Crawley Down Gatwick Football Club

30/08/2025 - Sat: 30th Aug 25 CDG 2 v 3 Haywards Hth Town

Anvils suffer another defeat this time against Table Toppers Haywards Heath Town but they didn't have it all their own way. A bad start let in HH after just 2mins and CDG were under pressure for most of the 1st Half with HH doubling their lead before HT.

2nd half CDG competed much better and a goal on 55mins got the match back to 1-2. Heath then scored a few mins later 1-3 but the Anvils came back with Oli getting a second on 66 mins to make it 2-3. Pressure from the Anvils for the rest of the half but Heath held out for the win.

Programme published on our website on the day of the game. Programme

29/08/2025 - Anvils Junior Pathways really do work

Anvils Junior Pathways really do work

Article by CDGFC Junior Coordinator Howard Griggs

News a couple of weeks ago that Lewis Gould, one of our first team players from last season, had signed a one-year contract with League One side Barnsley was fantastic for so many reasons. It came hot on the heels of Joe Emery, who played for our junior teams, making his first team debut for Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup against Bolton Wanderers and Tito Salaam, a first team regular at 18 last season, joining professional side Sutton United.

All these examples are, first and foremost, wonderful news for those individuals and their families. What they also do, though, is to show that Crawley Down Gatwick offers a genuine pathway for young players. As someone who is going into his 17th season coaching in the junior section here, I am proud of the way this club has developed. We now have 28 teams in this club which comprises the men’s first team, U18s sides for men and women, plus 25 teams or training groups for boys and girls from U16s down to U5s.

I have always been a strong advocate for the junior section but it has to have a purpose and this is the two-fold purpose as I see it: to provide a safe and caring environment to play football for boys and girls who want to enjoy the game; to provide a pathway from junior football to the first team and higher if they are capable of it. Both those purposes are equally important.

There have been a few cases of Crawley Down players in the past joining professional clubs, but not too many. Mitch Walker played in goal for our junior teams and later made his professional debut for Brighton and Hove Albion in a League One game against Yeovil Town in 2010. Mitch is still playing now for Dover Athletic at the age of 33. Before that, Adam Aylward went to Chesterfield and Robbie Collins to Crawley Town. On the girls’ front, Jodie Jacobs went on to play for Chelsea and West Ham after playing for Crawley Down, while two girls I coached left us after U13s to join professional clubs: Hannah Plumb was signed by Brighton and Hove Albion and subsequently played for West Ham U21s, while Rhianna Major went to Charlton Athletic.

What we have done at the club in recent years is to emphasise the second part of my ‘two-fold purpose’, which is to offer that pathway to the first team and beyond. Lewis Gould and Joe Emery, both played in the junior sides run by first team coach Martin Benetar. In fact, Gould was in our U18s squad that won the Sussex Cup in April 2024 alongside current first team squad members Jake Neaves and Alex Tidy. Fellow first teamers Callum Kilkenny and Alex Bellingham have also played for our junior sides.

While all still young themselves, these players are an inspiration to the next generation because what this does is that is shows players currently with our junior sides that there is a pathway to senior football at Crawley Down Gatwick if they work hard and have the ability to match it. Even more so, Lewis Gould’s professional contract shows ambitious young players they do not have to go elsewhere if they want to follow in his footsteps.

There are currently players I have coached in our youngest groups who I know have real ability for their age group. Of course, there is a long way to go between where they are now and playing for the first team here at Crawley Down Gatwick but the message is clear: the pathway is there for boys in our club and, once we have launched the women’s first team, the pathway will be there too for girls. These are exciting times for everyone at Crawley Down Gatwick.

HOWARD GRIGGS

19/08/2025 - Tue 19th Aug: CDG 1 Eastbourne Utd 1

Another very tight game v Eastbourne Utd with the Anvils starting the brightest in the 1st period and produced the best chances to get in front. 2nd Half EBU started on top and deservedly went ahead on 55mins and they continued to press for most of the half. However the last 10 mins the Anvils started to get back  on top and after a few missed chances they finally scored through Jack Ryder on 90+3 after racing through and slotting the ball home. In the end overall a fair result at 1-1