Corinthian Casuals vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier, Wednesday 5th October, 7.45 pm (at Met Police FC) – Match Preview and Directions

Corinthian Casuals vs Cray Wanderers – Isthmian Premier – Wednesday 5th October (at Met Police FC), 7.45 pm – Match Preview and Directions

Main pics: Jon Hilliger/www.hilligerpix.com

BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Cray Wanderers players observe a minutes silence for Queen Elizabeth II before The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Bowers & Pitsea at Hayes Lane on September 18, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)

  Cray Wanderers return to league action after a free weekend with a trip to Metropolitan Police FC, the home for one night only of Corinthian Casuals.  The game is played at Imber Court whilst repairs to the King George’s Field ground take place.  Kick off 7.45 pm.

BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Cray Wanderers’s Jalen Jones runs the ball out of defence during The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Hastings United at Hayes Lane on September 21, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)

Cray who are 10th in the Isthmian Premier League table will be looking to return to winning ways after three league games without a win and four in all competitions but performances have been decent especially in the last league game at Hornchurch where Cray were unlucky not to grab a point.  A couple of new arrivals in the last couple of weeks have shown promise, Freddie Carter from Gillingham in defence at Hornchurch made a composed debut while Tom Stagg, a striker from Colchester United’s Academy played well in the Kent Senior Cup tie at Sheppey United last Tuesday.  Going into the game on Wednesday, Dan Bassett has been sharp with four goals in the last five league games and at Hornchurch, Billy Crook, Mitch Chapman and Ben Krauhaus were impressive in midfield.  Injuries haven’t helped Neil Smith in September to Nyren Clunis, Sinn’kaye Christie and Harold Joseph who at this time is the most long term absentee and hopefully Clunis and Christie will return soon.

BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Cray Wanderers’s Daniel Bassett scores his teams first goal to make the score 1-1 during The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Bowers & Pitsea at Hayes Lane on September 18, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)

October is an interesting month for the Wands with matches against the league leaders Potters Bar Town and both Enfield Town and Horsham who have been in good form early in the season.  Cray though have beaten Canvey Island and Folkestone and drawn with Bishop’s Stortford so have proved themselves against good sides in the first couple of months of the season. 

BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 21: Cray Wanderers’s Ben Krauhaus runs the ball out of defence into the Hastings half during The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Hastings United at Hayes Lane on September 21, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)

Corinthian Casuals come into the game 21st in the table and without a win in seven league games but are always tough opponents and hard to break down so Cray will have to be at their best on Wednesday night.   Casuals got off to a flying start to the season with a 4-1 home win vs Bowers & Pitsea and at home have drawn with Lewes (1-1) and lost to Aveley (1-2). Unfortunately last month damage to the dressing rooms at the ground has meant a postponement of the match with Folkestone and the need to look elsewhere until repairs are made.  So for this match the game will be played at Met Police FC’s Imber Court ground where many Wands fans would have been to in the past.  Away form has seen a draw at Haringey Borough (2-2) and defeats at Horsham (0-5), Hornchurch (0-5) and Enfield Town (0-2) last Friday.  In the FA Cup like Cray, Corinthian Casuals exited in the 1st Qualifying Round at home to Burgess Hill Town.  Leading scorer so far is Benjamin Cheklit with 5 goals for Tony Reid’s side.  Reid took over as manager of Corinthian Casuals in the summer after James Bracken after six seasons at the helm moved on.

Corinthian Casuals had much the better of the two league meetings last season winning 4-0 at home in September 2021 with a Warren Mfula hat-trick and an Emmanuel Mensah goal.  At Hayes Lane in January 2022 an Oliver Sitch brace helped Casuals win 2-1 after Jamie Yila had put Cray ahead.  Corinthian Casuals finished 14th in the final table with 49 points.

