Cray make Flamingo Park debut
Cray Wanderers and SE Dons both have huge seasons ahead of them, as they each embark on new, exciting journeys.
The Wands, founded in 1860, are finally looking forward to playing at a ground they can call their own. They will be in action at Flamingo Park, on the A20 in Sidcup, with a FIFA passed 3G surface and now through phase one of ground development, will be ready to kick off the Isthmian Premier League season with optimism and confidence.
Assistant manager Tim O’Shea said: “This was our first game at Flamingo Park and you can feel the buzz and sense of anticipation here. It is just a shame the weather wasn’t kind for us today.
“That buzz can feed its way to the players and give them some extra energy. We are very excited about the start of the season, al-though we are very much a work in progress and still finalising our squad for this year.”
The SE Dons are making the step up from Sunday League to Southern Counties East League Division One in partnership with Forest Hill Park FC.
The Dons are a club with a huge online following and at matches in south-east London, so they will be looking to bring the excitement and colour forged on a Sunday to Step 6 football and beyond.
On the move to Step 6, manager Mark Dacey said: “It’s going to be massive. The following the club had during the Sunday football scene was huge and we’re looking to build on that. Whether that happens this season or not I don’t know, but the potential is there for us to establish ourselves.
“We are a proper football club now and it’s an honour for me to be here and a chance for us to progress and show what we are about.”
The match itself on a wet and windy afternoon didn’t put a dampener on the occasion and both sides can be happy with a 1-1 draw. In a game with two different sides in each half both goals were scored in the second period.
The SE Dons went ahead in the 57th minute but Enoch Muwonge levelled for Cray on 75 minutes.
In the end, though, it wasn’t really about the match but the start of a new dawn for both clubs.