Being humbled at home by your closest rivals doesn’t exactly constitute the perfect homecoming but it would have taken a lot more than a derby defeat to overshadow Cray Wanderers’ big day.
Like it or not, Non-League football is no longer a matter of kicking a ball round for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. We rely on volunteers to do the jobs that enable clubs to stage matches.
Every lower league footballer, at some point in their career, will experience the fear and uncertainty of being out of contract. It comes with the territory.