Cray Wanderers reach the FA Cup first round for the first time in 166 years
Cray Wanderers have reached the FA Cup first round proper for the first time in their 166-year history. They host Stockport County at Flamingo Park on Sunday 8 November, with kick-off at 2.15pm GMT. It took them 77 attempts to get this far.
The club from Bromley was formed in 1860, and BBC Sport describes them as the oldest football club in London still in existence. They helped form the Kent League in 1894. Between 1895 and 1907 they acted as a nursery club for Woolwich Arsenal, a side that develops young players for a bigger club. Marc Guehi, who now plays at the top level, started his football at Cray at the age of six.
The road to this tie was a long one. Cray needed three replays across four qualifying rounds, which meant seven matches and 660 minutes of football. The qualifying rounds are where non-League clubs, those outside the professional leagues, fight for a place in the main draw. Cray knocked out Maidstone United of the National League South and Bedford Town of the National League North, both from higher up the non-League pyramid.
The fourth qualifying round against Bedford Town was the tightest test. The first meeting, away on 17 October, ended 0-0. In the replay, the teams were level at 2-2 after extra time, the extra 30 minutes played when a match is still tied. Ade Yusuff, a striker, scored the equaliser to force a penalty shootout. Cray won it 4-3.
Goalkeeper JJ Briggs, on loan from Cambridge United, made two saves in the shootout. Jakob Lowe scored the decisive penalty. Yusuff, who is 32 and works as a school teacher, scored in all four qualifying rounds.
Cray are managed by Tim O'Shea, and their captain is Frankie Raymond. The club currently sit 18th in the Isthmian League Premier Division, which is the seventh tier of English football. Stockport County, who are second in League One, are 112 league positions higher. For a team at that level, the first round is the stage where the sport's wider audience usually arrives.
Cray's opponents on Sunday are a League One club, which is the third tier of the English pyramid. The FA Cup, the oldest knockout competition in football, was first played in 1872. Cray v Stockport is tie number 23 in the first round draw.
Plenty of people will watch from home. BBC Two and iPlayer will show the match live, coverage starts at 2pm GMT, and it will also be on TNT Sports 3 and HBO Max. Fans at Flamingo Park will have the closer view, and for a club with a history like Cray's, a day like this is what the long years of waiting were for.
