Premier Division
Bearsted 3 Bromley Green 1
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Bearing in mind their league positions this was a game that either side could not really afford to lose. However it was as early as the first minute that Bearsted might have scored when Stuart Brockman found himself in the clear to run on goal to shoot narrowly wide. Soon after it was Robbie Wheeler who should have made better of an opportunity on the edge of the penalty area only to see his effort saved easily by goalkeeper Chris Smith. Bromley Green for most of the first half, although working industriously and being prompted by skipper Glenn Hackett and Barry Beaney, found difficulty in creating good chances. Maybe the best of which was when Phil Lewis had to punch to clear a difficult ball which hung under the bar, after a deep free kick from the left by Danny Cheeseman and then when Joe Nifsud was denied an opportunity by a timely interception by substitute Robbie Hayward. At the other end the pace of Matt Maxwell along with Brockman, was causing problems to the Bromley defence and it was Maxwell who might have put his side in front when, on two occasions, shot wide after bearing down on his opponent’s goal. However the deadlock was finally broken with 2 minutes remaining before half time, when a deep angled pass by Seb Brimstead was hooked back by Gary East for Brockman, running in to tuck the ball away from 5 yards.
Immediately after the break the score might have been increased when Brockman once more found his way clear with only Smith to face, but unfortunately for him his effort was saved by keeper Smith who stood tall and alert to the threat. As play continued the game saw better opportunities for the away side, helped by some astute balls in by Beaney in particular, which caused one or two problems. However it was the Bears who went further ahead when Lee Fincham picked the ball up in midfield before finding Brockman out on the left to run on, round Charlie Clark, before crossing into the path of his provider to put the ball away into the net. Any thoughts of this match being settled were dispelled on 65 minutes when Beaney picked up the ball in midfield to run forward to send in the perfect swerving shot low into the corner of the net past a rooted Lewis. This goal signalled a spell of some dominance by the visitors as they sensed that some sort of result might still be possible. Indeed an equaliser looked a certainty when a deep cross from the left to the far post was met by the head of Craig Southern whose goal bound effort was turned over by Lewis with a remarkable save from under the bar. With time running out the game was finally settled when a Brockman run and cross from the left found the outstretched arm of defender Cheeseman for the referee to award a penalty, which in turn allowed Brockman to step up to score and give his side all three points.
Team: P.Lewis, S.Groom, A.Budden, R.Stevens, (R.Hayward) S.Brimstead.
L.Fincham, S.Benton, M.Maxwell, G.East, S.Brockman, R.Wheeler, (R.Ashburner)
Subs: D.Dyal
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