Cray Wanderers 3 Dover Athletic 1

CRAY WANDERERS 3
Gary Abbott 26
Leigh Bremner 30, 42

DOVER ATHLETIC 1
Craig Wilkins 19

Stephen McCartney reports from The Courage Stadium, Hayes Lane
Ryman League Division One

Cray Wanderers moved into twelve place in the Ryman League Division One table - just five points adrift of the final play-off spot, following their passionate and fully deserved success over seventh placed Dover Athletic tonight.

Although unbeaten at Crabble, Dover have crashed to defeats at Ashford Town (3-2), Banstead Athletic (3-2), Hastings United (4-0), Molesey (2-1) and Tooting & Mitcham United (2-0) but they had no answer to Cray Wanderers’ devastating slick passing, which tore them to shreds, with non-league goalscoring Legend, Gary Abbott, and one-time White, Leigh Bremner causing the damage in the first half.

Abbott, 41, took his tally for the season to ten, whilst Bremner joins Michael Power on 13 goals.

Joe Francis, Cray’s assistant manager, admitted after the game, side’s don’t need to be motivated when they tackle the Crabble outfit.

“A great performance,” he beamed. “A big game for us. We said to the players before the game that it’s the first real encounter we’ve had down here for a couple of months and these games tend to look after themselves in terms of motivation and we got after them.”

And that’s what they did. Cray should have opening the scoring after just three minutes.

Abbott sent wing-back Junior Baker bursting down the left hand side, before the former reserve team player cut into the penalty area. His cross found Jamie Kempster whose low centre should have been finished off by Bremner, but the former Herne Bay striker poked his shot wide from six yards.

Bremner, a Dover target last season, should have scored again after nine minutes but he skied his shot after he was set up by David Hall, who did well to bring Ross Lover’s ball over the top under control inside the box.

Dover, however, opened the scoring from their first corner of the game, after 19 minutes.

Craig Wilkins’ headed home his 14^th goal of the season, through a crowded goal-mouth, following James Rogers’ far post corner.

Paul Hyde, Dover’s 42-year-old goalkeeper, was called into action when he pushed Adam Young’s 25-yard shot around the post before he was beaten on 26 minutes.

Lover’s corner - their third of the game - was flicked on at the near post and Abbott bundled the ball home from very close range.

Cray took a deserved lead just four minutes later when Abbott laid the ball for Bremner, whose right-footed 25-yard screamer flew into the top corner of the net.

Baker was allowed to burst forward from his defensive duties to meet Bremner’s cross from the right, but despite being unmarked inside the box, he glanced his header wide.

Cray carved Dover open again three minutes before the break. Kempster slid the ball to Abbott who played in Bremner. Despite the raven haired striker having four red and blue striped shirts swarming around him, the striker burst through them, evaded a desperate tackle from Daniel Braithwaite and rifled a shot past Hyde from just inside the box.

Steve Northwood comfortably dealt with Michael Smissen’s two early attempts on the Cray goal early in the second half.

However, a mix-up in the Dover defence, with Hyde caught napping outside his penalty area, should have gifted Bremner a well-deserved hat-trick, but his long range shot went agonisingly wide of the foot of the right upright.

Smissen’s cross-cum-shot, from the right channel, bounced on top of Northwood’s crossbar before the introduction of Jordao Diogo, brought much needed pace to the visiting side, and produced some Ronaldo step-overs but no end product.

Bremner, however, does have pace in abundance, as Dover full-back Sam Vallance found out, and after brushing past him, the red-hot striker was denied by the advancing Dover goalkeeper who made fine block.

Braithwaite’s diving header, from Diogo’s corner kick, sailed harmlessly wide late on, and 14 points from their last 12 games could mean Dover Athletic spending another season in this league, where they can suffer more trips to clubs they feel they shouldn’t be playing.

Francis, however, was full of praise for Abbott and Bremner. He said: “It’s the perfect foil. Someone like Leigh, with his pace in behind, and Gary’s ability to hold the ball up and flick things on - yes, we got in a few times.

“I thought we could have come in with more goals and were a little bit disappointed to only come in three goals up.”

Speaking about the second half, he added: “We knew second half, against the wind, we had to defend a little bit deeper.

“We didn’t keep the ball as well as we thought we can do, but we’re delighted with the win.”

Whyteleafe are the visitors to Hayes Lane on Saturday, and former Cray striker Mark Tompkins, now playing for the Surrey side, was watching tonight’s action from the stands.

With Cray just five points from the final play-off spot, Francis hasn’t ruled out reaching the end of season lottery for the second successive season.

“This time last year we went on a run of seven straight wins and this team is capable of that,” he insists.

“It’s a team that’s been together for the best part of three or four years, with one or two additions and as any club will tell you, if you get a little bit of momentum then things start to go your way.

“But we’re looking forward to Saturday and we know its going to be a really hard game against Whyteleafe.”

Not for the first time this season, Dover chairman Jim Parmenter, whose seen his side
drop outside the play-off zone, has given boss Clive Walker his support.

“My personal position on this is that Clive has my full support,” said his statement on www.doverathletic.com

It added: “He has been let down by some of his players and we as a board are working hard to give Clive every help we can.

“We would only be able to remove a manager if we had a full board meeting and we haven’t got one planned.

“Also I do not see any purpose in changing the manager at the end of February in our position. It’s best that we all stick together, be tight as a unit (the board, fans, management team and players) and work hard to turn things around.

“Tonight, against Cray, we had a scratch team out and I am frustrated as any supporter, believe me.”

Before that statement was issued, Walker, who gave former AFC Wimbledon striker Kevin Cooper his debut having signed him from Metropolitan Police on Sunday, insisted his side can still get promotion - via the play-offs.

He said: “I think we have to win every game now, I really do. I think we can’t afford to drop any points.

“I still think we shall get into the play-off’s but I’m talking about getting a good bunch of points here and we’ve got 16 games. We’ve got to be winning 13-14 of them.

“I would think if I get all my team back, yes, I won’t have too many problems with it. I would be a lot more confident coming to places like this with a stronger team obviously and we all know that.”

Reflecting on the game, he added: “I thought we started the first ten minutes allright, got ourselves in front and all off a sudden we had all sorts of problems and they could have a lot more in the first half.

“If it wasn’t for Hydie (Paul Hyde) it could have been a lot more. After that, well, we picked it up second half, but we had a lot of balls in boxes without getting on the end of anything.”

Next up, a trip to Lymington & New Milton on Saturday.

Cray Wanderers: Steve Northwood, David Hall, Ian Rawlings, David Gray, Junior Baker (Dean Morris 72), Matt Lee, Ross Lover (James Taylor 90), Jamie Kempster, Gary Abbott (Michael Power 57), Leigh Bremner, Adam Young.
Subs: Jamie Wood, Matt Woolf.

Dover Athletic: Paul Hyde, Sam Vallance, Daniel Braithwaite, Shane Hamshare, Craig Cloke, Craig Wilkins, Tommy Tyne (Dave Clifford 57), Lee Spiller (Capt), Michael Smissen (Jordao Diogo 72), Kevin Cooper, James Rogers.
Subs: Dale Skelton, Kevin Lott, Darren Smith.

Attendance: 202
Referee: Mr J Ross
Assistants: Mr P Harris & Mr W Christie