Wingate & Finchley 0-1 Cray Wanderers - We want to start making a little bit of FA Cup history for the club, says Cray Wanderers manager Neil Smith

Wingate & Finchley 0 – 1 Cray Wanderers
Location	Summers Lane, Finchley, London N12 0PD
Kickoff	17/09/2024 19:45

WINGATE & FINCHLEY  0-1  CRAY WANDERERS
The Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round Replay
Tuesday 17 September 2024
Stephen McCartney reports from Summers Lane

CRAY WANDERERS manager Neil Smith says he wants to start making a little bit of FA Cup history for the club after reaching the Third Qualifying round for the first time in five years with a replay win at Wingate & Finchley.
 

The Wands were given a scare away to Larkfield & New Hythe in a 1-1 draw but they thrashed Danny Lye’s men 8-0 at Flamingo Park to record their highest FA Cup victory. 

Cray Wanderers went into this game sitting third-from-bottom in the Isthmian League Premier Division table, having picked up four points (one win, one draw) from their first six league outings.

Wingate & Finchley won 4-0 at Thame United to reach this stage of the competition and were in fourteenth-place in the league table with seven points (two wins and a draw).

Smith’s side lead through David Ijaha’s header on Saturday before Wingate & Finchley striker Ogochukwu Obi notched his eighth goal of the season with a stoppage time penalty to earn a second bite of the cherry at Summers Lane.

Ahmet Rifat made four changes to the home side – but for Cray Wanderers, the recalled David Smith, 25, playing wide left – drilled in his first goal for Cray Wanderers on the stroke of half-time to earn a home tie against another Isthmian League Premier Division rival in Hastings United on Saturday 28 September.

Cray Wanderers are only two wins from reaching The FA Cup First Round for the very first time and have scooped £5,625 in prize money for getting this far.

“Tough game.  They’re a good side Wingate, especially in the first half. I thought we were very erratic.  They looked more comfortable, especially at the beginning, first 15-20 and then we started getting into the game,” said Smith.

“Then I thought we dominated for probably the last 10 minutes of the half and obviously scored the goal and going in 1-0 up.

“The first half was a little bit erratic. We didn’t put our foot on the ball. It was a typical Cup game but then I thought we found our feet in the second half. I think we could’ve wrapped it up and made it a bit easier.

“The boys had to fight to stay in the game, early on but I thought we deserved it.

“The pitch was beautiful, beautiful. It’s a fantastic pitch. It’s lovely. I’ve been here a few years’ now and that’s one of the best I’ve seen it and fair play to the groundsman.”

The home side started the game on the front foot and created their first opening following their first of 10 corners, seven of which came in the first 30 minutes.

Andronicos Georgiou – who played behind the front two of Obi and Isaac Newton – swung the ball in from the right towards the near-post where recalled Toby Byron – who plays on the left of a three-man central defence – steered his deflected header past the near post with 09:13 on the clock.

Cray Wanderers went close to grabbing the lead with 14:11 on the clock.

Right-back Adrian Owiredu-Gyamera threw the ball for central striker Kenny Coker to flick the ball on to Nyren Clunis to play the ball along the deck into Coker before Smith took a touch in the centre of the pitch before hitting a left-footed shot on the turn from 25-yards, which screamed just past the top of the right-hand post.

Smith was asked why he put his namesake wide left, instead of playing the 25-year-old as a central striker.

“He had to do a job.  They play three at the back, so we just had to take the right-sided centre-half of the three, so that was his job,” said the manager.

“Kenny Coker was down the middle and Imran Kayani on the right, so it worked, it worked.

“I don’t know how far away from (the goal) it was. He seemed to have caught it well. He’s finding his confidence, he’s finding the way we’re playing him. Hopefully to find his strengths as well.”

Wingate & Finchley went close too, following a set-piece, after Tom Bonner fouled Newton and referee Ross Murphy awarded the home side a free-kick 25-yards from goal.

Faced with a four-man wall, Obi stroked his right-footed free-kick around the wall and the ball was destined to nestle inside the bottom left-hand corner, only for goalkeeper Shaun Rowley to dive low to his right to tip the ball behind for the home side’s fourth corner in the 17^th minute.

“He’s a good player, they’ve got some very good players in their side, so we knew it was difficult,” admitted Smith.

“We didn’t want to give the free-kick there but Shaun has been magnificent, another clean-sheet for him. He’s been immense the last few games.”

Cray Wanderers weathered the early storm, however, and central attacking midfielder Clunis should have done better with a 32^nd minute opening.

Coker found himself in the opposing half down the right before he fed holding midfielder Frankie Raymond, who cut the ball on to his left foot in the middle and opted against shooting from outside the box, instead slipping the ball through to Clunis, who dragged his left-footed shot across the keeper and rolling harmlessly wide of the far post from 22-yards.

