Rayleigh Star was founded in 1897 and changed their name to Town in 1946. They were successful in the Essex Olympian Football League for many decades but were unable to progress higher due to the limitations of their London Road home. So in 2022 they moved to groundshare with Concord Rangers and were promoted into the Eastern Counties League Division One South within two seasons after winning the EOFL title for a seventh time. The club is ambitious both about progressing further up the leagues and also returning to their home town.

We met for the first time in a night game at the Old Spotted Dog Ground in October, with CCFC winning 4-2.

Won their last 2 home games with 12 goals scored and none conceded.

Joint top scorers for Rayleigh are Tommy Sykes, who recently dual signed with Concord Rangers two divisions above, and ex-Basildon Town striker Dylan Jones. Both have scored 15 goals each.

Admission is £7, with concessions £5 and U16s free.

It’s quicker than you might think to get there. There are direct trains to the nearest station Benfleet from London Liverpool Street, Stratford, Barking etc. From Barking it’s just a 30 minutes journey time.

From Benfleet, it’s three miles to Thames Road. Bus number 21 (from Bus Stop A) and Number 27 (From Bus Stop C) go along Thorney Bay Road, which is at the top of Thames Road for the ground. There’s a taxi rank outside the station that costs around £10 for the journey. Alternatively, you can walk it in about an hour.

There is a good sized car park at the ground and street parking on the road running alongside it.