I think we’ve surprised a few people and now that we have surprised them, I want to keep that going, says Bromley boss Neil Smith

BROMLEY manager Neil Smith says he was feeling disappointed that tonight’s six-pointer promotion clash against Aldershot Town was postponed 13 minutes before kick-off due to a power outage that plunged Hayes Lane into darkness.

All eight floodlight pylons and lighting within buildings at the stadium went out thirty-minutes before the scheduled kick-off – whilst both sets of players were warming up - between seventh-placed Bromley and their fifth-placed visitors.

Referee Carl Brook called a halt to proceedings and the match has been re-arranged for Tuesday 28 November (19:45).

“Disappointed, we prepared for it, we were ready.  I might’ve lost a couple of boys, but I gained a couple from injury as well, we were really looking forward to it,” said Smith.

“It was a good benchmark for us playing against a team being one of the favourites to go up and it was a good benchmark to see where we are.

“It happens, so now that’s gone, you can’t do anything about it. My thoughts are on the game at Barrow away on Saturday now.”

When asked about the incident that forced the late postponement of the fixture, the Bromley boss replied: “I think there was an electricity box outside the ground that we can’t touch or affect. We’ve got to wait for the main electricity board to come down and fix it so we’re helpless as much as anybody else, so there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing the club can do because it’s happened outside of this stadium.”

Bromley have now slipped down three places in the table and travel to Barrow on Saturday in tenth-place in the Vanarama National League table with 32 points on the board from 20 games.

Barrow are now managed by former Gillingham boss Adrian Pennock and the pair were team-mates during their playing days at Priestfield Stadium.

Barrow came away from Gateshead with a 2-1 win tonight and are now a couple of places above the relegation zone, in nineteenth-place with 22 points from 21 games, four points clear of the drop zone.

Smith said:  “Again, it’s a difficult game.  They’ve picked up, Ady is a good friend of mine, I played with him at Gillingham so they’re on a bit of a run so hopefully now that we haven’t played today and they have that we can conserve that energy.

“We’re going up there knowing it’s going to be a tough game but another game that we’re looking forward to playing.”

Bromley are a point adrift of the play-offs and now seven points behind new leaders Wrexham, who rose to the summit after their 1-0 win at basement side Solihull Moors, replacing Dover Athletic who went down to a 1-0 defeat at now fifth-placed Dagenham & Redbridge.

“I think the boys have been outstanding. We’re sitting tenth in the table after 20 games, fifth top goalscorers in the division.  I’ve had to change the whole team and bring a new one in but I think we’ve gelled well so I couldn’t ask for any more,” said Smith.

“I don’t think many people would’ve have us where we are at, at this moment in time but that’s all credit to the players, the backroom staff, the directors, the chairman and all of the support.

“Now we’re up there and in and around it, I want to stay there.  I think people now are a little bit wary of us now, more than they were at the beginning of the season because they thought, I think teams and I know the papers had us one of the favourites to go down.  I think we’ve surprised a few people and now that we have surprised them, I want to keep that going.”

When asked about his aspirations, Smith replied: “I want to stay up first and get those points on the board and then we’ll see where we are.

“You look at the teams, you’ve got your Eastleigh’s, your Tranmere Rovers, your Chester’s, who we drew with the other day.  Wrexham, you’ve got massive clubs in there, Leyton Orient and Hartlepool, so first target for any club, especially for someone like our team like Bromley is 51 points, get them and we’ll see where we’re at.  How early we get them is obviously beneficial. It’s always to stay up for as long as we can.”

The Bromley boss described tonight's postponement "a nightmare."

Smith said: “I’m disappointed, we were up for it, we were looking forward to it. We’ve trained hard and we worked on stuff that was hopefully going to get us a result (tonight) and it’s a bit of a nightmare now.  The boys have had a day off, we haven’t trained. We’ve come here and can’t even do any running because of the health and hazards of everything so they’re going to have a couple of days off so hopefully we’ll come back and we’ve got to make sure it works in our favour before the game on Saturday.”

The club issued a statement on the matter late on Wednesday afternoon, once power was restored.

Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.tv

Barrow  v  Bromley
Vanarama National League
Saturday 25^th November 2017
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Holker Street, Wilkie Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria LA14 5UW