Our Grass Roots feature continues as we follow the fortunes of Bromley in the National Conference this season. Matchday announcer Matt Hall tells us how 2016 has been for the Ravens.
We are now four months into the new year, and know one thing is for certain, Bromley will comfortably remain in the Vanarama National League and exceeding expectations in doing so.
Since I last wrote, plenty has happened both on and off the field. Bromley have played sixteen games, winning five, drawing four and losing seven, however, it is not the form which has been the focus on the club in recent months.
In early February it was announced that manager Mark Goldberg would leave the club after several years of involvement. The emotion in and around the club was an overwhelming sense of shock and disappointment. Mark was seen as a major factor of the club’s rise in recent years, and in a sense, was ‘Mr Bromley. He had managed every side from Bromley under nines right through to the first team, and fans were very aware that had it not been for him, we may not be where we are now.
Before Goldberg’s departure, came the month of January. Following on from my article at the beginning of January, game with Eastleigh on New Years Day was postponed so our first opponents of the year was Southport. They visited Hayes Lane having beaten us 5-3 in the reverse fixture less than three weeks before. The fixture ended goalless before Tranmere Rovers, of League 2 last season, took all three points the week after by narrowly beating the Ravens 1-0.
A strong Charlton Athletic under 21 side then knocked Bromley out of the Kent Senior Cup a week later, winning 2-0 before a 4-1 defeat at league leaders Cheltenham Town contributed to a miserable start to the year.
It was of course not long after this that Goldberg departed, leaving assistant Neil Smith in charge for the forseeable future. It would be a monumental task for Smith to steer the focus away from Goldberg’s departure in the squad, let alone get anything from his first two matches in charge which were against high-flyers Grimsby Town and Wrexham.
The former visited Hayes Lane following the last two scheduled meetings between the sides being postponed. Despite Bromley taking a shock lead through Sean Francis after just six minutes, Town eventually ran out 2-1 winners. The trip to Wrexham did not see things improve, the Welsh side securing a 2-0 win.
However, the next two games that month saw a turnaround. One of Smith’s former sides, Woking, were the visitors. Despite going a goal down early on, Moses Emmanuel and Adam Cunnington both facing their former side, struck before the half hour mark to make it 2-1 which is how it stayed.
Next up was a visit to Aggborough to face basement side Kidderminster Harriers. In what was a closely fought match where the home side should have been awarded a penalty, it was an error of judgement which sent all three points home with Bromley. Joe Anderson’s floated free kick in the dying minutes evaded everyone in the penalty area, including the goalkeeper, and nestled in the net much to Anderson’s surprise!
The first day in March saw a local derby at Hayes Lane under the floodlights, as Welling United were the visitors. A superb strike early on from Stevenage loanee Rohdell Gordon set Bromley on the right path, and a second half Emmanuel penalty made the points certain, the game ending 2-0.
A 1-1 away draw at Chester followed, before the Ravens dispatched Halifax Town 1-0 at home thanks to a late Cunnington strike, assisted by substitute Bradley Goldberg. The latter was the hero just days later, as he came off the bench to score twice in the last twenty minutes against Guiseley, securing another 2-0 win.
Our last four games have seen two losses and two draws. The first of which, was a trip to Eastleigh, unfortunately coming home on the back of a 2-0 defeat on a shocking playing surface. A draw away to Barrow followed, before a Good Friday trip to Braintree Town ended in a 1-0 defeat in what was an uninspiring contest.
The most recent match, however, ended rather more positively. Second placed Forest Green Rovers came to Hayes Lane on a good run of form, and after two rather lucky goals, found themselves 2-0 up at half time. However, Pierre Joseph-Dubois reduced the arrears after the hour mark to make things interesting. That hope vanished in the last few minutes when an already booked Paul Rodgers was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle, leaving Bromley with ten men for the remainder of the match. However, the ‘never say die’ attitude remained, and after a late onslaught, against all the odds, former Palace defender Jack Holland leveled things up with a close range header in injury time.
Kicking off April, an attendance of 1,202 saw Bromley beat Lincoln City at home by two goals to nil courtesy of goals from Cunningham just after the half hour and Goldberg sealing all three points with just fifteen minutes to play.
With just four games remaining in the National League for Bromley, they sit in eleventh place with fifty-nine points just one behind Macclesfield Town in tenth.
Matt will be back to talk about the final four games of the season and review the National League campaign as a whole in a few weeks time. For more information about Bromley and their remaining matches, go to their official website.