Corinthian Casuals were formed in 1939 following the merger of two amateur clubs, Corinthians and Casuals and were placed in the Isthmian League after the end of the Second World War when football resumed. The original Corinthians club were a massive influence on railway workers in Sao Paulo and after being influenced by watching them play in London, the famous Brazilian club Corinthians were formed through the railway workers. Through their links to the Brazilian club Casuals have toured Brazil three times including in 1988-89 when the legendary midfielder Socrates played a half for both sides and most recently in 2015.

They reached the FA Amateur Cup Final in 1956 losing to Bishop Auckland after a replay and spent many years in the Isthmian League up to 1984-85 when they were demoted to the Spartan League. In 1995-96 they were promoted to the Combined Counties League and within a couple of years returned to the Isthmian League. They met the Wands for the first time in league competition in Division One South in 2004-05 and although some years were a struggle they remained in the South Division up to when Cray Wanderers returned in 2016-17 and reached the playoff final two seasons in a row each time beating Greenwich Borough in the Semi-Finals before losing to Dorking Wanderers in 2017 and to Walton Casuals in 2018 both on penalties after goalless draws but gained promotion on a better points per game average to the Premier where they finished 17th in 2018-19.  The two Covid-19 affected seasons saw Casuals 19th and 17th before a 14th placed finish last season.

Two clubs rich with in history and tradition, the amber and black of Cray and the pink and chocolate shirts of Casuals coupled with a sharing of how the game should be played promises to be a cracking game and on the usually impressive playing surface at Imber Court.

DIRECTIONS TO METROPOLITAN POLICE FC

Please note that there will be industrial action affecting rail services quite heavily on Wednesday.

Directions:

A3 south from Central London: Pass New Malden, pass under Tolworth Towers, under Hook Road A243 underpass then immediately take left slip road off onto A309, follow for 3 miles to large Scilly Isles RAB A307, take 3rd exit out, north onto Hampton Court Way A309 towards Hampton Court, at 1st RAB turn left into Ember Court Road, Ground 300 yards down facing you on other side of T Junction.

A3 north from M25 J10:

onto A3 Esher by pass, turn left at A244 towards Esher, turn right at A307 Esher High Street, follow road down past Sandown Park Racecourse on your left, to large Scilly Isles RAB, take 1st exit out left onto Hampton Court Way A309 towards Hampton Court, at 1st RAB turn left into Ember Court Road, Ground 300 yards down facing you on other side of T junction.

Buses:

The 458 goes to Thames Ditton and Esher and 515 (from Kingston-upon-Thames) take you to Thames Ditton Station which is a short walk to ground. These might be very busy if no trains available.

If you should find yourself at Thames Ditton or Esher then Thames Ditton is slightly the nearest station and is a five minute walk away. Come out of the station and turn left onto Ember Court Road, cross the main road and the roundabout and then straight on – the ground is 200 yards down this road. Esher is about a 10 minute walk north from the station, following the road around the bend and the ground is on your right.

Nearest Pubs: The George & Dragon in Thames Ditton High Street (pictured) is close to the ground and does very good food and has live sport on TV.  There is also the Poyntz Arms which is in Walton Street in East Molesey.  For a Chippie, Christy’s in Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton might be your best bet. Otherwise Carp and Trout on Hampton Court Parade perhaps going a little bit away from the ground might be worth a shout.

Imber Court lies in East Molesey so perhaps in the opposite direction to Molesey FC which lies in the West although both parts share a High Street. To the East part of Molesey lies Hampton Court and a large park, Hurst Park and there is a cricket ground there.  There is Molesey lock just above Hampton Court Bridge which connects the River Thames with other locks around the river.

Both Hampton Court Palace and the river are well worth a visit if you have plenty of time on your hands.   The former home of Henry VIII attracts many tourists with its vast gardens and impressive buildings.  Be wary if you wish to use the maze if you don’t want to miss the 7.45pm kick off.

This is actually a nice area to visit and still has East Molesey Cricket Club whilst it used to many years ago have a racecourse there which stretched the length of the Thames but is now part of the Hurst Park site.