Dorking Wanderers 3-0 Bromley - It wasn’t really an accurate representation of a Bromley 11, admits assistant manager Mark Hammond

Dorking Wanderers 3 – 0 Bromley
Location	Meadowbank Stadium, Mill Lane, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1DX
Kickoff	14/12/2019 15:00

DORKING WANDERERS  3-0  BROMLEY
The Buildbase FA Trophy First Round
Saturday 14 December 2019
Stephen McCartney reports from Meadowbank Stadium

ASSISTANT MANAGER Mark Hammond says their humiliating defeat at Dorking Wanderers wasn’t really an accurate representation of Bromley.

Neil Smith’s side put in their poorest performance of the season as they crashed out of The Buildbase FA Trophy at the first attempt.

Marc White’s side went into this First Round tie on a six-match unbeaten run and in sixth-place in the Vanarama National League South table with 33 points from 20 games.

Striker Jack Barham notched a hat-trick in their 3-0 win at their local rivals Leatherhead in the Third Qualifying Round.

Bromley are in third-place in the Vanarama National League standings with 44 points from 25 games and three points adrift of leaders Barrow but they put in an awful performance.

The Lillywhites were without seven players for this game with Chris Bush serving a three-match ban and centre-half Dave Winfield was cup-tied having played for Chelmsford City earlier on in the competition.

Mark Cousins, Jordan Higgs, Adrian Clifton, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild and Jake Goodman are keeping the medical team at Hayes Lane busy.

Luke Coulson, who usually operates down the left-flank, was forced to play at right-back for Bromley, while right-back Joe Kizzi slotted in at centre-half alongside Jack Holland.

Striker Barham, 23, who spent a loan spell at Bromley from Barnet last season, headed in Dorking Wanderers first goal to score his seventh goal for his current side.

Dorking Wanderers killed the tie off to reach the Second Round for the first time when substitute left-winger Tom Richards drove into the bottom far corner early in the second half before striker Jason Prior buried his eighth goal of the season.

Hammond said: “Stereotypical cup tie.  They worked a hell of a lot harder than we did in certain areas.  We still had some honest performers, I thought Joe Kizzi, Jack Holland, Luke Coulson, Frankie Raymond, Sam Wood, Ben Williamson and Michael Cheek, they all given a good account of themselves, yes, just a stereotypical cup tie.

“I don’t think we wanted it any less than what they did. Maybe we looked a little bit jaded from the long week. We’ve had a hell of a lot of games and we’ve got several injuries and then Chris Bush’s suspension. 

“We’re sort of tweaking the system, maybe some of the players are feeling the pinch for the volume.”

Bromley created the first chance of the game with four minutes and 21 seconds on the clock.

Raymond played a centre-circle free-kick short and inside to Coulson, who played the ball back inside to Michael Klass, who had time and space to hit his left-footed drive sailing over the crossbar, as the Southend United loanee tried to find the top right-hand corner from 35-yards.

Dorking Wanderers went close to taking the lead in the eighth minute when Luke Moore floated in a free-kick from the right and Bromley left-back Sam Wood’s back-header forced his goalkeeper Ryan Huddart to push the ball over the crossbar.

Moore swung in the resulting corner in from the right and the ball fell at the feet of Ed Harris – who plays in the centre of a three-man defence – but his side-footed his shot was straight at Huddart from 10-yards.

“Woody was poisoned well, did well with the clearance.  That kind of gave them a little bit of hope.  We maybe should have stopped the cross,” said Hammond.

Wood was putting in many crosses from the left and targetman Ben Williamson sent his free-header looping over the crossbar from 12-yards.

Twenty-minutes in, Dorking Wanderers ensured the visiting keeper made a comfortable save following the home side’s second of three corners.

Moore raised the ball in to the air and raised both arms to signal his intent from the set-piece and delivered deep and right-centre-half Isaac Philpot rose above his marker at the far post to send his downward header into Huddart’s gloves for a comfortable pick-up.

Bromley were hitting balls down the channels and numerous balls were overhit and skidded off the artificial turf and went behind for goal-kicks.

