On Tuesday 3rd February, with the usual caveat of subject to the weather, Grays travel to the Simarco Stadium, home of Witham Town, to play a game postponed from 3rd January. Kick off is 7.45 pm.

The game at the Simarco last season was one of contrasting halves. The first half was forgettable, but the second was much better, as Town opened the scoring before two quick goals gave Blues the lead. Oscar Shelvey equalised for Witham and despite both sides going for the win, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Back on 25th August, we met in this season's reverse fixture, at the EMR. Both sides battled hard but in truth it was not great entertainment. Neither side deserved to lose, but then neither side deserved to win, so 0-0 was the only appropriate result.

The updated Head to Head record against Witham is now P25 W10 D6 L9. Most of the encounters have been in the League where we have W7, D6 and L5.

Witham started this season where they left off, having finished in 7th place finish last campaign. However, after 28 league games played they are in 12th place with 37 points and 13 points from the final play off place.

They had success in this season's Cup competitions. They won through 4 rounds in the F.A.Cup, before losing unluckily at Step 3 Needham Market in the 3rd Qualifying Round. In the F.A.Trophy, they negotiated two penalty shoot outs against Newmarket Town and Cambridge City before losing at Harrow Borough, again in the 3rd Qualifying Round.

In the League Cup, a good win at Brightlingsea Regent was followed by a narrow, late loss away at Aveley. Finally, in the Essex Senior Cup, they beat Hullbridge Sports before losing a game of two halves against Hashtag United. Having gone 4-0 down, Witham got 3 goals back but couldn't quite find the equaliser.

There was a change of manager when Gary Kimble left at the end of October, to take over from Peter Taylor at Canvey Island. Town appointed from within, making Gary's assistant, Kevin Hunter, their new boss. Former Brantham Athletic manager, Jack Sibley, was brought in as assistant manager.

Town's leading goalscorers this season are former Blues favourite, Sam Bantick who has banged in 11 league goals in 18 games, midfielder Ben Allen has scored 10 goals (5 in the league) and Ernest Okoh has 6 (5 in the league).

Recently they have re-signed former Blue, Tommy Stagg, who was with Bury Town and Luke Ige returned after following Gary Kimble to Canvey Island. They also re-signed Ziad Bakaar from Hashtag United and he has scored 5 times already.

Recent Form

Witham are having a difficult spell. In their last 6 league games they have D1 and L5, scoring 4 and conceding 13. At home, their last 6 games show a record of W2, D3 and L1 with 10 goals for and 8 against.

Grays have W2, D1 and L3 with 7 scored and 9 conceded. In our last 6 away league games it's W1, D1 and L4 with 5 scored and 13 conceded (this includes our win at Brantham).

Last Time

On Saturday Witham travelled to Newmarket Town to play on their excellent 3G pitch, but came home empty handed as The Jockeys got a much needed win, 1-0. This was Witham's fifth consecutive loss in the league.

Athletic travelled to Brantham and showed character in getting a 3-1 win. Manny Ogunrinde scored his first since his return to The Blues, but with the home keeper playing a blinder, the second would not come. The home side equalised with their first clear opportunity, with a good move and fine finish.

The game was in the balance until 61 minutes when Manny was brought down in the box. Skipper Jordan Clark was coolness personified from the spot. As Blues managed the game, young Ned Hepburn scored after combining well with substitute Sam Wade, who was making his first appearance since his injury. Congratulations to Ned on his first goal in Senior football; the first of many to come, I'm sure.

Getting There

The Simarco Stadium is on Spa Road with a postcode CM8 1UN.

Take the A12 North to junction 21 (signposted B1389 to Witham). Leave the A12 here and follow the road into Witham. At the traffic lights, turn left into Spinks Lane and past the Leisure Centre. At the T-junction, turn right and follow the road under the railway bridge. The turning for the ground is immediately on the left.

There is a car park at the ground and some parking on the access road. If this is full, try the turning opposite the access road to the ground (Highfields Road).

By public transport, there are 6 scheduled services per hour from Liverpool Street to Witham, taking approximately 45 minutes. The Station is a 20 minute walk from the ground.

Summary

Witham's recent losing run has seen them drop away from the play off picture. They will no doubt be doubly determined to get back to winning ways for the first time since defeating leaders Felixstowe and Walton on 9th December.

Grays will want to back up the win at Brantham. One of the frustrations this season has been our inconsistency; only once have we managed to win two consecutive league games and it's therefore been tough to build up any real momentum.

Despite this, there are now just 6 points between the teams. When we were scheduled to play this game on 3rd January, the gap was 13 points. Things can change very quickly in football and there is still a third of the league campaign left to play.

We look forward to seeing you all at Witham on Tuesday.

Away The Ath!