CRAY Wanderers manager Ian Jenkins was pleased with a 3-2 home win against Carshalton Athletic on Tuesday night, their first Hayes Lane league success since late August.

The Wands' away form has been the bigger reason for their presence in the top half of the table after the first 10 league games of the season, and when they trailed 2-1 at half-time against Carshalton it looked as though another disappointment for their home fans was on the cards.

A lively first half of end-to-end football saw Alex Stavrinou test the visiting 'keeper with a firm shot after a well-worked Cray short corner-kick routine.

Tyrone Sterling managed to clear off the line after Nat Pinney took the ball round Cray 'keeper Andy Walker, and within an instant Cray were attacking the visitors' goalmouth with the ball being forced narrowly wide of the target.

Cray led on 24 minutes when Chris Saunders was sent sprawling by a panic tackle, and Leigh Bremner fired the penalty-kick past Nick Hamann.

It was 1-1 nine minutes later when Hakeem Adelakun cleverly prevented the ball from running out of play and released Pinney to run through the Cray defence and loop his shot over Walker, with a suspicion of handball as he did so.

There was no argument about Carshalton's second goal in the 41st minute when Justyn Roberts thrashed a free-kick past the Cray wall and past Walker's right hand.

Soon after the restart Cray were relieved to see Roberts smash a close-range shot over the bar after a ferocious scramble in the penalty area, and then Walker made a reflex save to prevent a deflected shot from putting the Robins further ahead.

A big response was being urged on the Cray team from the bench and at last the players were galvanised into action, with Sterling constantly carrying the ball upfield and Jack Clark asserting his skill in more forward positions on the left and the right sides of the pitch.

On 66 minutes Danny Phillips fed the ball to Stavrinou whose angled pass into the penalty area was collected by Bremner on the right, and the hard-working striker cut inside his marker before firing low past Hamann for a very well-finished goal.

More was to come from Cray in an impressive and assertive spell of football, and in the 71st minute Paul Vines sent an unerringly accurate header past Hamann when picked out by Aaron Day's cross from the right.

On 78 minutes, Clark's pinpoint cross was met by Saunders with a header that unfortunately went straight at Hamann, and so as the clock ticked down the Wands had only a one-goal lead to protect.

Day had an outstanding game for Cray as stand-in skipper and centre half in the absence of the injured Mark Willy, and at the end of a fast sporting game that was sensibly refereed by Mr Ions and his assistants, Cray had stood firm and were able to celebrate a good second half comeback that had brought their 3-2 win.

Cray are away to Hampton & Richmond on Saturday (3pm).

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Cray: Walker, Burgess, Clark, Saunders, Day, Sterling, P Vines, Stavrinou, Bremner, Phillips, Power (Lozano 85). Subs not used: Fray, Parkinson, Peauroux, Hall.