Safe!

In the end it only took a point against Thurrock and a defeat for Hampton the following Tuesday to preserve Bromley’s Conference South status for next season. It should have been done and dusted last Saturday as we battered Thurrock, but despite dominating the game we failed to find the net and had to settle for a draw. The game summed up the second half of Bromley’s season perfectly we had loads of the ball, played some lovely football, but failed to get the job done and turn a draw into a win.

We now travel down to Dorchester with the pressure off and with the backing of the fans who have taken advantage of the free coach travel courtesy of Jim Brown hopefully the team will be lifted to notch up another away win just like Weston, Salisbury & Truro.

I was delighted to see Hakeem Araba win the Supporters Player of the Season, he is currently being linked with Football League clubs so if Dorchester does prove to be his last game for us I hope he bows out with a goal and another one of those celebrations.

When the dust settles on the season many questions will need to be asked about why we struggled so badly and how this was ever allowed to happen, but for now we’ll have a few days and one final game just savouring the relief of avoiding the drop.         

Two Games Left, Four Points Required.

After a point from a tough Easter weekend, (more than I thought we'd get), we knew that at least seven points were required from the last three games to avoid relegation.
We got the  first part done with a great 2-1 win at Truro City with the players and fans giving everything in the pouring rain. That trip will go down in Bromley FC legend, but it will hav even more gravity if we get the rest of the job done starting with Thurrock at home on Saturday.
Although 'The Artist formerly known as Purfleet' are already down, they are no mugs only losing to better sides than us by single goals recently, and the two teams were evenly matched back in February when we drew 1-1 at their place. Former Bromley captain Rob Gillman will be in no mood to let his new employers give us an easy ride to safety.
With Farnborough's points deduction along with Havant & Hampton losing games in hand this week our fate is now back in our own hands.Four points will do the trick, three on Saturday would be a great start. The rain may do us a favour as we have performed well on heavy pitches at Weston, Salisbury & Truro in the last few months and it may keep the ball down on our very bumpoy pitch.    
The club are running a free coach to Dorchester for the final game of 20011/12, lets hope this is rewarded with a good turn out and is a happy bus on the way home!     

Easter Points Hunt

The Easter fixtures are always key for any side either challenging for promotion or trying to stay up and this season it’s certainly the case for Bromley. Five years ago it was wins over Ramsgate on Good Friday and Carshalton on Easter Monday that set us up for a second placed finish and eventually promotion, now it will be games against play off chasing Sutton and Dartford that could see us virtually safe from the drop or facing a very nervous last three games two of which are long journey’s out west.

Saturday’s 1-0 win over Weston Super Mare was a crucial result and with Hampton losing one of their games in hand on Monday night our fate is back in our own hands. The general feeling is that seven points from the remaining five games would do the trick. With Ali Fuseini’s goal giving us the narrow lead over Weston we may well come to think of Liam Harwood’s overhead kick off the line and Joe Welch’s injury time save as moments that turned the season around once it all comes to an end on 28 April. If we can pick up any points from the next two tough games then things will be looking more positive ahead of the final three.