Blues 3 Bromley 5

Leiston were defeated in their FA Trophy first round replay after an action packed 5-3 defeat to Bromley in a match sponsored by JET PROJECTS. Straight from the off it was clear to see that Leiston would not be content with sitting back and hoping Bromley on the break as they were looking to get forward in numbers and cause the away side some problems writes Ollie Fairs. Bromley didn’t seem to have a foothold of the game during the first 20 minutes but they slowly started to come to speed and warning signs came when they had a goal disallowed for offside. However, the Assistant could not come to Leiston’s rescue just minutes later when a cross was not properly cleared allowing Adam Cunnington to hammer the ball home to give his side the lead. Their lead did not last very long however when in the 28th minute Leiston got a goal of their own, Patrick Brothers finding some space on the edge of the box before curling the ball low into the bottom corner of the net to put the sides back on level terms. The Blues then gained the lead in the 30th minute to complete five minutes of madness. Joe Francis picked the ball up in the final third before ghosting into the box only to be brought down to win his side a penalty. Matt Blake stepped up and calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1 to the Blues after 30 minutes, a lead they would maintain for the remainder of the half. Five minutes into the second half Bromley earned themselves and equaliser through Oluwatobi Sho-Silva after he was allowed to turn far too easily on the edge of the box before hitting a well placed shot past Jacob Marsden from 18 yards but, once again, just minutes later Leiston were back ahead thanks to a thunderous shot from Matt Blake into the top corner in the 58th minute, his second of the evening. Bromley were then level once again thanks to Cunnington after he picked up the ball from a poor clearance, managing to get it out of his feet before finding the back of the net once again. Things got worse for Leiston and before they knew it the visitors were in the lead, Cunnington completing his hat-trick after 66 minutes, this being the least spectacular of the goals after he simply tapped the ball home after it was put on a plate for him by his teammate out wide, giving the visitors the lead. What followed was 25 minutes of high velocity, end to end football with both teams pushing for another goal. Finally, in the 86th minute Bromley sealed the win and added a fifth to their tally for the night, Blair Turgott, capitalising on the fact that the Blues had begun to throw everyone forward trying to find the equaliser that would send the game to extra time, ran in behind and fired his shot into the roof of the net to cap off what was a successful night for his side. Overall, a disappointing result for the Blues, but it was certainly a performance they can be proud of as they pushed Bromley further than they were expecting to go and, at times, it even looked as though Leiston were the team playing two divisions above Bromley.

FT – Blues 3 Bromley 5

Blues – Marsden, Brown, Dunbar, Saker (Pelling 77 mins), Jefford, Hutchings, Lawrence, Heath, Blake (Ottley-Gooch 87 mins), Brothers (Blades 89 mins), Francis. Subs not used – Hanson and Lay-Fulcher.

Bromley – Julian, Johnson, Swaine, Holland, Porter (Goldberg 71 mins), Cunnington, Dymond (Prestedge 86 mins), Anderson, Higgs, Turgott, Sho-Silva. Subs not used - Wynter, Chorley and Dennis.

Match Sponsors JET PROJECTS Man of the Match – Matt Blake

Attendance - 306