Cray moved into fourth place in the Isthmian South table after a solitary Danny Haynes strike brought a fifth straight win against Guernsey at Hayes Lane.  This was the first ever meeting between the two sides at Hayes Lane.

Cray were almost completely dominant in the first half against a resolute Green Lions side and despite one or two scares in the second, the Wands were fairly comfortable but couldn’t get a second goal to confirm their superiority. 

The Wands almost got off to the perfect start after just 35 seconds when Brandon Scott’s through ball found Haynes down the right of the area who strode on confidently and his well hit shot was finger tipped onto the post by keeper Chris Tardif.

Cray knocked at the door and Paul Lorraine fired over and Lee Prescott shot narrowly wide as Guernsey looked to sit back and frustrate the hosts.

A goal though for Cray was always on the cards and it duly arrived in the 37th minute and was another excellent piece of finishing from Haynes.  A long pass from Siva found Haynes down the right who took on his defender and drilled a low shot wide of Tardif for his ninth goal of the season.

The second half saw Cray again with the bulk of possession but Guernsey had a lot more about them particularly in the first twenty minutes and made more of a game of it.

The Wands came close again when a right wing corner from Siva to the back post found Jay Leader who headed the ball into the ground and bounced kindly for Tardif to make the save.   .  

Guernsey threatened to score on a couple of occasions and Allen who has scored eight goals this season glanced a header wide.  Then in the 56th minute came their best chance of the game when Allen beat the offside trap but with a bit more time than he realised pulled his shot wide of goal to the Wands relief.

The Wands were unlucky not to score a second when Scott picked the ball and ran at Jacob Fallaize and hit a shot that was blocked but following up hit a goal bound strike which Tardif did very well to push behind for a corner.  Despite not being able to get a second, the Wans were fairly comfortable and held on for the win.

The Wands now go on to Lewes on Saturday in good form with five straight wins in the league and as Tony Russell commented after the team has to win ugly from time to time  during a long competitive season.         

Cray:   Nick Blue, Ben Mundele, Jey Siva, Jay Leader, Paul Lorraine, Lea Dawson (Capt.), Lee Prescott (Solomon Taiwo, 64), Sean Roberts, Danny Haynes, Karl Dent (Bradley Woods-Garness, 64), Brandon Scott (Ade Osifuwa, 90): Subs: Jai McKinlay, Timi Osidobu

Attendance:   206