“When we’ve been doing our crossing, finishing and shooting, he’s been very, very clinical. Normally when it comes out to him there, you expect him to hit the target but he did pull it. He probably just panicked a little bit but again Nyren’s work-ethic was phenomenal tonight,” added Smith.

Wingate & Finchley went route one (43:54) when a big kick by goalkeeper Charlie Grainger was destined for the left-channel, the ball was flicked on by substitute central midfielder Luke Desladnes and Newton got in behind Ijaha but lacked composure and lashed his shot over the top of the near post with Rowley to beat.

Smith said: “Listen, they’re going to cause trouble.  They’re a good side, they work their systems, like little rotations that they’ve got going down the right-hand side and the left-hand side but it goes over – but we go up the other end and we scored the goal.”

Smith lost right-back Owiredu-Gyamera to a hamstring injury, so on came the versatile Anthony Cook in first half stoppage time.

“He just felt his hamstring. He just felt it a little bit and it was more precautionary that we take him off.  Until he went off, they’ve been brilliant, Darion (Dowrich) and Adrian at full-back have been excellent acquisitions for the team,” added Smith.

Cray Wanderers swiftly went up the other end and sealed the deal two minutes and 58 seconds into stoppage time.

Right-winger Imran Kayani threaded a 20-yard pass in behind William Cracknell – who plays on the right of the three-man defence – and Smith kept composed to drill his left-footed angled drive across Grainger to find the bottom far corner with a clinical strike from 15-yards.

“Brilliant finish! We’ve been doing a lot of finishing lately. He’s been looking really good, as has Dontai Stewart, Kenny Coker, like we know in the Cup from the last round (scoring a hat-trick in the home replay against Larkfield & New Hythe).

“You need other people to come and join the gang and it was great to get him off the mark tonight.”

It was Smith’s first goal for Cray Wanderers since his summer move from Folkestone Invicta – his first goal in 482 minutes – or one goal in 527 minutes.

“He’s scored a couple in pre-season and just hasn’t found his feet but as I say we’ve had a different formation than what we started. We’re finding our formation and finding players to find their best position and get the best out of them,” added the manager, who went back to his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation.

Smith revealed that he wanted his players to keep their heads during the second half.

“We knew it was going to be erratic again. They’re going to put us under pressure but we’ve just got to keep our shape, keep our heads. People were losing their heads out there today. It was the ones who could keep their heads and just keep the ball better, which we did and I think we hit them on the break several times.”

Cray Wanderers’ 27-year-old goalkeeper Rowley was called into making a big save 321 seconds into the second half.

The Wands were guilty of some sloppy defending some 35-yards from their goal as Edwards’ back pass was intercepted by Obi, who charged into the box but Rowley came out and narrowed the angle to make a block, the ball ricocheting off the 26-year-old striker and looping over the crossbar for a goal-kick.

“Fair play to Shaun, he’s come out and he’s made himself big. He hasn’t committed. It’s actually hit the goalkeeper and then it’s hit Obi again and gone out, so we actually got a goal-kick from it,” said Smith.

“It’s just sloppy. We just have to make sure we stop giving these chances away. It was a great save because all off a sudden the momentum changes a little bit but it was a great save.”

Smith was released down the right before reaching the by-line and cutting the ball back for Clunis, who lacked composure inside the box and lashed his first time shot over Grainger’s crossbar.

Cray Wanderers received a huge slice of luck with a recycled ball back into the box from right-wing-back Rhamar Garrett-Doulgas, was met by a towering near-post header from Obi, which looped over Rowley and clipped the top of the left-hand post with 11:38 on the clock.

Smith said: “Listen, that’s what I keep trying to telling to people.  The league doesn’t lie, we’re both down there but I think they’re a very good side and they will create chances, especially at home playing on that carpet of a pitch.

“We rode our luck when we had to but then I thought they rode theirs when we should’ve scored.”

Clunis fed Smith, who dragged his left-footed shot across the keeper and harmlessly past the far post, as Cray Wanderers were a threat on the counter-attack.

Coker delivered a deep cross, which was brought down well by Kayani and the former Whitehawk man cut the ball back to Cook, who put over a cross, which was cleared only as far as Clunis, who cut the ball onto his right-foot and tried to curl his shot into the top far corner from 22-yards, but the ball cleared the crossbar.

Kayani then found Smith, who slipped as he swept his shot towards the near post and the former Cray Wanderers goalkeeper made a comfortable save as the ball rolled towards him in the 62^nd minute.

Cray Wanderers should have killed the game off in the 66^th minute when Smith dropped deep and switched the play over to Cook on the right, who took a touch before delivering a deep cross towards the back post but Clunis couldn’t poke the ball over the line.

“There was one when it went to the far post, a little bit of communication and all off a sudden someone’s stood of the ball from a yard out and Dave had another chance in exactly the same position where maybe a header maybe just finished if off,” added Smith.

