Bromley 0-3 Chelmsford City - Mistakes have cost us three goals, says disappointed Hayden Bird

Tuesday 12th October 2010

BROMLEY 0-3 CHELMSFORD CITY
FA Cup (Sponsored by E.ON) Third Qualifying Round Replay
Tuesday 12th October 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

BROMLEY assistant manager Hayden Bird says his side are a wounded animal as their first defeat of the season ended their run in the FA Cup.

The Lillywhites had victory taken from them at Chelmsford City’s Melbourne Park as David Rainford’s 97th minute penalty grabbed a second chance for the Essex giants, which they took with both hands at Hayes Lane tonight, as goals from Billy Bricknell, Sam Higgins and Anthony Cook booked their place in the fourth qualifying round with a trip to Ryman Premier League side Carshalton Athletic on 23 October their reward.

The 2-2 draw in Essex stretched Bromley’s unbeaten run to thirteen games, but their marvellous run was ended by a very good Chelmsford side.

“I thought Chelmsford played very well today” admitted Bird, when speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk about his sid's fourth FA Cup tie, out on the pitch afterwards.

“Off the ball they were very sharp, they stopped us playing. I think games like this are won and lost on small details and the disappointment today was we gave them every goal, there was a mistake on every goal.

“I don’t think we played badly today, we played with the right intensity at times. We had good ideas and there’s no question there were moments in the game we should’ve scored; Marlon early on, Tony Finn, Nic in the second half but you can’t play the game with these mistakes and today mistakes have cost us three goals.”

A crowd of 619 decided correctly to venture out to watch a high-tempo FA Cup Third Qualifying Round replay, instead of England’s multi-millionaires flopping to an embarrassing goal-less draw against Montenegro in a European Championship Qualifier at Wembley Stadium.

Chelmsford brought around 200 supporters and gave their side excellent vocal support - although they cannot be proud of the abuse that they gave their former player, wide-midfielder Marlon Patterson, who was making his home debut for his home-town club.

“Some of the comments that were made at Marlon both tonight and Saturday, I thought, was scandalous but Marlon’s big enough to take it,” added Bird.

Chelmsford played the game at a very high tempo, but it was Bromley that created a quartet of chances, before the Essex side opened the scoring after nineteen minutes.

A corner from the right from Patterson was met by a bullet header from central defender Reis Boyle and visiting goalkeeper James Pullen tipped the ball up and also thwarted Nic McDonell as he challenged from close in.

Central midfielder Tutu Henriques then slipped a delightful through ball for McDonell, but the striker’s left-footed drive from 20-yards lacked power and Pullen made a comfortable save low to his left.

Patterson went close to silencing the Essex lowlife when he cracked a left footed volley which screamed across Pullen and past the far post from an acute angle.

A ghosting McDonell then got in behind the Chelmsford defence to meet Wes Daly’s far post free-kick with a header, which sailed wide.

However, a mistake from Patterson gifted his former club the lead, and they never looked back from that moment on.

Patterson’s intended pass to right-back David Graves was intercepted by Rainford just inside Bromley’s half and he burst forward before slipping the ball inside to Bricknell on the left.

The winger sold a dummy to Boyle and turned the Bromley number six to step inside and curled a marvellous side-footed right-footed shot past the stranded Wes Foderingham into the far corner.

Bromley’s best chance to draw level was squandered, just six minutes before the break.

Wes Daly, inside his own half, executed an excellent diagonal pass, which cut open Chelmsford’s two central defenders Adam Tann and Sami El-Abd to release Tony Finn through on goal, but the winger had time to compose himself but he dragged his right-footed shot across the keeper and also agonisingly past the foot of the far post.

Chelmsford killed the game off by scoring their second goal just 89 seconds into the second half.

Mark Haines played the ball over the top of the Bromley defence for striker Sam Higgins to slam a right-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner, but Bird refused to point the finger of blame to Boyle for his error.

“It was a bad goal and it was very badly defended but there you are,” he said. “I’m not going to pick people out. Reis Boyle is sitting in the dressing room absolutely devastated but the fact is he’s an nineteen-year-old centre half that’s been sensational for Bromley and he’s got a very, very big future.”

Higgins almost scored his 12th goal of the season after 50 minutes when his right-footed free-kick from 25-yards deflected off the wall and bounced off the foot of the right-hand post.

The Bromley management team throw Warren McBean on for Boyle, but decided to keep the front two of Paul Vines and McDonnell, so McBean was deployed in midfield, as the Lillywhites swapped their 4-4-2 formation to 3-5-2.

Latching onto a pass from Harrison Dunk, McBean showed strength to hold onto the ball as he cut in along the penalty box before stroking a low right-footed shot from 18-yards, which Pullen dived low to his right to save.

