Saturday 21st March sees Grays Athletic travel to West Norfolk to take on Downham Town at their Memorial Playing Fields Ground, probably a new venue for all of us. Kick off is at 3.00.

The reverse game at the EMR in December was the first ever meeting between the clubs. The game (well, the second half) was packed full of incident; 7 goals, 7 yellow cards, 2 red cards, Downham equalising three times before Grays edged it at the death 4-3. Are you not entertained?

Grays opened the scoring through an own goal from Ethan Young under pressure from Kye Jude. Eoin McQuaid equalised after half time with a free kick from the edge of the box bent expertly around the wall. Michael Bareck restored our lead, but Ethan Young equalised. Back came Grays through Jordan Clarke but William Moxon's cross then sailed in. Finally Alex Moss climbed highest to head home from a Joe Paxman corner and earn us a crucial win.

This has been Downham's debut season at Step 4. They are currently in 21st place with 27 points from 35 games played and therefore 9 points away from safety with only 7 games left to play. However, they have shown that on their day they can cause real problems to any opposition and recently pushed both Maldon and Tiptree and Stanway Rovers all the way, drawing both games 2-2.

The Stanway game was a goodbye to former manager and club legend, Dale Stokes, who had been in charge since season 2018/19 and oversaw two promotions and a Norfolk Senior Cup triumph in 2023/24. Dale is moving on to a coaching role in California, (the one on the West Coast of the U.S. not the one near Great Yarmouth!). Former manager, Craig Dickson has been placed in charge until a new appointment can be made. Craig is assisted by Simon Bird and Duncan McAnally.

After our game, Downham finish their season with away games at Felixstowe and Walton, Mildenhall Town and Cambridge City. They have home games against Witham Town and Brightlingsea Regent before closing their campaign hosting Waltham Abbey.

Top scorers this season are Charlie Royle with 12 (11 in the league), Dylan Edge has 7 (5) and Eoin McQuaid 5 (4).

Recent Form

Downham's last 6 games have resulted in W1 D2 L3 with 7 goals for and 10 goals against.
In their last 6 at home they have W1 D3 L2 with 7 goals for and 8 goals against. They are unbeaten in their last 4 home games.
Grays last 6 games show W2 D1 L3 with 4 goals for and 6 goals against.
Our last 6 away W1 D2 L3 with 5 goals for and 10 against.

Last Time

It was a first away game for Downham's new interim management team as they made the long journey to Canvey Island to play Concord Rangers. It was The Beachboys who secured the three points, with a first half double from Khris Oti and a late third from Stephen Toussaint.

Grays battled hard against league title chasing Maldon and Tiptree but lost to a very strong, experienced outfit, 2-0. Frustratingly, both goals came from set pieces, the first poached by Freddie Sears, and the second an unchallenged header from new signing, Ross Wall. Our only real chance came near the end when Sam Wade's close range effort was kept out by experienced goalkeeper, Elliot Justham.

More worrying were second half injuries to Aron Gordon, Harry Hope and Judah Tawiah. I don't think anyone can remember a season like this for injuries. At least Kye Jude got some more minutes, allowing the outstanding Jordan Clarke to push forward into midfield.

Getting There

If you are booked on the club coach, it leaves The Oak at 10.45. Please make sure you are not late.

By car, the ground's postcode is PE38 9QE. It is about 95 miles from Grays and should take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.

Take the M25 and M11 and then you have two options;

1) Exit the M11 at J9 and take the A11 then the A14 until exiting at J37. Follow the A142 north toward Ely. Before crossing the river at Ely turn right onto Queen Adelaide Way. Follow the road to the T junction, turn right and then immediately left. After a couple of miles follow the A10 signposted to Downham Market. After 12 miles and at the second roundabout, turn left into Downham on Bexwell Road. In the town centre turn right onto the B1507. Follow this for a couple of hundred yards and the ground and car park is on the left.

2) Take the M11 to J14, signposted Newmarket and Ely and take the A14 East. At J33 take the A10, North and around the Ely by pass before joining the other option North of Littleport and continuing on to Downham as above. This is a simpler route, but is further.

If you need to park on a local road, please be mindful of residents and other road users.

By public transport, there is an hourly, direct service out of Kings Cross that takes an hour and a half to get to Downham Market. The 11.54 should arrive at Downham at 13.20. The walk from the station should not take longer than 20-25 minutes unless you head to the pub, in which case, who knows/ who cares?!

Summary

A game between a side who have only won twice at home this season (Brantham and Heybridge) and a side who have only won three times away (to all the B's) could be difficult to call. On what is likely to be a bumpy pitch, set pieces could well be decisive and we will need to sharpen up in both boxes to maximise our chances of winning.

The Town share the Memorial Field with the local cricket club, so like Brantham one side of the ground is separated from the cricket square by temporary fencing. I suspect this game will be a lot tougher than our two visits to Brantham proved to be and if our previous meeting at the EMR is anything to go by, it will be really competitive. Cool heads and self discipline will be needed.

It's a long trip, but we need our loyal supporters to make the journey and get behind the Blues as we seek an all important win.

Away The Ath!