Grays Athletic will be in the rare position of trying to do Essex rivals Canvey Island a favour tomorrow afternoon.

Ex-Park Lane favourite Mark Stimson takes his side to Carshalton, Gulls' closest championship challengers, and could return with some reward.

The Surrey side currently trail Jeff King's men by 16 points from level games, but had suffered two successive defeats - including a 6-0 roasting at the hands of Sutton - before returning to the win trail with a 1-0 success at Kingstonian on Tuesday night.

Grays themselves can be brilliant on their day, but inconsistencies mean that they lie just inside the top ten and they are a massive 26 points behind Canvey, although they've played three games less.

For more on Ryman Premier League sides see our Ryman Premier League section

Published Friday January 9, 2004

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