HORSHAM 1 BROMLEY 2 – LEAGUE 09/12/03

Thick fog hung over Queen Street as we arrived at the ground and the game looked in doubt, especially as only 9 Bromley players had made it through by car with half an hour to kick off, but the fog lifted enough for the game to start and we had a full squad of players in attendance by kick off.

The Myatt and Dolke led side got off to a very bright start and were on top for most of the first 30 mins. Danny Smith had a close range effort well saved by Burton and we had a penalty appeal turned down when Bobby George appeared to have been pulled down in the box, but Horsham did look dangerous on the break and eventually we paid for not taking our chances. McKoy lost the ball in the midfield and a quick break saw the ball played through to Davis who beat Harwood from the edge of the box 1-0. Bromley’s confidence was shaken and we were lucky not to go in any further down at the break as we gave the ball away far too freely and were second to most challenges. Referee Knight booked Amoako for a foul after letting several bad Horsham challenges go unpunished, which summed his performance up.

The second half saw Horsham dominate for most of it. At times they played us of the park and we looked in real trouble, but the introduction of Wade Falana and a move to a 3-4-3 formation saw us have a storming last 15 mins. On 78mins a high looping cross by Potterill looked to be heading out of play and keeper Burton left it to go over, but it swerved in the fog and skimmed along the icy crossbar before dropping to Amoako who volleyed in from 2 yards out - 1-1! The momentum changed from that point and the belief returned to the Ravens. Falana crashed into Hardy and a mass brawl erupted as Hardy got up and struck Wade. The ref booked both men and Hardy had top go off injured. Wade hobbled off too, but not before on 87 mins he and Reid combined to send a bouncing through ball towards Burton. He hesitated and Amoako pounced to flick the ball over him and into the net for a very unlikely Bromley winner - 1-2! Reid had another good break just before the end, but chose to run the ball into the corner, which we nearly paid for when Horsham broke from the free kick awarded for obstruction. With the fog lifting over the ground the referee signalled the end of the game to a huge cheer from the away end.

Quote for the game: ‘We’ve had more shots in the first 20 mins, than we have in the last 2 months!’

Team: Harwood, Potterill, Willy, Butler, Luckett, Smith, McKoy, George, Amoako, Wilfort, Harney.

Subs: Hunt, Falana, Reid, P Vines, Kember.