Sub-edited by Carlos Acosta Juckes
Ninth placed Bromley make the trip the SportNation.bet stadium to face sixteenth placed Solihull Moors this evening. There may be seven places between them, but it is only the small margin of three points that separate the two sides. Even more impressive when you consider that Solihull have played four less games than Bromley, being one of the teams heavily affected by postponements this season.
If Bromley can bounce back from their midweek FA Cup loss to Yeovil with a win, then they will climb high up the table into third. Solihull also come from losing, suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sutton last week. It will take character for both sides to get back on form, but with both sides able to climb a lot of places in the table, the rewards for doing so are high.
Harry Buckett will be taking you through the action.
Starting Lineups:
KICK OFF The home side get us going. No supporters tonight, due to the area being in tier 3.
5′ Strong opening five minutes from the visitors. Bromley definitely look more in control of the game at the moment, they just need to find a way past the air tight defence of Solihull.
10′ First real opportunity of the game falls to Solihull. Adam Rooney finds the feet of Joe Sbarra and he looks to make some space in the box. He is surrounded by a sea of red shirts and his eventual shot is comfortably held by Mark Cousins.
12′ Adam Rooney spots an opportunity to attempt a bicycle kick just inside the area. It is on target, but it loops too high in the air before reaching the goal to be a real issue for Cousins.
15′ SAVE Michael Cheek makes a great run between the centre half’s and gets on the end of a lofted through ball. Ryan Boot does well to stand his ground and palm the ball away from his near post, after Cheek strikes from a tight angle.
21′ SAVE Reeco Hackett-Fairchild hits the ball on the half volley after the ball bounced perfectly for him. It’s a really clean and powerful strike from the Portsmouth loanee, but relatively straight at the keeper, allowing Boot to make the save.
26′ CHANCE Excellent move from Bromley. Chris Bush clips the ball towards the area and finds the chest of Cheek. The ball falls to Billy Bingham who plays a clever first time pass through to Ben Williamson, creating a one on one opportunity. Boot is quick off his line to close it down, getting something on the ball to force a corner. Bromley definitely the side more likely to score at the moment.
31′ Krystian Pearce jumps into a challenge, however Williamson gets lucky as the ball bounces back off his shin to give him the chance to continue his attack. He can’t quite capitalise as his shot across goal is stopped by the hands of Boot.
35′ Shouts of handball from the Bromley players as a corner appears to strike the arm of Darren Carter before being picked back up by the keeper. It’s a tough decision as his arms aren’t in an unnatural position, but he definitely gets an advantage from the ball hitting his arm. With how handballs are being given in the Premier League, you would have to say had the referee had a second look he probably would have pointed to the spot.
38′ INJURY Terrible news for Solihull as Rooney is down hurt. After just making his return from injury, he may have to be back on the side-lines for a bit longer. Perhaps he was put back in the team before he was ready.
45+1′ GOAL (SOL 0-1 BRM) It’s Cheek at the death of the first half. A well timed run across the back post allows Cheek to fire home after a drilled cross from Chris Bush set him up. Boot gets a strong hand on it but can only push it into the roof of the net. The first goal Solihull have conceded at home all season, and you can’t say they’ve done too much to defend that record this evening.
HALF TIME Solihull Moors 0-1 Bromley
Bromley comfortably lead the hosts at the break after a late goal from Cheek. Solihull have just really lacked creativity this evening. Nobody is making any runs, players aren’t pulling defenders out of position to create space, it’s all just a bit flat from the hosts. In complete contrast to that, Bromley have attacked well and completely picked them apart. They are creating chances and posing an a genuine threat. They earned their late goal and if the games goes the same way in the second period, they will probably get a few more.
46′ Bromley kick us off for the second half.
50′ Much better from Solihull so far. They’ve been piling the pressure on Bromley since the whistle and are putting together some decent passing combinations. Moors fans will definitely be more encouraged by what they have seen.
52′ YELLOW Krystian Pearce is shown the Yellow card after bundling over Cheek
56′ It hasn’t taken long for Solihull to fizzle back out again. Every time they look to counter, Bromley win the ball back so quickly and far too easily. A lot of simple passes going wayward and mistakes like these are giving Bromley a great chance to start a counter of their own.
59′ YELLOW Kyle Storer is booked after bringing down Hackett-Fairchild on the halfway line.
65′ A curling corner requires the fist of Couisns to punch it clear of any danger.
69′ YELLOW Bush is booked after a late challenge on Stephen Gleeson.
68′ SAVE Cousins is almost caught out as Jamie Ward’s strike from distance takes a deflection off the back of Cameron Archer. He is able to get back across goal and catch the effort. Ward has brought a bit of life to the game since he has come back on, something this second half has desperately needed.
78′ It’s turning into quite a frustrating game to watch now. Solihull still struggling to hold onto the ball when pressing forward and Bromley also haven’t been as good offensively as they were in the first half. The highlight show’s editors won’t be taking too long over this one that’s for sure.
83′ Hackett-Fairchild almost squeezes a goal in straight from a corner. His effort curled just inside the near post and Boot had to react quickly to get across and punch it wide.
86′ The referee waves away calls for a penalty again, however this time it’s the Solihull players calling for it. It comes after Ward goes to ground after a small push from Bush. The referee has definitely made the right call there, with Bush making very little contact with Ward.
87′ A cross is flicked on into the box and bounces in front of Callum Maycock. He can’t quite stretch his leg out enough to make good contact with the ball and it rolls slowly into the arms of Cousins.
90′ There will be five minutes of added time.
90+3′ SAVE Joe Kizzi makes his way into the box and sets up James Alabi for the strike. Ryan Boot blocks the effort, a crucial save if Solihull are to grab a late equaliser,
90+5′ A free kick in a great area is driven straight into the Bromley wall by Ward. Possibly their last chance wasted late on.
FULL TIME Solihull Moors 0-1 Bromley
Cheek’s first half goal is enough to take home the full three points for Bromley, as Solihull struggled to capitalise on late opportunities. A half sparse of quality, dominated by the strong performance of Hackett-Fairchild. He looked by far the strongest player, one of the few that kept up the same quality in both halves.
With that win Bromley climb into third position, whereas Solihull stay lower down the table in sixteenth. Solihull will really want to get back on track, but won’t have too long to prepare. They will host Halifax town on Tuesday night. Bromley’s next game in the National league will be away to second in the league Sutton United. A big game for both sides, being right next to each other in the league table.
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