Saturday 24th April

Ryman Division 1 South

A bumper 317 crowd at the KT Stadium welcomed Ryman Division 1 South winners Croydon Athletic and they finished off the season in style with two great goals.
 
With a kind of pre-season friendly feel to the match, Croydon had the early chances with Chris Bourne getting a header in from close range early on and a great move involving Bourne, Danny Waldren and Rory Hill saw Hill's shot go just over in the 15th minute. A long range effort from Ben Godfrey in the 22nd minute was well saved by Sam Mott in the Ramsgate goal, and Jeremy Williams saw his header come off the crossbar towards the end of the first half.

Croydon took the lead in the 58th minute when Nathan Green latched on to a Hill cross and thundered the ball home from 25 yards to put the champions 1-0 up.  Just five minutes later it was Hill’s turn to get on the scoresheet with another long range strike from 30 yards to crown a good season for the 20 year old former Gillingham player.

Further chances fell Croydon’s way with Danny Waldren’s free kick just going over the bar, and Leslie Thompson causing problems down the wing.  As the match drew to a close Godfrey had a good chance but his header came off the post, and Gareth Williams shot went just wide in the dying minutes.
 
As the final whistle went the Croydon party began with the Ryman trophy being presented on the pitch and the crowd joining in the celebrations.

Croydon Athletic:  Andy Little, Joe Howe, Chris Bourne, Danny Waldren (72 mins Chris Piper), Nathan Green, Jacob Erskine, Rory Hill, Jeremy Williams (46 mins Bentley Graham), Gareth Williams, Gary Noel (59 mins Leslie Thompson) Ben Godfrey Subs not used:  Taurean McDonald-Roberts, Tom Bolarinwa

---