes, who arrive at Hayes Lane next Saturday, 20 January.

Before that, however, Cray Wanderers fly over to play Guernsey tomorrow before hosting a resurgent Ashford United at Hayes Lane next Wednesday.

Reflecting on their 4-2 home win over VCD Athletic in midweek, Vines said: “The game against VCD was great for the neutral, not so great for my heart! 

“Tony is very adept at identifying how a game will play out and he had outlined to the boys that the game might not go as planned so we had to be open to being tested.

“VCD are unpredictable, they have a pretty fluid playing style and a lot of their play is off the cuff so it's very difficult to prepare for pattern or predict what they might do next.

“Being honest we should have been out of sight at half time but going in level just meant we knew the size of the task.

“Karl Dent scored a great goal to get us in front and was fully deserved. An early goal should have settled the nerves but for some reason our reaction was to defend like amateurs.

“We have to really concentrate on not conceding soft goals at home especially as we have conceded four in the last two games and for a side that has aspirations of promotion that is not good enough!

“For all the negatives we turned it on when we needed to. Charlie MacDonald showed why we pursued him and secured his signature, the fella is a class act and between him and Shags (Michael Power) we have the firepower to keep the momentum going. 

“Ben Mundele scored a wonderful goal to seal the result. I am particularly hard on Ben as he has got the potential to play at a much higher level and I don't feel like he has been at his best for the last couple of games, so I'm really pleased for him.

“We have created (and we have the stats to back this up) in excess of 45 chances in the last two games. We have scored six goals. We really need to start converting these chances to keep our distance from the team in third place.

“Once we get the next two games out of the way we will have more time to prepare for the final stages of the season and work on turning the chances into goals."

Cray Wanderers have banged in 67 goals in 28 games and have concceed only 22 and Vines was full of praise for their last line of defence.

“I think we need to make special mention of Nick Blue. For all of his ability with the ball at his feet, he is a goalkeeper first and foremost and some of the saves that he has made after not seeing the ball for great lengths of time have been top class.”

Guernsey have been thrashed 5-0 (Phoenix Sports) and 4-0 (Sittingbourne) after their visits into Kent over the past seven days but Vines believes they will be a different outfit on home soil, despite being in the bottom five with 27 points from as many games.

“Guernsey will be a tough game for various reasons. They have a different side at home than they do away due to the logistics of their situation so we cannot really predict the line-up.

“Take into consideration the early start and the flight and there is always a chance for someone to oversleep! We will take Guernsey very seriously, as we do all of our opposition. We don't expect anyone to roll over for us so we will be trying harder than ever to be professional and fight for the best possible result.”

Visit Cray Wanderers’ website:  www.cray-wanderers.com

Guernsey  v  Cray Wanderers
Bostik South Division
Saturday 13 January 2018
Kick Off 2:00pm
at Footes Lane Stadium, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2UL