An unmarked McBean then met Patterson’s free-kick from the right with a bullet header, but he failed to hit the target - and McDonnell had a fierce drive beaten out by the Chelmsford keeper.

Chelmsford too failed with a header as the game approached the final twenty minutes.

A cross from right-back Matthew Lock was flicked on by John Martin at the near post but a free header from Higgins flashed wide.

Chelmsford sent some of the Hayes Lane faithful heading towards the exits with a third with six minutes remaining.

Full credit must go to Cook for his solo goal when he picked the ball up some 30-yards from goal and his unchallenged mazy run took him past around five Bromley defenders before he smashed a right-footed shot through the keeper’s legs at his near post.

Braintree Town have restricted Bromley’s lead at the top of the Blue Square Bet South table to just one point - but Bird is confident his side can bounce back from tonight’s disappointment and pick up three points at fifteenth placed Basingstoke Town on Saturday.

“People are disappointed to lose, the club will be disappointed to go out of the FA Cup, but ultimately the dressing room will be judged on it’s league position,” said Bird.

“Basingstoke is going to be a big game for us. We’ve lost a game, we’ll dust ourselves down and we’ll get on. It (losing our first game) was going to happen naturally and the important part of today really is the response from everybody on Saturday and knowing the boys as I do the response will be very positive.

“People said to me today would be the biggest test of the squad. Actually I disagree. I think Saturday will be the biggest test of the squad.

“In order to be successful in football you’ve got to, not only have good players and be fit and be organised, you’ve got to have spirit and character and it’s very important that Bromley respond to this Saturday and I feel absolutely no doubt that we will but I think we’ll get a positive response from the dressing room.

“I think the important part of today is the response and the character in the dressing room will be proven on Saturday. I think we’ll respond very positively, I think we’ll go to Basingstoke and win three points. I’m very confident in this group.”

“We’re hurt at the moment, we’re angry, we feel wounded but we’ll bounce back and hopefully Basingstoke will feel the affects of today’s defeat.”

Bird remained upbeat and reminded supporters the statistics from the season so far.

“The players are disappointed in the goals that we’ve conceded, disappointed to lose football matches,” he said.

“Lets be honest this group have been together since July and this is the only the second time we’ve lost if you go back to July when we played all our friendlies so listen, we’ve lost two games in 24 and that’s what everyone must remember.

“This team, this dressing room, will be judged on it’s league position and the league is much more important than the FA Cup. Simple as that! Despite the revenue it brings in.

But Bird, who missed out on a return to his previous club Carshalton Athletic in the final qualifying round, reflected on what could have been - a missed opportunity at Melbourne Park at the weekend.

“We should’ve won the game Saturday, even though we always said a replay would be a good result, Bromley should’ve won the game on Saturday,” he said.

“We went to Chelmsford, who are clearly a very good side, hadn’t conceded a goal at home and we scored two goals and we created key opportunities to score more.

“The fact is Chelmsford, despite what I read, in my opinion, were a little lucky Saturday. They scored in, on my watch, we have a watch in the dug-out, which is stopped every time the ball goes out of play, four additional minutes of extra time went up on the board and they scored in 97 minutes so we’re disappointed that we had to play the game but we did and we’ve lost but that’s football isn’t it?

“I think it’s easy when you lose to complain about decisions and be critical but the fact is Chelmsford played very well, the best team that we played and I’m saying we conceded three goals through three mistakes. The fact is they took their goals very well so credit where’s credit’s due . I think today they’ve proven to be very strong.”

Bromley: Wes Foderingham, David Graves, Harrison Dunk (Jerrome Sobers 68), Wes Daly, John Scarborough, Reis Boyle (Warren McBean 53), Tony Finn, Tutu Henriques, Paul Vines, Nic McDonnell, Marlon Patterson (Sam Butler 68).
Subs: Paul Agu, Salifou Ibrahima, Ryan Dolby, Nicky Greene

Booked: Wes Daly 57, Tutu Henriques 69

Chelmsford City: James Pullen, Matthew Lock, Mark Haines, Adam Tann, Sami El-Abd, David Rainford, Ricky Modeste, John Martin, Sam Higgins, Anthony Cook, Billy Bricknell (Takumi Ake 85).
Subs: Grant Cooper, Robert Edmans, Ben Nunn, Stephen Reed, Tyrone Scarlett, Ashley Harrison.

Goals: Billy Bricknell 19, Sam Higgins 48, Anthony Cook 84

Booked: Billy Bricknell 24

Attendance: 619
Referee: Mr Daniel Cook (Gosport, Hampshire)
Assistants: Mr Paul Beadle (Sevenoaks) & Mr Martin Lehane (Bexleyheath)