[ad_1]
We’ve met VCD (or Vickers, Cray and Dartford) Athletic twice before, in the 2017-18 season. The club was founded in 1916, during the First World War, as a company team by employees of the now defunct Vickers armaments factory in Crayford. However they did not acquire senior status until joining the Kent League in 1997. On winning the Kent League in 2008/09 they joined the Isthmian League, in Division One North, but their stay was short lived as they were relegated back to the Kent League after one season at step 4. Their demise had nothing to do with their performance on the pitch however as the League had determined that their pitch was not of the required standard and VCD had missed the deadline for making their changes to it.
They returned to the Isthmian League in 2013 and won Division One North at their first attempt, pipping Witham Town by a point. VCD then finished in a respectable 18th place in their first season in the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2014-15 before being relegated next time round, finishing bottom with 34 points. For 2016-17 they played in Division One North, finishing 15th. However, following a restructure of the League, VCD were placed in Division One South for 2017/18 which is where we come in!
Our first meeting took place in January 2018 at VCD’s Oakwood ground (which is less than 250 metres from the ground of fellow Isthmian League South East club Phoenix Sports!) and raced into a 4-0 half time lead with goals from Ola Sogbanmu (2), Tommy Bradford and Mickel Miller. VCD pulled one back in the second half as Bobby Price conceded an own goal but it was too little to late and the Robins went home with all three points. We next met on the last day of the season, needing to win to secure the Division One South title and nerves, if there were any, were quickly calmed as Ola Sogbanmu put us 1-0 up after just four minutes. We then ran riot and scored six more to win 7-0 (including a second from Ola) with the rest of the goals coming from Tommy Bradford, Omar Koroma, Christie Pattison, Jordan Cheadle (a fantastic 35 yard free kick from out on the right wing!) and gaffer Peter Adeniyi (with a penalty).
Since then VCD have played in the Isthmian League’s Division South East finishing inside the top ten on each occasion and were placed second in the truncated 2020-21 season.
Played for both clubs: Attacker Youssef Bamba appeared for the Robins in the middle part of the 2015-16 season before moving on to pastures new which have included Merstham, Kingstonian and Walton Casuals. Youssef has been at VCD since the beginning of last season.
Tickets
Available at: https://www.carshaltonathletic.co.uk/tickets
Adults – £11; Seniors (over 65) – £8; Under 18s – £3. Remember you save £1 per ticket by buying online compared with paying at the turnstiles. Please note that season tickets are not valid for cup fixtures.
[ad_2]
