Bromley 3 – 2 Wealdstone
Bromley5R
3 - 2
WealdstoneOne of the youngest Stones sides for a number of years took the field tonight, as with more than half of the regular starting line-up unavailable through injury, work and being cup-tied, Gordon Bartlett used the match as an opportunity to look at some of the Youth in the club.
There were debuts for Harrington and Christian, and Holland, Chappell and Hall also started and it took a good 15 minutes before they all found their feet in the side, as Bromley looked to take an early advantage, however with bodies blocking at every available turn the defence held out through the early pressure.
As Stones started to come into the game there was some slick passing and quick movement which allowed Stones to turn their opponents and start to force Bromley back, and Cooper, Beckford and Turner all saw half chances just miss their mark, before on 24 minutes Stones took the lead. Chappell’s Throw was headed on by Beckford and Hall then scored from around 10 yards. to give Stones the lead.
The remainder of the first half was fairly even, perhaps Bromley shading possession but again some solid defending from Stones limited them to no more than half chances, Jackson also dealing with a couple of difficult crosses under pressure.
The second half again was an even tussle, but it was Bromley that were next to score on 51 minutes. Cooper broke forward for Wealdstone but as he was blocked in midfield, the Bromley defender used his hand to knock the ball away – unseen by the match officials – and this allowed them to break as the ball was slotted forward. A low cross at some pace beat Lee Chappell who missed his kick on the run, and the ball fell to Stone at the back post who slotted home.
Stones then weathered another Bromley storm and four minutes later they had restored their lead when Beckford got on the end of a long Chappell free kick, beating the ‘keeper to the ball and heading home from 15 yards to give Stones a 2-1 lead. It was only to last five minutes though, as Stones lost the ball in midfield. Bromley again broke with some pace and Wood finished off the move with a shot close in.
With an even tussle seemingly heading for extra time, Gordon Bartlett brought on Junior Thompson and Luke Smith to replace some tired legs in Turner and Holland and within 30 seconds, Bromley had scored the winner. A quick ball played through the centre of midfield saw Wood collect – he looked up and saw Jackson out of position and tried his luck from fully 35 yards. There was just enough on the ball and the only bad bounce of the night to beat Jackson across the goal, and the home side had scored what turned out to be the winning goal.
Stones will perhaps look back on two one on one opportunities in the second half (Beckford and Cooper) when they both may have scored but both saw their shots go just past the post, and it was tough on Stones who had deserved better than to lose to a mistake, but there were some good performances, in particular from John Christian who look solid and composed in midfield, Graham Hall also looking back to his best form.
Credit also to the Bromley ground staff who produced an excellent pitch for the match.
Wealdstones: Glenn Jackson, Lee Holland (s79 Luke Smith), Jamie Palmer, Graham Hall, Leigh Harrington, Lee Chappell, John Christian, Josh Cooper, Jermaine Beckford, Phil Turner (s79 Junior Thompson), Gary Burrell, Subs not used: Graeme Motgomery, Luke Evans, Richard Burton