All we want at this stage in time is continued positive momentum, says Cray Wanderers assistant Joe Vines

CRAY WANDERERS assistant manager Joe Vines admits to facing a challenging Easter.

The Wands relied on Aaron Rhule’s last-gasp winner to win 1-0 at Chipstead on Easter Saturday, while a last-gasp Michael Power spot-kick earnt a draw in a 2-2 home draw against fellow promotion chasers Greenwich Borough two days later.

“The Easter schedule was challenging,” said Vines.

“We played very well against Chipstead and delivered a really workmanlike performance om the whole.

“For those who only saw the scoreline on the results pages it might look like a fortunate win with a late winning goal but for those that were there, it was the tale of an inspired goalkeeping display and some courageous defending.

“If we had scored the goal on 45 minutes there would have been no complaints by anyone.  As I said before, Chipstead are a much better side than their recent results suggest so it was a good win.”

Lewes remain at the summit in the Bostik South Division table with 89 points with five games remaining, while Carshalton Athletic are a couple of points behind having played a game more.

The four play-off places are occupied by Greenwich Borough (83 points from 41 games), Cray Wanderers (82 points from 42 games), Corinthian-Casuals (82 points from 41 games) and Walton Casuals (77 points from 41 games).

Sam Denly’s Hythe Town, meanwhile, are only four points adrift of the play-offs in seventh-place and they travel to Greenwich Borough tomorrow.

“The Monday game against Greenwich Borough was a different story,” added Vines.

“Greenwich were very well-organised and their midfield three were excellent. I must admit that they absolutely dominated proceedings from the middle of the park. They didn’t allow us to impose ourselves on the game and they were the better side for much of the first half.

“For all of their dominance regarding pressure they didn’t create an awful lot and it was a game of relatively few chances.

“Jack Barham took his first goal very well but we managed to get ourselves back in the game with Charlie MacDonald’s penalty after some good work by Ben Mundele.

“We came out for the second half a much better side but found ourselves behind again after being caught in possession and reactive to a quick pass forward.

“Again, Jack Barham is the man in form at the moment so we can’t give too many opportunities like that away without being punished.

“We had to change the plan to give ourselves a chance and fortunately our boys have great tenacity and belief and we managed to carve something out of nothing with Aaron Rhule chasing a lost cause and Michael Power showing great composure so late in the game to get the draw.

“Make no mistake, Greenwich are a good side but we know that we were not at our best and they couldn’t put us away so that bodes well.”

Cray Wanderers travel to sixteenth-placed VCD Athletic tomorrow.

Vines said:  “We have a tough game against VCD to focus on now.  They offer a great deal of unpredictability and pace.

“We will have to work very hard to control the tempo and pattern.  We have worked hard this week to revisit what we do well and we want to keep the unbeaten run going.

“The other sides around us are all playing each other on the day so it should be interesting to see the possibilities come full time but we have to concentrate on a good performance and the result will follow.

“All we want at this stage in time is continued positive momentum. If I am honest, when you look at forward movement, Hythe are flying so it's amazing what a run of wins does for confidence and shows how important the timing of it can be.”

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

VCD Athletic  v  Cray Wanderers
Bostik South Division
Saturday 7 April 2018
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Oakwood, Old Road, Crayford, Kent DA1 1DN