Thur 8th May: Division 1 West
Bromleians Sports 2
D.Dill
S.Shippey
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Sutton Athletic 2
L.Johnson
N.May
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Bromleians finished off season 07/08 with two home draws.
With the early summers evening kick off, Bromleians were clearly struggling to make the full eleven players with even manager Ben Kotey donning the blue shirt.
Bromleians were dealt an early blow on 10 minutes when Assistant manager Pat Gordon pulled a hamstring with no subs to come on at that time.
The way in which it happened infuriated the Bromleians players.
A chipped through ball by Steve McKenzie was latched onto by Gordon who tried to chip the ball past the onrushing Sutton goalkeeper, who blatantly punched the ball away well outside the box and in doing so took out Gordon who couldn't continue. A clear goalscoring opportunity was denied with the referee not even showing any signs of reaching for his pocket. Strangely a free kick was awarded by with no further action?
Bromleians played the majority of the first half with only 10 men, whilst Sutton rarely threatened.
HT 0-0
The second half started in a more upbeat mood, with Bromleians able to replace Gordon & Kotey with the late arrivals of Dills & Adoo.
They took the lead on 55 minutes when a mix up in the Sutton defence allowed striker Steve Shippey to slot the ball home from the six yard area for his ninth goal in ten starts.
Sutton replied almost immediately when a corner wasn't dealt with by the Bromleians make shift back four and the big centre half bundled the ball home.
Sutton wasted no time in going 2-1 up when comical defending allowed the number 9 to embarrassingly score after failing to control the ball three times but still found space to slot home.
Bromleians to their credit kept going on hot summers evening and were rewarded on 82 minutes when their left back swung in a good free kick and substitute Dills headed the ball home in off the cross bar.
Sutton hit the bar from a short corner in the closing stages, and Shippey pulled a late shot wide as both teams went for a winner, but the draw in all honesty was probably about the right result.
Sutton finish the season in 8th, Bromleians in 7th and both teams will no doubt be looking to improve next season on their mid table finishes this time around.
Alex Turnball - Independent |
