Southern League, Take Two

Cray Wanderers have already played one Southern League Premier Division side this season, unfortunately losing to a Fergie Time winner at the end of a replay at Hanwell Town, in the FA Cup. Hanwell Town play in the Southern League Premier Division South.

Now the Wands travel to another Southern League Premier Division club, Bishop's Stortford, in the FA Trophy. Long-time Cray supporters will remember that Stortford competed in the Isthmian League until a few seasons ago and then they got promoted to the National League North of all leagues. They now play in the Southern League Premier Division Central.

Yes, National League South would have been kinder to them, as they faced up to 500-mile round trips to some clubs in the northern part of England. It's a bit like Cray being relegated to the Isthmian League Division One North about 10 or so years ago, but on a grander scale, if you could call Stortford's experience 'grander'. I am also not sure if they enjoy all the travelling involved in the league they are currently in.

Cray have played Bishop's Stortford on numerous occasions but, going back a long, long way, to our Grassmeade days, Stortford paid a visit and promptly dispatched the Wands 4-1 in the London Senior Cup on 6 December 1969. I was at that game and those of us huddled behind the visitors' goal on that chilly December afternoon had very little to cheer about except a Colin McGannon goal — strangely referred to as a 'consolation' even though he scored first during a rare Cray attack!

Back in 1986, I was refereeing around that part of the Hertfordshire and Essex border and I got called up twice to 'run the line' in two cup finals. One was on the Friday night, at Harlow Town FC, and the other was on the Saturday afternoon at Bishop's Stortford. Luckily, I had more than one kit! The game at Stortford went to a replay, extra time and finally penalties, also at Stortford, on the following Wednesday evening.

For the game at Harlow Town's ground, I was the 'junior' linesman, which meant basically if the referee got clattered or accrued an injury, I was the last one in line to take over the whistle. It was the same for the first match at Stortford. How seniority was decided was technical... the other lino and I tossed a coin in the referees' changing room before the game to decide who was 'senior' lino! That was one bullet dodged.

However, for the replay, the chap who'd refereed the first game couldn't get time off work for the replay, so a replacement lino was drafted in and the lino who was 'senior' in the first game got the middle for the replay. I was automatically 'promoted' to senior lino.Then I narrowly dodged a second bullet; being the 'senior' lino meant I had to keep my whistle in my pocket 'just in case'. At the half-time break, the referee said to me that, about a quarter of an hour into the game he had a splitting headache (probably caused by the floodlights and having to concentrate more — it can happen) and he was thinking of retiring from the game. That meant I would have been thrust into the limelight as 'senior lino' and there was a fair crowd there, definitely a few hundred spectators, something this park ref wasn't used to performing in front of at that time. I knew the ref was having a spot of bother out there as he came across to the bench and the 'sponge man' dabbed his head with some cold water. After that his headache apparently went away and the game progressed.

Would I have taken over in the middle of the pitch? Of course I would have done so in the blink of an eye! I doubt very much that I would have got appointed to two cup finals in such a short period of time by the two different leagues that I operated in if my overall refereeing ability had not been up to scratch. There was always the chance that I may have had to take over in the middle, and the referees' match appointer must have had the utmost confidence in me that I would not cock things up.

The game against Bishop's Stortford will be played on 4 October 2025 at Woodside Park.

Trevor Mulligan