NON-LEAGUE NEWS by ANDREW SINCLAIR
Croydon Athletic tonight face the most important match in the phoenix club’s brief history, following the previously most important game which they won in Jersey on Saturday.
Jermaine McGlashan’s side will travel to Knaphill for the Combined Counties Premier Division South play-off final, with a place in the eighth tier of English football the prize for the winners.
Athletic’s end-of-season surge of good form saw them win their play-off semi-final 2-1 on Saturday in front of 1,000 fans at Jersey Bulls, the Channel Islands club which had finished runners-up in the division in the regular season
Rams’ fifth-place league finish is their best since reforming in 2012, and came at the end of a season of change for the Thornton Heath-based outfit, after Wilfried Zaha, Stormzy and Danny Young took over.
The impetus of their project was clear early on, with Young’s Crystal Palace connections leading to a significant refresh of the Rams squad. Winger Brandon Pierrick, who played Premier League football during the 2019-2020 season, starred with 17 league goals, while left-back Reece Hannam had been plying his trade in the Football League earlier in the season.
The biggest transformation to the team’s performances came after McGlashan’s arrival as boss in October, as he brought a brand a free-flowing attacking football that saw the Rams end the campaign with the division’s second-most prolific attack.
Tonight’s opponents, Knaphill finished the season two places and eight points above the Rams. They won their play-off semi-final on Saturday, beating Tadley Calleva 2-0.
Knaphill go into tonight’s game as favourites, with home advantage and the confidence in having done the double over Athletic in the regular season: 3-0 at the Mayfield Stadium in October before winning 3-1 victory at home just before the turn of the year.
Athletic will have taken a lot from their win over Jersey and will undoubtedly be looking to take inspiration from Bromley. The Ravens under manager Andy Woodman are a prime example of what can be done when a club is run well, blossoming over the past decade and now set to play in League 2 next season thanks to their play-off final win at Wembley on Sunday.
New boss: Antonio Gonnella, named yesterday as Croydon FC’s new manager
Croydon Athletic will have more control over their ground next season following the end of their groundshare agreement with Balham.
The Blazers, who finished the season ninth in the same division, have been making headlines of their own last week. The club drew complaints from Fulham fans when they posted a lengthy thread on social media in support of the Premier League’s decision to fine Fulham for the Cottagers’ previous transfer of Fabio Carvalho from Balham in 2015.
The borough’s oldest non-league club, Croydon FC, has appointed Antonio Gonnella as their new first-team manager, replacing Liam Giles who resigned last month.
Gonnella joins from AFC Whyteleafe, the runaway winners of the Southern Counties East Football League first division, where he was first team coach.
“We are incredibly excited about Antonio and all that he will bring on the pitch and to our growing community,” the Trams said in announcing the appointment.
Read more: How Stormzy’s football dream is becoming a Mayfield reality
Read more: Trophy-winning manager Giles decides its time to leave club
Read more: Stormzy’s changing the game by opening his #MerkyFC HQ
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Well done to AFC Croydon Athletic for getting into the final and good luck to them! Let’s hope they can go all the way. I’m a Whyteleafe supporter – even though they are just outside of the border of Croydon, they are still the nearest non-league club to areas like Purley. The competition with The Trams was fantastic this season (they were unlucky not to get to the Division 1 playoffs) and whilst the departure of Antonio is a big loss, I really hope he succeeds there.