On Tuesday evening, Grays Athletic host near neighbours, Basildon United, in a fixture that was scheduled to have been our New Year's Day fixture, but had to be postponed, due to the weather.

Previous Meetings

The reverse fixture with The Bees was played, back on August Bank Holiday, when t-shirts and shorts were the order of the day. The game was largely forgettable until Darren Esuka arrived from the bench to score with his first touch, benefitting from a defensive mix up. That was the only goal of the game and left Basildon top of the league table. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.

We are of course familiar opponents, having first faced one another in league action back in the Athenian League in 1980/81. Newly promoted from the Essex Senior League, Basildon came second that year to earn back to back promotions. We met one another in the Isthmian ranks for three seasons, from 1985/86 until The Blues promotion in 1987/88.
That was our last league season together until The Bees won promotion back to Isthmian North by finishing runners up to Great Wakering Rovers in the Essex Senior League in 2017/18.

The league head to head record is P19 W8 D6 L5 . In addition we have met 5 times in Cup competitions, with Grays winning on every occasion. Interestingly, we have not beaten The Bees in the league since a 2-0 win at Parkside back in December 2021, (3 draws and 2 defeats), a run that the team will be keen to bring to an end on Tuesday night.

Basildon's Season So Far

Basildon had a great start to the season and proudly led the table until early October. However, things then took a proper turn for the worse. Key players such as Ruben Bartlett-Antwi, (to Leatherhead), George Marsh, (Brightlingsea), George Scales (Bowers and Pitsea) and skipper Kye Jude (us), moved on. Since beating Maldon and Tiptree on 19th October they have played 24 league games without a win, falling down the table into the relegation places.

The Bees currently sit in 20th place with 26 points from 35 games. With 7 left to play, they are 7 points from safety. After Tuesday's game they have a must win game at 18th placed Wroxham. With games against title chasers Waltham Abbey and Brentwood Town to come, it's a big challenge, but with nerves possibly fraying at the top of the table (only Brightlingsea out of the top 5 won on Saturday), anything is possible.

Basildon did reach the first qualifying round of the F.A.Cup beating Hadley and Kings Langley before losing at home to Biggleswade. They fell to a first round defeat away from home, to Felixstowe and Walton in the F.A.Trophy, but did beat Concord Rangers in the Velocity Trophy 5-4, before succumbing to Billericay Town at New Lodge. In the Essex Senior Cup they were beaten 3-0 by Little Oakley of the Essex Senior League. Finally, they lost to Great Wakering Rovers on penalties in the semi final of the Essex Thameside Trophy.

At the start of the season, Chris Taylor was The Bees manager, but he left in early January to take over at Redbridge and was replaced by Billy Cove. Billy had to step down in February due to ill health, with Michael Walter being placed in temporary charge.
In early March, Dan Spinks was appointed manager, moving across from Saffron Walden Town. Dan took Romford to Wembley Stadium last season and the glory of winning the F.A. Vase against Great Wakering Rovers.

Recent Form

It's fair to say the two teams' recent form is contrasting. Basildon are desperately battling for the wins they need to escape the drop but it just hasn't happened, yet. Their last 6 games have yielded a single point, the worst return in the division. Looking at away form, their last 6 games have all ended in defeats with 1 goal scored and 20 conceded. Their last ten away games have seen nine defeats and one draw.

Grays have kept working through their own disappointing run and have earned the luck that every team needs. The last 6 games have produced 4 wins and a draw for 13 points and third in the form table. In terms of home form, 5 points have been gained from the last 6 games. There have been losses to three of the promotion candidates, but a good win last time at home, to Cambridge City.

Basildon battled hard against Heybridge Swifts on Saturday with the game right in the balance until the final minutes when a penalty for Swifts and a Charlie Stimson finish left The Bees empty handed once more.

Grays put in a very solid performance at Walthamstow to deservedly take the spoils 2-0. A hard bumpy surface and some eccentric refereeing (IMHO) made things more challenging, but two goals from the hard working Elliot Sartorius, the second, an excellent strike from distance, secured our 4th consecutive win, 3 of which have been on the road.

Players Who Have Played For Both Clubs

Unsurprisingly, there are a large number of players who have played for both clubs.
Former Blue, Nidal Berri, has had a breakout season, making 35 appearances for The Bees (the most by any player), scoring 7 times. Other ex Blues who have played in Bees colours this season are Karl Kayembe, Ryan Sammons, Troy Osei-Bobie, Lorenzo Saponara, Ryan Richefond, Bobby Unwin, Isaac Long, Reon Smith-Kouassi, Robinson Wokoma, Liam Boxall and recent signings, George Craddock, Joe Damrell and Michael Toner.

Sid Walker, Alex Moss, Alejandro Machedo, Samir Ali, Shane Temple, Luke Hurst and of course, Kye Jude, have all played previously for Basildon United.

Grays manager Darren Manning joined in November 2023, after a successful spell managing Basildon United.

On paper, this looks like a perfect opportunity for Grays to extend their run. However, football, as we all know, is never played on paper.
The only assumption we should make is that Basildon will be right up for this game. They need a win and will be giving in their all. Striker Nathan Best has scored 4 times in his last 5 games and in George Craddock we know they have a player of quality who can run the game.
Grays come into the match on the back of 4 straight wins and have shown a great appetite for the battle in all of these games. More of the same will be needed on Tuesday to keep this good run going.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the EMR stadium on Tuesday evening.

COYB!