Battling Bromley claim FA Cup prize

A hard fought victory over neighbours Dartford has given Bromley the chance of a money-spinning first round FA Cup tie. Gareth Williams Pinpoint free kick earned the Lilywhites their place in Sunday’s first round draw, the third time they have reached the first round in five seasons. Hakeen Araba’s well taken penalty had given the visitors a 28^th minute lead, before Jack Pallen snatched an equaliser for the Darts just three minutes later. But Williams’ superb strike just past the hour was enough as Mark Goldberg’s men resiliently held out and resisted Dartford’s attacking threat to send 350 Bromley supporters home happy and eagerly anticipating Sunday’s draw.
      
With well over 1500 fans packed inside Princes Park, the drama of the FA Cup had clearly had its desired effect, as the atmospheric surroundings conveyed a hostile environment. The anxiety and tension had clearly filtered down onto the pitch, as for the first twenty minutes neither side could wrestle control as both defences stood firm. With five bookings already dished out by referee Matthew Buonassisi you got the impression that an ill-timed tackle could result in the spark that the game desperately needed. Lee Burns, already booked, was the man to ignite a drab affair by clumsily tripping Williams in the penalty area leaving the referee with no option but to award Bromley a penalty. With the away support baying for a red card the Dartford defender was lucky to remain on the pitch. Bromley’s lone front man, Araba coolly tucked away the penalty to break the deadlock and give the visitors a much needed breakthrough. This seemed to settle the Lilywhites as they began to dictate against an aggrieved Dartford side. However from a Bromley corner, Dartford muscled an equaliser after a quick breakaway saw Danny Harris’ shot parried by Bromley goalkeeper Tom Forecast straight into the path of Pallen who levelled for the hosts with an accurate left footed finish. An exhilarating end to a cagey first half had provided us with no answer as to who would strive into the first round of English Football’s most prominent competition.

Neither side were able to fully obtain control during the first period, in comparison to the beginning of the first half, the second half began in a similar fashion with both teams unable to pose any attacking threat. With just over an hour played it was Dartford’s opportunity to stamp their authority on proceedings. Aaron Rhule’s needless trip on Ryan Hayes led to the referee pointing to the spot for the second time in the match. With Rhule still in disbelief, Hayes struck the post with his spot kick sparing the blushes of the Bromley midfielder. With Dartford squandering their best chance of taking the lead, Bromley began to press looking to restore their advantage. Liam Harwood’s downward header agonisingly drifted wide of the far post, leaving both sets of supporters predicting a replay. A piece of individual brilliance was required in order to settle the match over 90 minutes. With fourteen minutes remaining Williams provided the match’s moment of brilliance he stepped up and effortlessly curled a free kick into the corner of the net to send the travelling support into raptures. A replay was no longer on the visitor’s agenda, as Dartford began to lay siege to the Bromley goal. Forecast’s excellent save to deny Tom Bonner in injury time was the perfect end to a near perfect day for the Lilywhites.

Darts and Lilywhites prepare for Cup clash

The fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup takes centre stage this weekend and in true FA Cup fashion the draw has thrown up a cracking-looking encounter between Dartford and Bromley. The two sides met earlier in the season with the Darts claiming the three league points running out 3-1 winners, including a goal from Charlie Sheringham who joined Bournemouth last week. In the lead up to Saturday, Bromley manager Mark Goldberg insists his side are out to avenge that defeat.  “We owe Dartford a response, We owe our fans certainly a response following the last couple of occasions but I thought when we lost 3-1 with fifteen minutes to go we were very much in the game so hopefully we’ve added since the last game at Dartford and we feel we’re going there stronger than before.” Goldberg also commented on the importance of his side regaining confidence, lost after an indifferent start to the Lilywhites league campaign. “As much as it’s a really important game, being The FA Cup, it’s just as important for us to get our confidence back because as a young side confidence is everything.” Bromley’s unconvincing start has seen them slip into the bottom half of the Blue Square Bet South table, but the FA Cup will come as a welcome distraction for the Lilywhites, as they look to reach the first round for the second time in three years.

On the other hand, the Darts successes in the league have coincided with their run in the FA Cup. Dartford currently sit third in the table, and despite losing the services of their top scorer, they confidently swept past Thurrock on Tuesday to record their ninth league win of the season. However Darts boss Tony Burman is content with keeping the two competition distance from one another. Burman said, “There’s no pressure, if you like, for getting points because it’s a Cup game and it is The FA Cup and everyone wants to go as far as we can. We got through to the First Round last year and we enjoyed every minute of it.” Last year’s run in the FA Cup saw Dartford claim a replay against League Two side Port Vale, and without a last minute equaliser they would have conquered their Football league opponents. Despite losing the replay 4-0, there is great belief around Princes Park that this term the Darts can maybe reach round three equalling their best ever performance in English Football’s most prestigious  competition.

