Bromley's 13-man squad seek revenge on Harrow

George Wakeling had a rare option ahead of Bromley's visit to Slough last Saturday - he was able to play the same team for just the second time this season, reports www.bromleytimes.co.uk.

The Ravens have seen their first campaign back in the Ryman Premier League wrecked by a string of serious injuries to key players.

The Hayes Lane outfit are still down to the bare bones in terms of personnel and have just 13 first team players available for selection.

But joint manager Wakeling and colleague Billy Smith were still able to pick the same team that hammered Welling United 7-0 in the Kent Senior Cup last Tuesday.

Wakeling explained: "In some ways it is good because when you have a large squad of players to choose from, the people who are left out give you a headache wanting to know why they aren't being picked."

Welling's decision to field a weakened team raised a few eyebrows, but Wakeling refused to criticise his Wings counterpart Adrian Pennock.

"We took the game seriously and that is all that matters from my point of view," he said. "You have to make a decision as a manager and he obviously felt it was the right one for him.

"I don't think he thought it would end up 7-0 though. I was delighted obviously and we are now in the semi-finals of this competition and the quarter-finals of the League Cup. With a bit of luck we will win one of them."

Despite starting with the same team at Slough, Bromley found themselves 2-0 down early in the second half before fighting back for a draw through Sam Wood and Mark Willy.

An added bonus for Wakeling was the introduction of leading scorer Nic McDonnell and Danny Carroll on the hour.

"Ideally I would have given them both another week off but I had to change things because we were 2-0 down," he explained.

"I was pleased with the contribution they made and the fact there was no bad reaction to their injuries. We came back well and I honestly felt we deserved to win because we created several good chances in the game."

Bromley will be looking to continue their improvement on Saturday when they entertain Harrow Borough, who are currently three points below them in the table with two games in hand.

The Ravens will be keen to avenge a recent 2-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of this weekend's opponents and Wakeling is upbeat ahead of the clash.

He said: "We are at home, will have the crowd behind us and are starting to pick up a few points so there is no reason why we can't beat them.”