Top Again!

As we head towards the end of November remarkably Bromley once again find themselves at the top of the table and unbeaten at home in the league. Saturday saw us bounce back from a heavy FA Trophy defeat at Ebbsfleet with a solid 2-0 win over Havant & Waterlooville thanks to two goals early in the second half. Ashley Nicholls capping a man of the match display with the second goal having put in an assist for the first, coolly taken by PJD. We were rarely troubled by a decent Havant side, which speaks volumes for the way Mark Goldberg & Co. have us playing at the moment.

As well as the Conference South campaign going well we also find ourselves in the Semi Finals of the Kent Senior Cup after Hythe Town pulled out of last Monday’s scheduled game that afternoon due to an injury crisis at the Kent Coast Club. I don’t think I ever remember this happening before!       

Due to our early FA Trophy exit we have another blank Saturday this week, but next up at Hayes Lane on Tuesday 3 December are London Bari from the Essex Senior League as we begin the defence of the London Senior Cup. Bari who groundshare with Clapton FC have been in senior football for the last three season having previously competed in the Asian Leagues. This is the first meeting between the two sides and should be a decent game before we get back to league action against Farnborough the following weekend.   

 The early exits from both FA competitions may well restrict what the club can spend on strengthening the team as the season goes on, but right now we have a group of players who look united and playing very well. The home performances deserve to command  more than the 425 who came to the game on Saturday.

Shamir Mullings has returned to the club after a month at Cray Wands with Steve Smith the latest Bromley man to lend a hand at our tenants. Smith who has rarely put a foot wrong when selected will hopefully benefit from regular football and still get a chance to establish himself at Bromley.    

Great Response

After the disappointment of the FA Cup defeat and it’s financial ramifications plus the following defeat at Sutton, the players have come back with the perfect response with nine points from three games and plenty of quality goals too. We currently sit top of the table clear by a point from Eastleigh, although Stortford could over take us if they win their games in hand, it’s still a great position to be in at this time of year.

The win at Maidenhead was all about attrition while the victory over Dorchester showed a ruthless side against strugglers we’ve lacked in previous seasons. The 5-0 trouncing of Chelmsford was the most satisfying given the history between the two clubs and their attitude in previous campaigns. It shows what can happen to a team when the money runs out, their home gates have halved in a few months and there was a startling lack of belief among the players despite the best efforts of their impressive travelling support.

After a week off due to FA Cup fixtures, next up we travel to Ebbsfleet Utd in the FA Trophy, probably the toughest draw we could have got at this stage of the competition, The Fleet are a very strong well funded side and I’d take a replay right now. Although some might say we could do without the distraction of cups at the moment, we could do with some prize money to boost the coffers for the season.                  

The following Monday we host Hythe Town in the Kent Senior Cup, a repeat of the 19992 final, what side we put out in that one will probably de dictated by the result on Saturday.