Grays Athletic made the trip up the A12 on Tuesday evening, travelling more in hope than expectation. The odds were truly stacked against them. The opposition were league leaders, Felixtowe & Walton, whose unbeaten home record stretched back more than a year and only once this season had they dropped a point at home. Equally, the Blues squad was depleted - injuries, suspensions and weddings had ripped left holes across the team. Manager Darren Manning had worked miracles to get a side together - calling players back from loan spells and securing the services of Prince Sikiru from Watford, who met his new team mates on the coach to the game. And yet somehow, Grays pulled off a stunning victory - perhaps the result of the season in the division, winning 3-1 and upsetting every applecart in the business.

To make things worse, Felixstowe went ahead in just the 6th minute. A corner was missed by Danny Sambridge and the Blues defence and full back Thomas Warren stole in at the back post to score from close range. The travelling Grays faithful were fearing the worst. But somehow, the whole side from 1 to 11 dug deeper than they have probably ever done before and whilst the home side showed their skills, they couldn’t cope with Grays’ commitment and fight.

Blues almost equalised through Alejandro Machado on the quarter hour mark when his shot from the edge of the box just went wide of the post with home keeper, Harry Wright, helpless. But Blues were lucky not to go further behind when Willie Clemons flicked header grazed the crossbar. Felixstowe’s set pieces were always a menace, with Charlie Warren pulling the strings.

Grays kept pressing forward and only some fine defending on the goaline prevented Samir Ali from having a tap in. At the other end, Ashton Boswell’s shot flew across the goal before Clemens was booked for a dive in the penalty area. Then just before the break, an Elliott Sartorius free kick took a wicked deflection off the defensive wall and Wright produced a fine save to keep the ball out.

Half time : Felixstowe & Walton 1 v 0 Grays Athletic

No one could have been prepared for what the second half had to offer.

It took Blues just ten minutes to draw level. Louie Remi set up Shane Temple on the edge of the box and his shot had pinpoint accuracy to squeeze inside the lefthand upright, to make it 1-1.

Grays were now in no mood to ease the pressure. Prince Sikiru was bossing the midfield like a seasoned pro - not someone playing his first ever game of senior football and Elliott Sartorius probably had his best game in a Grays shirt. And with quarter of an hour to go, Blue fans were sent wild, when Samir Ali picked the pocket of the home defence, Remi picked up his cross and Luke Hirst bundled the ball over the line, to take the lead.

For all their pressure, the home side were unable to break down the Blues defence, led by the returning Alex Moss. Danny Sambridge had little trouble keeping out the half chances that Felixstowe created.

And with five minutes left on the clock, the game was as good as up. A long clearance downfield by Sambridge caused a mix up between keeper, Wright, and Billy Holland who handled the ball in the penalty area. Up stepped Elliott Sartorius to fire the spot kick home and extend Grays lead to 3-1.

Felixtowe kept the pressure on through nearly nine minutes of added time, with Grays aware of the home side’s record of late goals. But the nearest they came was a free kick from outside the box from Cameron Forde-Brown, that went over the goal.

This was truly a performance for the record books by a patched-up Grays XI, who gave every ounce of commitment they possessed, to keep an excellent Felixstowe side at bay and dent their push for the league title and automatic promotion. At the final whistle, Blues fans partied long and hard on the terraces, along with players and staff joining in pitchside.

Manager, Darren Manning was delighted that all the hard work of recent weeks is finally starting to pay dividends. Recent performances have been good but without producing results to match. This was different gravy.

Final score : Felixstowe & Walton 1 v 3 Grays Athletic

Grays Ath : Sambridge, Dariri, Skarna, Machado, Moss, Sikiru, Ali (96, Ali), Sartorius, Hirst, Temple (89, Williams), Remi (91, Henry-Rose)

Subs not used: Carlos, Hoskins