After two postponements due to waterlogged pitches, Grays Athletic hope to return to action on Saturday, at home to championship chasing Brentwood Town. After yet more heavy rain on Wednesday, it can only be hoped that the pitch at the EMR will be playable, for what could be a very competitive game.

As we seem have said so often this winter, please keep an eye on social media for updates.

Brentwood Town visit us sitting in third place with 67 points from 32 games. They are just 2 points behind leaders, Bury Town, but with a better goal difference. With 10 games to go, there are going to be plenty of twists and turns to come before the title is decided.

Grays fans will happily recall the reverse fixture at Brentwood Centre Arena, in November, as much as Brentwood fans will want to forget it. In what was one of Grays' best performances of the season, a first half brace from Danny Gould, a fine free kick from Alej Machado and good finishes from Louie Remi and Elliot Sartorius gave the Blues a 5-0 lead before Kai Brown's late consolation for Brentwood.

For two clubs that are so close to one another, geographically, it is surprising that we did not face one another in league action until 2010/11. There were several FA Cup encounters with the old Brentwood & Warley club in the 50s and 60s, but this side (who changed their name to Brentwood Town) merged with Chelmsford City in 1970. The current Brentwood Town emerged from Manor Athletic FC who formed in 1954.

However, since 2010/11 we have been played regularly, on 21 occasions in the league and once in the league Cup, with 12 wins for Grays, 2 drawn games and 8 wins for Brentwood. The corresponding fixture last season saw Brentwood score three late goals to win 3-0. This was Mark Stimson's last game in charge of Grays, in his second spell.

Brentwood are managed by Keith Rowland, who is in his second season at the Brentwood Centre Arena. The former Northern Ireland International and West Ham (and QPR) favourite is assisted by Steve Butterworth and they have recently added Alex Akrofi, a familiar opponent of the Blues, to their management team. Keith previously managed Wingate and Finchley, Aveley and, for a short spell, Tilbury.

In the league this season, Brentwood are top scorers with 71 goals. Their leading scorer, Daniel Ogunleye, heads the division with 23 so far. During the week, Brentwood signed Cambridge City Centre forward, George Smith, to add even more firepower to their attack.
In defence, Brentwood have conceded 35 goals with 10 of those coming in two games versus Concord and ourselves. They have been particularly miserly away from home conceding just 3 in their last 10 games. That run saw 9 consecutive wins until a narrow loss to Waltham Abbey in a game where 3 players were sent off.

The Cups have also provided some real success for Town this season. They lost an FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round replay to Step 3 Leiston and the Essex Senior Cup saw a loss at the first hurdle to Witham Town on penalties. I can't find a record of them playing in the Velocity Trophy this term. However, it was in the FA Trophy that Brentwood really shone. They squeezed past Witham 3-2 in the First Qualifying Round despite playing the last few minutes (and scoring the winner) with 9 men. A quieter game at Brightlingsea Regent in the next round resulted in a 2-1 victory.

Brentwood then took on and defeated the Cray Twins; dispatching Wanderers in the 3rd Qualifying Round on penalties and then Valley PM in the First Round, in an epic, 4-3.
This earned Town a tough tie away at Step 2 Hereford. A Benas Vaivada goal in front of a crowd of 1,442 caused one of the shocks of the Round. The reward for this victory was a dream home tie in the 3rd Round, against Southend United. A crowd of 1,323 at the Centre Arena, saw Brentwood give a good account of themselves against Step 1 professionals, before going down 5-3.

A number of players have represented both clubs, with former Blues, Jesse Olukolu, Marlon Agyakwa and Ade Cole currently with Brentwood. Former Town players George Craddock and Jack Humphrey have played for Grays this term.

Brentwood have assembled a powerful squad to challenge for the title, with several players who were regulars in Aveley's title winning squad in 21/22 such as Agyakwa, Connor Witherspoon, Jon Nzengo, Shad Ngandu and George Sykes. Other players to look out for include captain and long serving centre half, Matt Cripps, and midfielder Andy Freeman, who has been a superb servant for both Town and Aveley for a decade.

Obviously Brentwood will give it their all to win the title, but if they have to settle for the play offs, they have plenty of past experiences to draw upon.

In 2010/11 they reached the play off final, but lost narrowly to Wingate and Finchley 3-2.
They won promotion to the Premier Division via the play offs in 2014/15, by defeating Thurrock 5-0 in the final, thanks largely to an Alex Akrofi hat-trick.

After rebuilding following relegation, Brentwood again made the play offs in 2021/22, and after beating Stowmarket Town in the semi final, faced Canvey Island away in the final. A tight game in front of 2,500 finished 1-1 with The Gulls winning promotion via a penalty shoot out.

Last season, a 5th placed finish, saw an away semi final at Ram Meadow versus Bury Town. An excellent win saw Brentwood reach another away final, this time at Bowers and Pitsea. After another 1-1 draw (former Blue, Chris Millar, for Bowers), it was heartbreak again for Town, in another penalty shoot out.

From Grays perspective, this is another chance to test ourselves against one of the very best teams in our division. Recent postponements could be seen as a double edged sword; opportunities to get back to winning ways have been taken away, but several members of the squad who have been carrying injuries in recent games will have had more time to rest and recover.

As we have seen this campaign, a Grays team at its best can be a match for anyone in Isthmian North and that's what will be needed when Saturday comes.

Here's hoping the game is on. Up The Ath!