Play-off challenge: Croydon FC have their best chance of promotion from Step 6 since 2019. Pic: Paul Davis
NON-LEAGUE NEWS: Croydon’s clubs, the Trams and the Rams, go into play-offs this week knowing they face tough tests, as ANDREW SINCLAIR reports. PLUS: New co-chairs named for South Norwood-based club
Immediate impact: prolific Josh Williams has revived Athletic’s season
Croydon Athletic will go into this week’s Isthmian South East Division play-offs as nominal favourites, having finished the regular season in second place – but only just.
Having taken an early lead against struggling Sheppey United, they needed a 98th-minute goal from Josh Williams to nick a point and end the campaign one place ahead of Jersey Bulls.
It is, nonetheless, the club’s best finish in the league since Athletic was reformed, phoenix-like, in 2012.
Williams’ strike, his 16th goal in 23 games this season, came in front of 243 at the Mayfield Stadium in Thornton Heath. They will be looking for even more support on Tuesday night when they face Sittingbourne, the league’s fifth-placed finishers, in the play-off semi-final.
Sittingbourne finished their season with successive wins, beating Hassocks 2-0 before thumping VCD Athletic 5-0 in what will go down as the Crayford club’s final competitive game after 110 years – they have decided to wind-up the club after an unresolvable dispute with their ground’s landlords.
Final standings: Croydon Athletic’s runners-up finish is the best in the club’s history since they were reformed in 2012
Sittingbourne’s standout man is 44-year-old Derek Asamoah, the former Ghana international who has played for clubs in South Korea, Bulgaria, Scotland and France, as well as England, during a 26-year pro career. Sittingbourne is his 21st club, where he has scored 13 in 35 games this season.
One of those goals came in the first meeting with the Rams last November, where Sittingbourne came back to win 4-3. Their return fixture at the Mayfield was more positive for Danny Kedwell’s men, second-half goals from Williams and Brandon Pierrick giving them a 3-1 win.
It is generally accepted that post-season play-offs tend to favour the sides that are most in-form. Kedwell’s side went winless in their final four games of the season.
One big effort: Kieren Rufus, the Trams captain, will be seeking to turn the tables on SE Dons
They will be hopeful that they can dig deep and get past Sittingbourne before facing the winner of the other semi-final between Jersey and Whyteleafe next weekend for a spot in the Isthmian Premier Division.
Croydon’s other non-leaguers, Croydon FC, have their play-off assignment tomorrow night, as they look to end their seven-year stay in English football’s 10th tier.
They finished the regular season yesterday with a 1-1 home draw against Welling Town, confirming their fifth-place finish in the South East Counties League first division.
Results elsewhere ensured that they finished the campaign in fifth.
They have it all to do in the play-offs, with a semi-final trip to Chatham to take on SE Dons, in a repeat of last season’s play-offs. Their meeting last year was goalless, with the Dons – under former Trams manager Antonio Gonnella – winning on penalties.
Best place: fifth ensures Croydon FC’s play-off place for a second season
This season, Dons’ 7-0 win on the final day wasn’t enough for them to pip Greenwich Borough to automatic promotion.
At the end of the regular season, 23 points separated Dons from Croydon. That gap was illustrated in their three meetings this campaign, with three victories for SE Dons with an aggregate 8-1 scoreline. SE Dons also boasted an unbeaten home league record, with 13 wins and 4 draws, so tomorrow will be a tough away assignment for Croydon, although they have had a strong record away from Albert Road this season.
The winner of Monday night’s tie will take on either Rochester or Lordswood in the play-off final next weekend. If they manage to turn-round form and win, Croydon will be on the road again for that game, too, but might face the prospect with less trepidation if they have to play Lordswood, who they beat twice in the regular season.
- Croydon FC has confirmed their new chairmen, with Tony and Liam Blencowe taking over from Gavin English, it was announced on Friday. First involved with the club as sponsors, the Blencowes have been directors of Croydon FC since 2021. Sally Maher becomes vice-chair.
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