Bromley 1 Blues 1

Leiston will play a replay of their Buildbase FA Trophy First Round tie against Bromley after the sides drew 1-1 with Matt Blake’s second half strike cancelling out George Porter’s opener writes Ollie Fairs. Leiston were very much the underdogs before the game with opponents Bromley playing two divisions above the Blues in the Vanarama National League. Leiston however, put in a performance they will be very proud of defending superbly for the majority of the game. Bromley had the better of the chances throughout the first half and were constantly looking to get the ball in the wide areas and put in dangerous crosses for their target men to attack. This tactic worked well for them as all the chances they had came from headers with Blues keeper Jacob Marsden being tested several times and the woodwork coming to Leiston’s rescue on one occasion. The Blues did also manage to create some half-chances for themselves on the break with both Patrick Brothers and Gareth Heath being allowed to run towards the edge of the Bromley box only to have their shots saved by the Bromley keeper Alan Julian. Another chance came for the Blues when Patrick Brothers picked up the ball on the left wing and managed to get past his marker with a nice bit of skill but his cross evaded everyone in Blue and white shirts. Bromley did eventually take the lead in the 43rd minute when Blair Turgott’s driving effort from the edge of the box was superbly saved by Marsden only for the rebound to fall to the feet of George Porter who placed the ball into the empty net giving the home side a half time lead. Bromley continued to dominate in the second half creating some great chances thanks to some great attacking play. They played in very much the same way as the first half which was clear to see from the amount of crosses they put into the box and the countless number of corners they had throughout the second half. Although Leiston were having to spend much of their time defending they were certainly not out of the game and Matt Blake in particular was a key player for the Blues, constantly looking to make runs in behind and test the Bromley defence while also providing Leiston with a much needed out ball that allowed the defence a moments rest. Matt Blake got the reward he deserved in the 67th minute when Byron Lawrence floated a cross towards the back post for an unmarked Matt Blake to calmly fire his side footed volley into the back of the net to put the teams back on level terms. Once the scores were level again it was clear that Bromley started to increase the pressure they were already applying on the Leiston goal but the Blues’ defence, in particular Jacob Marsden, were more than up for the challenge. Bromley forced a number of exceptional saves out of the Leiston keeper, the best of all being a fantastic tip round the post at full stretch after a flick on from a free kick. As the game drew closer and closer to its conclusion the Vanarama National League side continued to throw men forward to try and score the goal they needed to put them through but they faced what seemed to be an immovable object in the form of the Leiston defence and midfield who threw themselves into tackles and in the way of shots to deny Bromley the goal they needed and ensure that they would face a replay at Victory Road on Tuesday night.

FT – Bromley 1 Blues 1

Bromley – Julian, Johnson, Swaine, Holland, Martin (Dennis), Porter, Cunnington, Dymond (Wynter), Anderson, Higgs, Turgott. Subs not used – Chorley, Goldberg and Sho-Silva.

Blues – Marsden, Brown, Dunbar, Ainsley (Pelling 67 mins), Jefford, Hutchings, Lawrence, Heath, Blake, Ottley-Gooch (Francis 57 mins), Brothers. Subs not used – Saker, Lay-Fulcher and Potter.

Man of the Match – Jacob Marsden

Attendance - 411