Grays Athletic have a quick return to league action on Bank Holiday Monday, with a trip to the western half of Canvey Island to play The Beach Boys of Concord Rangers. Kick off at The Aspect Arena is at 3pm.

In past seasons this fixture has been the cue for some bad puns based on the names of Beach Boys songs, but we promise not to Do It Again and we know we need to Break Away from this quickly.

The Opposition

The Beach Boys are in their third season back at Step 4 following back to back relegations from National South and the Isthmian Premier. They finished 16th two seasons ago and improved to 13th last term. They will be hoping to do better this season, and have made a very positive start.

The Beach Boys are celebrating their 60th season since their formation back in 1966 when they played friendly games near Canvey seafront and in particular close to Concord beach which gave the club their name and nickname.

Head to Head Record

In competitive games we have only met on 11 occasions with The Blues having the better of it. All our early encounters were in the Essex Senior Cup and we first played a league game against each other as recently as 2024/25. In total, we have met in 7 cup games and 4 league fixtures. From Grays point of view the record stands at;

P11 W7 D1 L3 Goals For 18 Against 14

At The Aspect Arena

P7 W3 D1 L3 Goals For 10 Goals Against 13

Our last game against Concord was in Isthmian North last season at the EMR stadium where we came through 1-0 thanks to Gabriel Chapps goal.

In The Dugout

We should say that in Concord's case, they really are proper dugouts, the deepest in this league for sure and not the place to be in heavy rain unless you can swim!

Their new manager for this season is former player Ricky Modeste. Ricky is a former international for the Caribbean island of Grenada, winning 8 full caps and scoring twice. A pacy winger and wing back, Ricky played for clubs such as Chelmsford City, Dover Athletic (across 2 spells), Billericay Town, Tonbridge Angels and Concord (also in 2 spells). Although this is his first managerial role, he has plenty of experience of the local non league scene to draw upon.

Ricky is assisted by Liam Wilson who has coached and assisted at Essex clubs such as Great Wakering Rovers, Hullbridge Sports and Saffron Walden Town.

Close Season

Concord did not release a retained list, but players who stayed on this season include their goalkeeper Charlie Brown, Reggie Gregory, Sam Brogan, Kai Torres and Khris Oti. Another player returning is Callum Knowlden who suffered a horrible shoulder injury playing for The Beach Boys last season against Lowestoft Town, which forced the original game to be abandoned. Callum missed the rest of the season due to the injury.

Players leaving included Oil Spooner, Stephen Toussaint and Harrison Day plus Freddie Buers and Louis Ramsey.

New signings include Anton Mathews, Charlie Wardle and Connor Hart. Also Toheeb Elegushi who played 5 times for us last season and his brother Demi have joined them. Wil Avis signed having been playing in Australia while Brandon Dadson has moved from slightly closer, Southend United.

Current Form

Its been a very bright start for Concord, winning both of their league games against AFC Sudbury and Newmarket Town and progressing in the FA Cup firstly against Bedfont Sports and then winning a very tricky tie at Essex Senior League newcomers Clapton Community.

The Beach Boys have a very attractive tie at home in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Cup next Saturday, against Brentwood Town.

On Saturday, they hosted league rivals Witham Town in the 1st Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. Ricky Modeste rotated his squad for the game and they took the lead through Charlie Wardle's penalty before Witham equalised. The game went to penalties and Concord prevailed 4-2.

They have therefore been successful in all 5 of their games this season and are sitting in 3rd place in the early league table.

By contrast, The Blues endured a difficult week, going down 2-0 at league newcomers Buckhurst Hill, then on Saturday a 4-1 beating in the Trophy at old adversaries, Canvey Island.

Supporters were hoping for a reaction to the Buckhurst Hill defeat but only got it in the second half against Canvey, by which time we were 3-0 down. Although we got it back to 3-1, and missed a huge chance for 3-2, we then imploded with Tyler and Jordan getting red cards which may well prove very costly in the next few games.

Getting There

The postcode for The Aspect Arena is SS8 0HH.

By car, it's a similar journey to Saturday. Take the A13 to Sadlers Farm and the A130 onto the island. At the main roundabout, take the A130 (3rd exit) and follow this down through the next three roundabouts into Canvey. After the primary school, turn right at a mini roundabout into Thorney Bay Road and then third right into Thames Road. The ground and car park are on the left after 400 metres or so.

The car park at the ground can get busy, but parking on the greensward on Thames Road should be ok.

By public transport, again take the C2C to Benfleet and then the 26 bus from outside the station to Thorney Bay Road and walk back to Thames Road.

Summary

Concord will be full of confidence from their bright start. Their new manager and players seem to have settled in well and in Kai Torres they have a proper player in top form.

For The Blues, the losses to Buckhurst Hill and to Canvey were a disappointment but Monday is a good opportunity to regroup and show what we are capable of.

We look forward to your superb support at The Aspect Arena on Monday.

Come on You Blues!