Nice to be top as we enter 2017.
The Crows arrived at the Badger Sports Ground looking to avenge a 1-0 home defeat suffered earlier in the season in a confident mood, although they would have to do it without the suspended Jack Walder and captain Lee Carey, who failed a fitness test prior to kick off, this match just coming too soon for him.
However, with Vickers and Appiah stepping into the breach, the Crows faithful felt confident that the rhythm of the team wouldn't be interrupted and that the three points had a very good chance of coming back to the Community Stadium by 4:50pm.
This feeling was further enhanced of course due to the excellent record the Crows have against the Millers, having done the double over them in the last two seasons and scoring plenty of goals in the process, especially at Badger, where 3-2 and 5-4 wins have been achieved. Who can forget the long distance effort from Boddy in the 3-2 away win, or the superb hat trick from Conlon last season in the 5-4 come back win.
This match started at a frenetic pace with both teams looking to attack each other at every opportunity and if you've ever been to a match at Badger Sports Ground you'll now that there is quite a slope that goes from one goal to the other and it was the Crows who had the slope with them in the first half.
The Crows had a shot within the 1st minute, Carrington having a shot saved by Carey in the home goal and Attwood had his shot blocked by a defender as it headed towards the goal in the 2nd minute, then Appiah tried his luck but his effort from distance was well wide of the mark.
The half then became, rather frustratingly, a half of too many free kicks being awarded by match referee, Simon Cutler. Not to say they weren't free kicks, both sets of players were being very competitive, challenging for every ball but it did rather disturb the flow of the match somewhat.
However, the away side scored the first goal when a ball forward from Barton was chased down by Perry and even though the Millers centre half and full back were favourites to get to the ball first, a lack of communication allowed Perry to nip in and put the ball past Carey and into the net from just inside the area, a great finish to put the Crows 1-0 up in the 22nd minute.
The Crows defence which has been superb all season kept anything the home side could throw at them at bay and Ellis in the away goal had very little to do in the first period, so the break was reached with the Crows deservedly leading.
The second half, with the Crows now heading up the slope, was really one way traffic from the start as the Cray Valley PM side couldn't get hold of the ball for any length of time as Appiah and especially Vickers, took a vice-like grip on possession of the ball in the midfield area.
Still too many free kicks being awarded spoilt the flow and from one of these free kicks in the 51st minute, Dan Tear picked up the first yellow of the game for an unfair challenge according to referee Cutler. The only handbag incident in the match happened in the 58th minute, Vickers being pushed to the ground by Wood, the Millers captain, as he picked the ball up after having a free kick awarded against him. The upshot of this minor fracas was a yellow for Wood and Appiah as they discussed the finer points of life before the New Year starts.
Four minutes later, 1-0 became 2-0 as Carrington broke in to the Millers area and squared the ball sideways to Muggeridge, the Crows captain for the day. He dummied the defender with his right foot before rifling the ball home with his left from around seven yards out.
In an effort to get back into the game, Griffin and Wood went off for the home side in the 69th minute, Everett and Riley coming on in their place but it did not really change the course of the match and the Crows were by now looking very comfortable.
Vickers had a good effort diverted for a corner in the 74th minute before Cray made their final substitution, Thompson, who had been taking all their free kicks and corners, was replaced by Rosenfield.
Crows started to run down the clock themselves and in the 79th and 81st minutes as they made their own substitutions, firstly, Pearson came on for Perry and then Treleaven came on for Attwood, who along with Perry, had done a tremendous amount of running, closing down defenders and defending for the team from the front.
Only a minute later, in the 82nd minute, Carrington made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after he was hauled down in the area by a Cray defender, a decision they didn't protest about and it seemed a "stonewall" penalty to those watching.
This comfort zone enabled Crabb to be substituted, Clarke coming on and it was really pipe and slippers time however, there was still time for Pearson to pick up a yellow card for a late challenge and for Ellis to also see yellow as he belted the ball out of the ground in celebration as the final whistle blew.
A solid team performance from every player during this game secured the points, every one of them gave their all, however, as always the discussion in the bar afterwards drifted towards nominating a Man of the Match for the Crows and a joint award was made this time, Dan Tear and Tom Vickers getting the nod.
So it's now 28 games unbeaten, the team sit top of the table, two points clear of second place, level on games and still in four cup competitions, what more could we as supporters ask from the players as we enter 2017?