Dockers’ Community Day a Roaring Success!
By Michael Avery
Head of Youth & Community
Beat-the-goalie, coconuts shies, bouncy castles, complimentary wrist bands, ice cream, hot food and fantastic competition prizes was in SE28 on the 15th July, as Erith Town hosted the pre-season community day fixture with Isthmian League South East side, Sittingbourne FC.
With The Dockers smartly kitted out in their new yellow kit, the two teams took to the field with the 300+ strong crowd cheering them on. Families of all ages were invited down to be part of this fun filled day at the Stanmore Stadium, and although the 2-0 win for the visitors may not have been everything those in attendance were hoping for, the football played by Adam Woodward’s team provided plenty of entertainment for the 90 minutes and left The Dockers’ fans at Bayliss Avenue excited for the upcoming 2023/24 SCEFL Premier Division campaign.
Speaking to the club’s official podcast, The Dockers’ Debate, the Erith Town manager said, “In hindsight, maybe Thursday and Saturday and the turn around with the amount of players we had out and the opposition we played, it was tough! We got more minutes in people’s legs, which was good, got another game on Tuesday, which will be three games in six days, but that’s what pre-season is all about. Just got to fine tune things, and I think obviously the goals we conceded were individual mistakes again, but these things get ironed out in pre-season and the boys are still doing well. Today was not a bad overall performance. They [Sittingbourne] didn’t make any mistakes and we did, and it’s unfortunate, but we’ve got young lads out there and I’m happy with how things have gone…. There were over 300+ people here today in the end, we raised some money for charity, and it was great to get all the community here and that’s what we’re about. That’s what we’ve come here for, and we need to get the community using this. We’d like to thank Peabody as well for helping us with the day as well, and like I said it’s nice to get people watching Erith Town and smiling, and to get more people from the local community here.”
To listen to the coverage from the Community Day, as well as the full interview with Adam Woodward, make sure you check out ‘The Dockers Debate’, available at your podcast platform. Erith Town’s remaining first team pre-season fixtures are against Tooting & Mitcham FC on Tuesday 18th July, followed by a Friday night clash with a Welling United XI on Friday 21st July, both which will be at the Stanmore Stadium.
Along with exciting football and activities for the family to enjoy, Erith Town also raised money from the raffle and competitions, which will be donated to local community projects in the Thamesmead area. As well as thanking our committee and club volunteers who helped behind the scenes, the club would also like to thank Peabody, Manak Solicitors, Stanmore Ltd., W.J. King, and our food distributors for all their help with making today a huge success for Erith Town and those from the local area.
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