Canvey Island be looking to make the most of a bumper Bank Holiday fixture list to get their first points on the board, with Wingate & Finchley up first at the Steves Taxis Stadium.

Our Opponents

The Blues enjoyed a remarkable 23/24 season, defying many early predictions to finish 4th in the table and qualify for the playoffs. In a local derby against Enfield Town, they came up just short in a narrow 1-0 loss, with their opponents going on to win the playoffs and promotion to the National League South.

Their brilliant form in the season can't be undersold though, and it caught the eye of a few clubs in the league above, with pivotal players like Ruben Carvalho and Anointed Chukwu earning moves higher up the pyramid.

Manager Ahmed Rifat knows his way around good recruitment however, and in their place have come the likes of Ogo Obi and Michael O'Donoghue, who have recent Step 3 promotion experience, whilst key players like Matthew Achuba and Billy Cracknell, among others, have been retained for another campaign. Former Gull Luke Deslandes is also now a regular starter for the Blues - whom he ironically scored against for Canvey last season on our visit to North London!

They've endured a mixed opening week to the season, recording an impressive 3-2 win at home to Dulwich Hamlet on the opening day, before falling to that same scoreline at Carshalton Athletic two days later. A similarly thrilling scoreline was on the cards on Saturday against Folkestone Invicta, with the game at 3-3 going into the final few minutes, before a nasty injury to goalkeeper Prince Adegoke saw the match abandoned. So far, they've scored plenty (8 goals) whilst also shipping as many (8 goals).

The two sides met twice in the division last season, with the Blues victories on both occasions - the away match in particular being one of the Gulls worst results of the season, going down 6-2 at the Maurice Rebak Stadium.

The Gulls
Canvey meanwhile, will be looking to put a poor start to the season behind them, with their last result a 2-0 defeat away at Dartford.

Despite a good start to the game, two second half goals condemned Canvey to a third successive defeat, and they'll be hoping for much better back at home before they make the short trip for a derby against Bowers & Pitsea on Monday.

Manager Brad Wellmen will have had a week to prepare his squad this time around however, testing them in a 2-0 friendly win against Enfield FC on Tuesday. He has also recruited experienced left back Tom Stephen to his ranks to help out in defence.

Saturday was the first time the Gulls have failed to score this campaign, with the previous two defeats mustering a goal in each match.

***
Yellow Army, we thank you for your recent support in these opening few weeks, particularly on Saturday, where we know many of your faced a horrendous journey to the game owing to bad traffic on the M25.

It's not been the start to the season we were hoping for, but the squad is working to right those wrongs, and the Bank Holiday weekend can always throw up a suprise for those sides willing to give it all for the three points.

We hope you can give it your all for the team this weekend as we look to kick this season into gear, before we begin our cup duties next weekend.

Get right behind the boys as only you know how!

Come on you Gulls!

Kick Off - 3:00pm

Admission Prices
Adults - £12
Concessions - £8
U16s - £3*

*Accompanied by an Adult.

Merchandise
We'll have a range of club merchandise on sale in the clubhouse, including the new 24/25 kits!

Parking
Parking at the Steves Taxi's Stadium is free to all but limited to first come / first serve. Additional parking can be found on the adjacent side roads, but please be mindful of our neighbours if using this option. Parking on Park Lane itself is also strongly advised against.

In The Clubhouse
We have a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks stocked in the clubhouse.

We also have live football on our big screens, including:

12:30pm
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester United
QPR vs Plymouth Argyle

5:30pm
Aston Villa vs Arsenal