This Saturday (July 10th) we are very pleased to welcome Jim Cooper, the officials, players and supporters of Grays Athletic to the Halcyon Wealth Longmead Stadium for our 3rd pre-season friendly.

We last met our visitors here in a competitive match on 11th February 2017 when goals from Tom Phipp, Alex Akrofi (2) and Andre McCollin saw us take the three Isthmian Premier points towards what was thought at the time to be a possible play-off spot.  Unfortunately, a dip in form saw us miss out by one position and one point.

The more recent history of Grays Athletic has been something of a rollercoaster ride for the Essex club.   A major reorganisation of the non-league pyramid saw our visitors placed in the newly formed Conference (National) South in 2004 which they won at the first attempt.  Their opening season (2005-06) in non-league’s top flight saw them finish 3rd with high hopes of becoming a Football League club.  However, they missed out in the play offs and their league form never really quite recovered from that disappointment during the subsequent seasons.  There was compensation however in winning the FA Trophy twice during the noughties, a tremendous achievement.  

Eventually ground problems and financial issues caught up with the club and they were forced to resign from the Conference in 2010.  They were placed in Isthmian North and apart from a 4-year spell in Isthmian Premier that is where they continue to play their league football.  

There is from time to time talk of achieving their own ground but at present they continue to play at nearby Aveley FC.

Please remember we are still operating under Covid-19 Government regulations so we would ask all those coming to the game to check in on entry by using the NHS Covid app and to wear face coverings unless exempt when moving around the ground.  Also please adhere to social distancing (1m+).  Thank you in advance for your co-operation.  More information can be found in our Supporters Guide and you can click here for that.    

You can save time at the turnstile by purchasing your match ticket in advance by going to our ticket selling portal. Please click here.

Prices are £5.00 for adults, £4.00 Seniors, £3.00 Youth 13-17, FREE for Children 12 and under but must be accompanied by a ticket purchasing adult