“We got into wide areas and I think the first 20 minutes we dominated,” said Hammond.

Dorking Wanderers enjoyed a good spell of pressure on the half-hour mark as combative midfielder Jake Gallagher teed up Moore on the corner of the penalty area to drill his first-time right-footed drive sailing high over the crossbar as he tried to bend his shot into the top far corner from 25-yards.

Dorking Wanderers deservedly took the lead with 32 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock.

Philpott threw the ball short to Moore, who played the ball back to Philpott, who whipped in a quality cross from the right touchline and Barham nipped in behind Kizzi to guide his header across the keeper, the ball going in off the far post and nestling into the back of the net from 12-yards.

“Listen, great goal, a great run from Jack. We know about Jack, that’s what he’s good at so look, fair play,” said Hammond.

“I wouldn’t say they deserved it because it was their first chance but they’ve taken it. 

“I think it gave them an entry point into the game, a little bit of belief and they took that into half-time and it left us chasing the equaliser.”

The quiet Michael Cheek drew a free-kick after being fouled from behind by Harris and Raymond swung in his left-footed free-kick into the box from 35-yards out and Williamson’s free header from 25-yards looped narrowly over the crossbar to land on top of the net.

Bromley finished the first half on the front foot.

Raymond played the ball out to Wood, who drove forward with the ball at his feet, shrugging past winger Jimmy Muitt, before unleashing a left-footed angled drive that flashed across the keeper and past the far post from 25-yards.

Williamson was left in space to ping a low right-footed daisy-cutter towards the bottom left-hand corner from 30-yards, forcing Dorking Wanderers goalkeeper Slavomir Huk to dive low to his right to tip the ball against the foot of the left-hand post and behind for a corner.

Bromley missed a glorious chance to grab an equaliser in the fifth minute of time added on.

Left-winger Adam Mekki floated in a deep cross from the touchline and picked out an unmarked Josh Rees inside the six-yard box but the wideman guided his header back across the keeper and the home side cleared their lines.

“If you put our chances against their chances in the first (half), I think we’ve had eight attempts on goal, it’s just we haven’t converted,” said Hammond.  

“We put some great balls in from Sam Wood from wide areas, which we’ve worked on. We just haven’t hit the target.

“You’ve just mentioned the three chances there, we’ve hit the post, we’ve had one cleared, we’ve had two corners where the balls bounced off the first phase.  We’re very dangerous at set-pieces but we didn’t look like scoring today.”

Mekki was withdrawn at the half-time and replaced by holding midfielder Billy Bingham, but the former Gillingham man featured in a three-man defence alongside Kizzi and Holland.

Coulson and Wood pushed up as wing-backs, while Rees sat in behind the front two of Cheek and Williamson.

The emergency move back-fired on Bromley as Dorking Wanderers doubled their lead with six minutes and 41 seconds on the clock.

Barham broke down the right and hit a sublime crossfield pass from right-wing to left-wing to pick out an unmarked Richards, who drove forward before drilling a low left-footed angled drive which he planted across the diving Huddart and the ball nestled sweetly inside the bottom far corner.

Hammond said: “A good finish.  We were searching for the equaliser. We crossed the ball, they broke on us on the counter.  We were throwing numbers forward, a good finish by the lad.”

Bromley fought back from going a goal down to beat a relegation threatened Chesterfield 2-1 in Derbyshire last week but this performance was unacceptable for the travelling support of around 150.

Hammond said: “Even at 2-0 we felt we’d get back into it. We had two or three good chances but look, it’s one of those games and I think all of the momentum and the fortune was with them today,” said Hammond, who was asked how can his team go from beating Chesterfield in the National League and then losing to part-timers Dorking Wanderers, who wanted it more, a lot more than Bromley.

Hammond said:  “That’s football, that’s football.  I think maybe that’s the beauty of football.  We are down to the bare bones but hopefully we can get everybody, we’ve got a start of a fresh week and we go into a very busy Christmas period.”

Wood ventured into the final third on the hour-mark to float in a cross into the box but Cheek’s hooked shot from 12-yards took a deflection and was comfortably saved by Huk.

