We've got to prove how good we are, says Cray Wanderers joint-boss Gary Abbott

Friday 19th December 2014

CRAY WANDERERS joint-manager Gary Abbott says the club are playing 23 cup finals to maintain their Ryman League status.

The Wands have picked up one point from their last two home games and welcome second-placed Harlow Town to Hayes Lane on Sunday in desperate need of some Christmas cheer.

They squandered an excellent chance to beat sixth-placed Ware last Sunday when Laurent Hamici – who gave the Kent side the lead – hit his injury time penalty straight at the goalkeeper and Alex Stavrinou blasted the rebound high, high over the bar.

Dereham Town scored a last minute winner to send Cray Wanderers crashing to a 3-2 defeat in midweek.

Cray Wanderers remain second-from-bottom in the Ryman League Division One North table, having won only three league games out of 23 attempts and are nine points adrift of safety, taking goal-difference into account.

This is the time that Cray Wanderers’ players stand up and be counted and claim the victories that they need, otherwise back-to-back relegations will mean the club will be playing Southern Counties East Football League football in August 2015 for the first time in ten years.

Harlow Town have won seventeen of their 25 league games this season and are just a point behind Needham Market.

The Wands then travel to Chatham Town on 27 December. Kevin Watson’s side have been dragged into the wrong end of the table, having collected 25 points from 25 games and are now sitting in eighteenth-place.

Abbott, who was speaking after the Ware game, said: “I watched Chatham (on 13 December) and if you look at our squad, we shouldn’t have no problem winning there, but it doesn’t work out like that!

“It’s alright you going look at the players’ we’ve got, but you’ve got to do it on the pitch.

“People are playing us and looking at the players we’ve got and they’re up for it because of the players that we’ve got, so for us it’s a cup final every week now and we’ve got to treat it like that.

“We’ve got Harlow on Sunday, who are second, flying and that’s going to be a tough game but I prefer to play the teams who are top.

“I was looking forward to the Ware game. I really fancied us to win. If you put your chances away and you do win the game, but we would’ve taken a draw and I think they were happy with a draw but they’ve (Ware’s management team) said how good we are.

“We can’t have people keep saying that and we’re not doing it on the pitch. We’re not going to get nowhere.”

Visit Cray Wanderers website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/craywands

Cray Wanderers v Harlow Town
Ryman League Division One North
Sunday 21^st December 2014
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF