NON-LEAGUE NEWS: It was ‘Bah! Humbug!’ through a win-less December for Croydon FC, but Stormzy’s club at Mayfield Road had a much happier Christmas, as ANDREW SINCLAIR reports
Immediate impact: Athletic’s new signing, Josh Williams
Josh Williams’ arrival at Mayfield Road at the end of November, scoring four goals in five games, has boosted Croydon Athletic’s hopes of Isthmian League promotion, as they made a move on two of their rivals to finish off 2026 with a near-perfect December.
Williams made an instant impact, the former Cray Wanderers and Lewes winger scoring in a victory over mid-table Sevenoaks. Since then he has scored in games with relegation battlers East Grinstead Town and VCD Athletic.
Those were games the Rams would have expected to win, but it was in two crunch games against play-off contenders that Danny Kedwell’s men showed their class.
Croydon Athletic won 4-2 at Whyteleafe last Saturday in front of 591 at Church Road, after winning 3-1 at Faversham earlier in the month.
New Year resolution: how the Isthmian League South East Division stands on Jan 1 2026, just beyond the halfway stage of the league season
Croydon Athletic begin 2026 second in their division with 52 points. That puts them four points ahead of Faversham and five ahead of local rivals Whyteleafe, with Three Bridges top and clear by five points.
In fact, Athletic’s only defeat in December was in the Surrey Cup to National League side Sutton.
And they face a run of games in January which ought to see them make further progress. Other than eighth-placed Margate, all of the Rams’ fixtures this month are against sides in the bottom half of the table, including two – Erith Town and Beckenham Town – who are battling relegation.
While it may have been peace and goodwill to all men at the Mayfield Stadium, it was very much “Bah! Humbug!” over Christmas for Croydon FC.
The Trams went the whole of December without a win – a worse month even than Enzo Maresca – as they lost five from five in league and cup. Croydon scored just one goal all month.
November had ended brightly, Kanan Fitton scoring a hat-trick as the Trams dispatched Baresi 6-1, before following it up by becoming the first (and so far only) side to defeat Greenwich Borough in the Southern Counties East League first division this season.
The goals dried up though, as the Trams were beaten by a single goal in each of their matches against Staplehurst Monarchs, Banstead Athletic, Tooting Bec and SE Dons.
The only time they did score was in the final game before Christmas, Fitton netting his seventh of the season in a 3-1 defeat against Elmstead.
The defeat against Tooting Bec was particularly insipid, as it looked for all the world as though the Albert Road side could have played for all 12 days of Christmas without scoring.
That dumped them out of the SCEFL Division One Cup but their win over Baresi does mean their cup hopes will continue into 2026 in the London Senior Trophy.
Mixed fortunes: a win-less December has dented Croydon’s promotion hopes in the SCEFL first division
It’s a competition the Trams won in 2024 and, as with like that year, they’ll have to get past Cockfosters Reserves if they want to win the silverware. That game two years ago was memorable for Croydon’s Ryan Hall scoring an unofficial world record fastest goal after just 2.31sec.
Any goal would do at the moment for the Trams, who sit in ninth in the SCEFL First Division. They’re five points off the play-offs but with all the sides immediately above them having games in hand, so their results will need to pick up quickly if they’re to deliver on their pre-season promotion aspirations.
Croydon’s January slate begins against one of those teams, Staplehurst, before they take on relegation battlers Lydd Town.
Fixtures
(Subject to change. Check the clubs’ online fixture lists)
Croydon Athletic
Sat Jan 3: Isthmian SE Div v Beckenham T (H)
Sat Jan 10: Isthmian SE Div v Ashford Utd (A)
Sat Jan 17: Isthmian SE Div v Hastings Utd (H)
Sat Jan 24: Isthmian SE Div v Erith T (A)
Sat Jan 31: Isthmian SE Div v Margate (H)
Croydon FC
Sat Jan 3: SCEFL Div 1 v Staplehurst (A)
Sat Jan 10: SCEFL Div 1 v Lydd T (H)
Sat Jan 17: London Senior Trophy QF v Cockfosters Res (H)
Sat Jan 24: SCEFL Div 1 v Bridon Ropes (A)
Sat Jan 31: SCEFL Div 1 v Sheppey Sports (H)
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