Wood put in another cross into the Dorking Wanderers box which was cracked on the volley by Rees at the far post but the ball took a deflection as it flew over the crossbar.

Halfway through the second-half Bromley had a chance to score from a free-kick from inside the D but Raymond stroked his left-footed shot over the crossbar.

Part-timers Dorking Wanderers were much more clinical in front of goal and they scored their third goal with 27 minutes and 37 seconds on the clock.

Substitute James McShane played Prior in and he cut into the box past the last defender before burying his low shot past Huddart in a one-on-one situation.

“Very good finish, very good finish,” said Hammond.

“We just need to re-group, this is our seventh loss of the season (in all competitions), it’s still a good record where we are halfway through the season. We’ve only lost seven, just re-group and look forward to Eastleigh.”

Holland played the ball out from the Bromley defence up to substitute midfielder Ollie Tanner, who played in Wood on an overlapping run but his left-footed drive from 25-yards sailed over.

Raymond committed a foul on the edge of the Bromley box and substitute Giuseppe Sole stung Huddart’s fingers with a right-footed free-kick form 25-yards, the keeper dropping the hot-potato before picking the ball up as it bounced.

Huk pulled off a great save to frustrate Bromley as the game drew to a close.

Raymond swung in a left-footed free-kick from the right, deep towards the far post. Holland knocked the ball back across goal for Cheek to score, only for the Dorking Wanderers keeper to make a superb reaction save.

Bromley return to National League action next Saturday when thirteenth-placed Eastleigh visit Hayes Lane, before a busy Christmas period.

Bromley travel to Dover Athletic (26 December) before hosting Dagenham & Redbridge (28 December), before hosting Dover Athletic at Hayes Lane on the first day of January, before they travel to Notts County on 4 January.

“We always come strong in the Christmas period so we just need to keep doing it, just keep them focused, keep them fresh, keep the boys happy and positive and just look forward to the Christmas period coming,” said Hammond.

“I think it gives us a chance for us to recover and get numbers.  I think where the squad is at the moment and we can just focus on Eastleigh, put the energy back into the league.  We’re looking for a positive response from today!

“Sometimes you might need these as lessons if you’re going to go on and be successful and achieve things.  You needed a game, you need lessons and it’s a test for everybody individually and a test for the squad.”

When asked what those lessons were, Hammond replied: “Hopefully how to prepare for Eastleigh and we need to show the fight and the spirit and the desire that Dorking had today and we’ll be fine.”

When asked if he had a message for the fans that witnessed this awful performance, Hammond said: “Thank you for coming! It wasn’t really an accurate representation of a Bromley 11 and they were there clapping and cheering us on last week when we were 1-0 down against Chesterfield and they acted like a 12^th man.  We need that again and we’re going to show that we will come back and fight for everything for a result against Eastleigh.”

Dorking Wanderers now enter the Second Round for the very first time and can expect to be drawn against anyone anywhere in the country.

“Good luck to Dorking and I wish them all the best. A great club, a great place, great people but wish them all the best,” added Hammond.

Dorking Wanderers: Slavomir Huk, Jimmy Muitt (Tom Richards 46), Niall McManus, Ed Harris, Sam Beard, Isaac Philpot, Jake Gallagher, Daniel Gallagher, Jack Barham (James McShane 69), Jason Prior (Giuseppe Sole 83), Luke Moore.
Subs: Jerome Beckles, Lewis Taylor

Goals: Jack Barham 33, Tom Richards 52, Jason Prior 73

Booked: Slavomir Huk 67, Jason Prior 73, Jake Gallagher 76

Bromley: Ryan Huddart, Luke Coulson, Sam Wood, Frankie Raymond (Jayden Onen 90), Joe Kizzi, Jack Holland, Josh Rees, Michael Klass (Ollie Tanner 74), Michael Cheek, Ben Williamson, Adam Mekki (Billy Bingham 46).
Subs: Alan Dunne, Tarek Najia

Booked: Michael Klass 35, Frankie Raymond 87

Attendance: 759
Referee: Mr Sam Allison
Assistants: Mr Craig Green & Mr Conall Bartlett
Fourth Official: Mr Callum Peter