Match Preview

Grays Ath v Bury Town match preview: 16th September 2023

After last weekend’s disappointing FA Trophy exit, Grays return to league action on Saturday, hoping to bag their first three points of the season.

The visitors to the EMR Stadium, Tilbury are our old friends Bury Town, who have been regular opponents for the past decade. Two encounters in the FA Cup and Trophy in the early 2010s both resulted in victories for Bury, but since then the results have been more in the Blues favour, especially at home, with six wins in eight games (including one in 2014 where the late Grays winner was scored by Freddie Ladapo, now plying his trade at Championship front runners, Ipswich Town).

What is particularly noticeable is that these games are almost certainly guaranteed to see goals - only once in the last ten encounters have both teams failed to score. And there have been several goalfests over the years, with scorelines of 4-3, 4-2, 4-1 and 3-2 all appearing on the list.

Last season, saw Grays do the double. A 1-0 win at home just before Christmas, courtesy of a rare Courtney Homans goal, was backed up at season’s end, with one of the Blues best performances in years and a 4-1 victory at Ram Meadow. An early audacious, long-range lob from Ronnie Winn, was followed by two goals from Callum Watts and a late one from Tom Stagg to wrap up the points. That win all but secured Blues playoff place.

Bury Town’s start to this season has been mixed. A relatively early FA Cup exit at the hands of Wroxham was balanced by last week’s Trophy win away at BiggleswadeTown. In the league, it’s one win, one draw and one loss. Up front for Bury, long time leader of the line, Cemal Ramadan continues to bang in the goals, so is bound to be a danger.

This weekend, Grays Ath are also offering a sympathetic hand to our friends and supporters of East Thurrock United, offering free entry to the game, and we look forward to welcoming them on Saturday and into the future. Non-league football needs all the camaraderie we can generate.

So let’s get behind the Blues and cheer Stimmo’s boys to victory.