This game had the feel of being a one-goal game but Cray Wanderers kept knocking on the door and a sublime diagonal 60-yard pass from their left-back Darion Dowrich found Kayani, who cut in and flashed his right-footed angled drive past the far post.

“Imran’s come in and he’s done ever so well as well. He’s looking more confident and he’s fitting into the team, the squad love him and I thought we hit them on the break and we could’ve killed the game off,” added Smith.

Smith was full of praise for his central defenders Ijaha and Bonner – with a combined age of 70 – and Bonner slammed the door shut as Wingate & Finchley threatened an equaliser with six minutes of normal time remaining.

Substitute central midfielder Tommy Roberts played the ball inside to Georgiou, who skipped past two men before feeding Obi in behind Dowrich but the excellent Bonner slid in to make a superb block on the corner of the six-yard box to protect Rowley’s fourth clean sheet of the season.

“They (the home side) don’t give up.  We had chances to kill it off but then you’re also giving them a chance, a free-kick or a corner and I think we played the game out a little bit better,” said Smith.

“We kept the ball in the corner where as on Saturday we were still trying to get a goal with one minute of added time and it’s these little things that see the game through because it’s all about winning at the end of the day. If you play bad and win, as long as you get through to the next round.”

Praising Ijaha and Bonner, Smith said: “You wouldn’t want any other two and that’s not disrespecting Quade Taylor because Quade has been amazing but the two of them at the moment are just forming that little bit of a spirit and a togetherness at the back, along with Shaun Rowley, along with the two full-backs and even Frankie Raymond and Charlie Edwards in front of them.”

Looking ahead of the home FA Cup tie against Hastings United at Flamingo Park, Smith said: “It’s brilliant. I’ve always said I want a nice Cup run for the club.  I think (chairman) Gary Hillman wants a nice one as well, he’s been waiting for it.

“We’re at home, so it’s going to be a tough game against Hastings, we know that but for the club it’s a bit of money as well. It gives us another home game, hopefully the crowd come in and we’ll just see how we go.

“We want to start making a little bit of history for the club. We want to get into the next round, we don’t want to stop at Hastings. If it means that other games are getting postponed and we’re playing midweek, then so be it but we want to try to bring some money into the club and hopefully that gets back into the squad.

“I want the owners to have a good time as well. I want to give them a ride and it will be a roller-coaster.  The last two games have proved that in the Cup, two replay’s.”

Attention now turns to a trip to Bognor Regis Town on Saturday (15:00).

Robbie Blake’s side are in the bottom five in the seventh-tier division, having picked up five points from their six outings.

The relegation zone currently contains Cheshunt (five points), Cray Wanderers (four), Canvey Island (three) and Bowers & Pitsea (one).

Smith said: “It’s another tough game. I thought Bognor would be up there. I think he’s a fantastic manager Robbie Blake. I’ve spoken to him a couple of times. It’s not happening for him at the moment for whatever reason but we’ve got to go down there and prepare. 

“We’ve got patched-up bodies and see who’s fit come Thursday but we know it’s going to be a difficult game and all off a sudden that becomes the most important game this season.

“The league doesn’t lie but I think we’re better than where we are.   We had a great start an then we lost bodies at vital times. We lost Tom Bonner for three games and in those three games we lost a bit of momentum.  We lost that team shape, we changed the shape. We’ve worked on things, brought in Adrian Owiredu-Gyamera as well so hopefully now it’s starting to blend but we’ve got people on the bench who are ready to come on and hopefully they’re just waiting for their chance.”

Wingate & Finchley: Charlie Grainger, Rhamar Garrett-Douglas (Destiny Oladipo 72), Ayobhall Tanimowo, Bobby Webb, Toby Byron, William Cracknell, Arthur Iontton (Luke Deslandes 42), Matthew Achuba, Ogochukwu Obi, Isaac Newton (Tommy Roberts 83), Andronicos Georgiou.
Subs: Prince Adegoke, Benedict Frempah

Booked: Matthew Achuba 45, Andronicos Georgiou 68, Ricky Machel 89 (assistant manager), Bobby Webb 90

Cray Wanderers: Shaun Rowley, Adrian Owiredu-Gyamera (Anthony Cook 45), Darion Dowrich, Frankie Raymond, David Ijaha, Tom Bonner, David Smith, Charlie Edwards, Kenny Coker, Nyren Clunis, Imran Kayani.
Subs: Quade Taylor, Lateef Adaja, Dontai Stewart, Arezki Mamouchene, Thomas Borders

Goal: David Smith 45

Booked: Nyren Clunis 41, Charlie Edwards 75

Attendance: 149
Referee: Mr Ross Murphy
Assistants: Joseph Gray & Mr Alan Steward
Fourth Official:  Mr Thomas Cartwright