It’s bubbling up quite nicely ahead of Saturday’s showdown, the prize on offer is appetizing and both sides are ready to perform in front of an expected crowd of up to 2000.

TV Star Signs for Thurrock

Mark Wright, star of the popular hit TV series The Only Way is Essex, has signed for Blue Square bet South strugglers Thurrock. The former Tottenham and Southend trainee joins the club after a brief spell at Ryman division One North side Heybridge Swifts. Wright known for his flamboyance and lavishness on screen will be thrown straight into the squad for Thurrock’s game against high-flying Dartford tonight.

The Fleet’s recent plight has seen them slip into the Blue Square bet South relegation places, but Wright’s arrival will certainly see more fan’s flooding through the gates. With just two wins from their opening thirteen league games there are dark clouds circling over Ship Lane, however recent activity off the pitch will brighten up what has been a difficult start for the Fleet. Wright is joined by ex Kidderminster and Southend forward Drewe Broughton to bluster a depleted-looking Thurrock squad. 

Wings slip to defeat at Eastleigh

Relegation threatened Eastleigh swept aside Promotion hopefuls Welling United on an eventful afternoon in Hampshire. The hosts were dominant throughout and without the intervention of Wings Goalkeeper Dan Thomas the score line could have been even more damaging. Having scored just 9 times in 12 league games the Spitfires were undoubtedly the underdogs going into the game but it didn’t seem to effect Eastleigh as they made light work of ten man Welling. With half an hour gone the hosts grabbed the lead thanks to a superb strike from Michael Green. The on loan Port Vale midfielder fired an exquisite low shot passed Thomas to give the home side the advantage, after Jamie Slabber’s original free kick had been blocked. This seemed to galvanize the hosts as they pushed for a second; Sam Wilson firing just wide after a long throw had not been cleared. With Jamie Day desperate to round his troops during the half time interval, Eastleigh were beginning to show signs of a revival to what has been a poor start to their season.

In comparison to the first half it was the hosts who began the second half the stronger, Wings central defender Jack Parkinson made an important challenge to deny the impressive Wilson who continually tormented a disjointed-looking Welling back four. Arguably the dismissal of Joe Healy killed off any chance of Welling mounting a comeback. Healy, who was already cautioned during the first period, was given his marching orders after the referee adjudged the Wings Striker of simulation after diving to try and win a penalty. Inexcusably, the Wings were given the impetus to push for an equaliser as Eastleigh began to sit back and defend their slender advantage. Luis Cumbers was denied by Gareth Barfoot as Welling began to dictate against the eleven men. However, the game was finally put out of reach as Eastleigh seized upon Welling’s vulnerability at the back to score twice in the final ten minutes. Richard Gillespie fired unerringly past Thomas to settle any nerves around the Silverlake Stadium, and then, to add insult to injury, Graeme Montgomery skipped his way through the Welling defence to increase the lead and put the result beyond question.

Despite the heavy defeat, Welling remain second in the Blue Square bet South table, but the day belonged to Eastleigh, could this result prove to be the turning point in their season? For now at least, the Spitfires climb up to seventeenth after recording their fourth league win of the campaign.        

Fan travels from Italy to watch Ebbsfleet

You may not associate Blue Square Bet Premier side Ebbsfleet United as being the most glamorous or attractive football club around Europe, but for one fan travelling to Stonebridge Road from his home in Turin is better than watching his native AC Milan. After tossing his Milan season ticket to one side, Gianfranco Giordano, a policeman back home, hopes to make the 1,000 mile round trip to most home games to support the Fleet. His reasoning for his unquestionable commitment is the love of watching 'real footballers'. Giordano said: “I like the players, the little clubs, because they are men, they are football players not superstars.” His journey begins by flying into Stansted from Turin, he then takes a coach into central London and catches a train to Ebbsfleet station.
 
With the Fleet’s recent successes on the pitch Gianfranco has a lot to tell his friends back in Italy, but there is still one person that Gianfranco, like most football fans, can never win over - and that is his wife, who can’t understand the importance of watching football anyway, let alone over 500 miles away.

Sheringham not a Cherrie yet

Dartford Manager Tony Burman has announced today that Striker Charlie Sheringham’s proposed move to Bournemouth is not yet complete. The Darts accepted an undisclosed offer from the Cherrie’s on Saturday and after talks between Sheringham and Bournemouth, the move was thought to have been confirmed by today. Burman said, “There are one or two issues at the Bournemouth end, he hasn't signed for them yet.” The striker, who has scored 12 times already this term, has been attracting attention from quite a few Football League clubs and Burman insists that the club would not be under the obligation to stop the move from taking place. “We don't want to stand in anyone's way of becoming a professional footballer.” The son of the former England and Manchester United star Teddy Sheringham, has had previous spells at Millwall, Ipswich, Tottenham and Crystal Palace, but has never made a Football League appearance.

