PITCHING-IN ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION
CROWBOROUGH ATH 2 CRAY VALLEY (PM) 7 - TUES 10 NOV 2026 - ATT 210
Goals: CV - Parker 6, 19, 51, Gayle 11, Eruotor34, Kirby 62, Vaughan 89
CA - Smith 18, Nwanosike 91

A Freddie Parker hat trick, all three exquisite finishes as he embraced wearing the number nine shirt once again, a left footed screamer from Denzel Gayle and clinical finishing from Rodney Eruotor, Dan Kirby and Dan Vaughan helped Valley to put the smiles back on the Millers faces as they hit seven for the first time since the August Bank Holiday 2023 when winning at Phoenix Sports by the same scoreline. It was a surreal evening, in wet conditions with rain throughout, one that will live in the memory for the small band of travelling Millers supporters. The win ended a run of four consecutive league defeats.

Millers: Chamberlain, Turner, Okoye, Vaughan, Sankoh, Gayle (c) (Hassan 69), Shokunbi, Moore (Whitby 81), Kirby (Brooke 73), Eruotor (Muwonge 77) Parker (Cain 85)
Caution: Kirby

Crows: Holmwood, Mayhew, Mvingo (Bloomfield 59), Turner, Samways (Stewart 46), Pring (c) (Francis 69), Smith, Hutcheon, Samuel-Smikle, Forster (Nwanosike 77), Pearson (Chapman 46)
Cautions: Pring, Hutcheon

Referee: Harvey Ransome
Assistants: Jake Symes, Charlie Balcombe

Match Report courtesy of Sean Parker-Harding for Crowborough Athletic FC
A cold and wet winter evening saw Crowborough host Cray Valley in the Isthmian South East League. A one sided affair saw the visitors comfortably winning 7-2. 
It only took five minutes for the away side to find their first of several goals. Gayle received the ball with his back towards the goal, who did an excellent job of using his body to turn away from the defender to find the forward run of Parker. A decisive touch forward and a clinical finish saw Parker get his first of the evening.
Five minutes later Gayle added a goal to his assist. The winger cut inside with his right foot to the top corner of the Crowborough area and produced a stunning left footed finish into the side netting.
Keeping up the intensity of the first half, Crowborough responded in the 17th minute. A Forster corner found the towering header of Samways who headed the ball across goal with Chamberlain producing a reaction save. However his parry away fortunately fell to Smith who headed the ball into a clear net.
What looked like a moment back into the game for Crowborough quickly disappeared as it only took a minute for Cray Valley to score once again. With the cruel winter conditions there was always going to be a slip during the game. A Turner tumble awarded Parker with a clear chance on goal, a clever touch around the charging keeper saw the striker score his second of the evening. 
Not easing off their tempo, Cray scored their fourth in the 33rd minute. Kirby did well to shake off his defender and played a clipped through ball into the run of Eruotor. A strong touch forward was followed up by a quick across the  goal finish to make it 4-1.
Fans of the home side would have noticed that the usual wide focused attacking play was missing in the first 45 minutes. With the hosts only able to muster a few long range shots throughout a tough opening half. 
Parker had to only wait five minutes into the second half to find his hat-trick. It began from a strong passage of play from Okoye who shrugged off his marker and after a slick step over found Parker in plenty of space. A composed finish summarised a wonderful evening for the Cray centre forward.
Despite a better and more recognisable second half for Crowborough, with the ball finding wide areas quicker and full backs committing higher up the pitch. Cray found the net once again in 62nd minute. A mistimed clearance saw Kirby pounce on the opportunity and slotted the ball between the keeper’s legs.
The final Cray Valley goal of the night came in the 89th minute, after a clearance from a corner Whitby won the challenge for the rebound, then played the ball across goal for a simple Vaughan finish.
A wonderful consolation goal came from Samuel-Smikle, wanting to make nothing out of something, the striker took his chance by creating a half yard of space and produced an excellent curling finish into the very top corner.

Post Match Interview: Cray Valley (PM) Coach Adam Woodward
https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/videos/adam-woodward-postmatch-interview--crowborough-athletic-27-cray-valley-pm-101126-222746.html

Match Photos: Tom Stanworth
https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/photos/crowborough-athletic-v-millers-101126-photos-tom-stanworth-1182568.html