Match Preview

On Saturday, the Blues make their longest road trip of the league season, the 230 mile round trip to the Norfolk Broads, to play Wroxham FC.

Wroxham were formed in the late Victorian era and spent most of their time in various East Anglian leagues and the Eastern Counties League, which was not originally part of the pyramid structure. Their finest hour came in 2009-10 when they appeared on the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Vase, losing to Whitley Bay.

Apart from a couple of pre-season friendlies in the early 2000s, Grays Ath and Wroxham have only met in two league seasons. The record books show that, to date, Grays Ath have won all four encounters without conceding a goal.

Once able to get promoted through the pyramid, the Yachtsmen had one season in Isthmian North in 2012/13. The home and away games were played just a fortnight apart at the end of the season and were part of our then league record 18 game winning run - which propelled us to the league title that season.

Wroxham were promoted back to this level for 2022/23. Both games finished in 2-0 wins for the Blues, with Sam Bantick netting in each fixture. The late season visit to Norfolk was though much closer than the score suggests.

This season has been something of a mixed bag for the Yachtsmen. Their fixture list so far has been dominated by an entertaining FA Cup run. This started in the extra-preliminary round and saw two games go to replays, excellent wins against Concord Rangers and Bury Town, only succumbing to Barton Rovers 4-3 in one of the replays. 22 goals across the six matches was excellent entertainment, if not good for the blood pressure !

Conversely, Wroxham's league fixtures have seen two 0-0 draws, as well as one of the last games played by East Thurrock United at Rookery Hill. Last Saturday saw a 3-2 reverse against Enfield.

With Grays’ performances still being something of an enigma, the outcome of this game is not one to predict easily!

Come on you Blues