Sheringham is just another name to add to the tremendous amount of talent that have engineered a move into the Football League from Dartford, following the likes of Dave Martin, currently on loan at Walsall and Cody McDonald, now applying his trade at Coventry City. Burman believes that Sheringham can follow in the footsteps of Martin and McDonald and become a success in League One if the deal goes through. “He can do a job in League One, he's been with 'pro' clubs but he's maturing. He takes a lot of criticism because of who his father is but he handles that so well. He's been excellent since Christmas onwards.” So whilst Bournemouth continue working on negotiations Sheringham remains a Dart, for now at least.    

The magic of the Cup returns

We are still only in October, but amidst the importance of sustaining a decent start to their league campaigns, Margate and Bromley found the time to throw up an FA Cup cracker to delight a crowd of 500 at Margate’s Hartsdown Park. With Wembley still over 10 rounds away, Margate began the brightest and shocked their Blue Square bet South counterparts by taking a lead inside the first minute. Gates top marksman Kewsi Appiah gave the Ryman premier side the perfect start, adding to his five goals in the previous round in the replay win over Thamesmead Town. The shell-shocked Lilywhites were unable to resist the constant threat of the powerful Appiah, and with 20 minutes on the clock the striker added his second from a corner to double the host’s advantage. Joy soon turned to apprehension for the Margate supporter’s as the impressive Appiah was withdrawn after picking up an injury soon after doubling his tally. Could the ill-timed injury be the turning point for Bromley?

 Judging on first half viewing, you could be forgiven for not knowing which side where in the higher division. Bromley manager Mark Goldberg reacted swiftly to his side’s dismal first half performance by bringing on Warren McBean to give his side a much needed attacking threat. With just over 20 minutes remaining, McBean granted his manager’s wish by pulling a goal back to set up a grandstand finish. The striker was given too much time before slotting a right foot shot passed Simon Overland. With questions still being asked in the Margate defence, McBean grabbed a second from a superb right wing cross by Marlon Patterson, to turn the game on its head. Within the space of 90 seconds, Bromley had escaped from the jaws of defeat and were now the team in the ascendancy. The predictable third goal arrived for the Lilywhite’s in controversial fashion. Former Bromley defender, Mark Corneille was deemed to have fouled Aaron Rhule inside the penalty area, but the initial contact appeared to be outside. Nonetheless, the referee awarded the penalty and Danny Waldren stepped up and confidently sent Bromley through to the next round.

The harsh reality of the FA Cup had left its mark on proceedings; Margate will feel mightily aggrieved that they will not be included in the Fourth qualifying round draw. Gate boss Chris Kinnear was rightly disappointed but praised his side’s first half display. “The way we played first half, I thought we absolutely run them ragged, we played some good stuff. We’ve let in a stupid first goal and their heads went up and they had nothing to lose.” Kinnear also expressed his displeasure at not being awarded a penalty soon after conceding one. “I can’t tell you whether it was or not and then we get a chance up the other end for a penalty and it’s not given.” There may be no Football league clubs in the FA Cup yet, but once again the FA Cup had whetted our appetites for more as the competition progress one step further.     

Darlington defeat leaves Hamann deflated

Stockport County boss Dietmar Hamann could not hide his disappointment at his side’s 4-3 defeat to Darlington on Tuesday evening. The former Liverpool midfielder insists his side must improve upon their poor start to life in the Blue Square bet premier. “I'm sick of saying after games that we should have won or could have won. That's probably the most deflated I've felt after a game. Obviously I need to think about it but it's clear we need to make changes.”

The Hatters have recorded just 2 wins from their opening 15 league matches and find themselves just 3 points above the relegation places. Hamann included, “If people didn't know before that we were in for a tough season, I'm sure they do by now.” These strong words from a notoriously, calm dictator of midfield are sure to send alarm bells ringing round Edgeley Park, as the pre-season, promotion hopefuls continue to find life challenging outside of the Football league. Hamann added, “We’ve got to see how people react to adversity. We're in a tough situation but we've got to roll our sleeves up."

Stockport travel to league leader's Wrexham on Saturday looking for their first away victory of the campaign. With a third of the season almost complete, County must begin to turn around their dismal start if they are to have a say on promotion come April.

Imps Sack Tilson after poor Start

Blue Square bet premier outfit Lincoln City have parted company with their Manager Steve Tilson after a poor start to the season. The Imps currently sit 19^th in the Blue Square bet premier table with just 3 wins from their first 14 games. Tilson, along with assistant Paul Brush, have been relieved of their duties after just under a year at the helm. The year consists of a poor run at the back end of last season where Lincoln collected just 2 points from their remaining 11 games and subsequently, where relegated down to the forth tier of the English game for the first time in 24 years. The disappointment of relegation seemed to be a hindering factor to Lincoln’s slow start to this campaign and a 4-0 defeat to Tamworth was the final straw for the board. The heavy defeat to Tamworth had sparked several stories linking Tilson with the sack, but the former Southend United boss seemed unaware of the imminent decision. Tilson said, "That's the nature of the game. If the chairman decides that the results aren't good enough and decides he's got to get rid of me then that's fair enough.” Tilson also added, "I haven't got a clue how much time I've got. All we can do is try to win as many games as we can."

Lincoln City’s next assignment is their home encounter with newly promoted Alfreton Town, head of youth Grant Brown has taken over the reigns as caretaker manager until a permanent successor is found. In the mean time, Lincoln remain just a solitary point above the relegation zone and the managerial unrest has left a sour taste in the mouths of the much fancied promotion hopefuls.  

Wrexham return to the top after impressive away win

Managerless Wrexham have returned to top spot in the Blue Square bet premier after an impressive 2-0 victory over Hayes & Yeading. The Dragon’s were largely dominant throughout the match but had to wait until 10 minutes into the second half before they were able to breach a stubborn ‘home’ defence. A Jamie Tolley corner lead to panic in the Hayes & Yeading ranks and Nathaniel Knight-Percival was on hand to scramble in his first goal of the season. The breakthrough had disheartened the hosts as Wrexham quickly doubled their advantage thanks to Mathias Pogba 3^rd league goal of the campaign. There was no sign of Wrexham settling for their two goal advantage, without some fine interventions from Hayes’ on loan goalkeeper Steve Arnold, the lead could have been extended further as Arnold firstly denied Tolley and then Jake Speight in the dying embers of the match.

Once the first goal had arrived the victory was never in doubt for Wrexham, as they look to continue their push back into the Football League. The victory lifts the Dragon’s back above Gateshead, who had briefly taken top spot thanks to a 1-0 victory over struggling Ebbsfleet, and caretaker Manager Andy Morrell praised his side’s attitude as they picked up their third away win in a row. “It’s difficult, I had to leave lad’s out that would want to have been playing and they have come on and had tremendous attitude.” Morrell also seemed pleased to maintain his successes whilst in temporary charge and in the meantime enhance his chances of the job permanently. He said, “I wanted to keep the ball rolling, and I believe that I have done that and maybe a little bit more.”

After a tough run of three games in eight days, Wrexham’s next encounter is at home to Stockport next Saturday where they will look to continue their impressive start to the season.  

England qualify despite draw

It seems admit the dramas of a certain "Talismanic" striker, England's impressive qualifying campaign has gone some what unnoticed. Despite Wayne Rooney's petulant behaviour midway through the second half, England booked their ticket to the 2012 European Championships with a very impressive first half display.

In the hostile surrounding's of Montenegro's capital of Podgorica, England took control of proceeding's with two goals in the first 30 minutes. Firstly, Theo Walcott's swinging cross from the right hand side was nodded home by the ever-impressing Ashley Young to give the Three Lions the perfect start after only 11 minutes. The Manchester United winger's ruthlessness in front of goal could have landed him a second, but he unselfishly rolled the ball across to his former Aston Villa team mate Darren Bent who slotted in England's second. With England relaxed and in total command, Fabio Capello looked completely the opposite as he continued to vent his frustration at some slack passing gifting possesion to Montenegro, who were growing in confidence after looking powerless for the first 40 minutes. With half time approaching, Montenegro gave themselves a route back into the match with a deflected Zverotic strike which bounced out of the reaches of Joe Hart. Within a moment the hostility had returned and from a comfortable position, the half time whistle now would not come quickly enough for England.

The impetus was now firmly with the home side as they pressed for an equaliser that would see them book a place in the European Championship playoffs. Capello looked to regain England's midfield superiority, Lampard's arrival coincided with Capello's thought as the Chelsea midfielder replaced Darren Bent and with the Excellent Young departing through injury to be replaced by Stewart Downing, England began to steady the ship. With less than twenty minutes to play Rooney took centre stage for all the wrong reasons. A vicious swipe at Dzudovic, left the referee with no option but to send the Manchester United striker off. One shocking twist then led to a complete nightmare as Montenegro, buoyed by Rooney's flash point, grabbed an unlikely equaliser thanks to Andrija Delibasic's header from a superb cross by Dzudovic.

The celebrations at the end of the game summed up what was a compelling but victorious night for both nations. Montenegro are now sure of a place in the playoffs, whereas England have safely negotiated their way to Poland and Ukraine. Celebrations seemed muted at full time, but one moment of petulance from Rooney has left England with plenty to ponder ahead of next summer.