WWW.BROMLEYFC.COM - MATCH REPORT
BROMLEY 1 HASTINGS UNITED 2 – LEAGUE 12/02/05
Once again referee Gary Johnson managed to be the centre of attention in a game he ‘officiated’ and virtually handed the game to Hastings with a series of awful decisions that left us with ten men and no goalkeeper for nearly an hour.
The game started with Hastings on top and making all the play. Andy Walker made some great saves and there were last ditch clearances as the Seasiders were camped in the Bromley box. Hastings had a goal disallowed for a foul on Walker, ironic given what followed later on. With their first attack Bromley took the lead on 15 mins. Drewett crossed low for Logan who took his chance well from 10 yards to make it 1-0. Logan had another effort well saved as Bromley came into the game a bit more. On 35 mins the main talking point of the game came when ref Johnson sent off Andy Walker after he had complained of being fouled at a corner. No one in the ground could believe the decision, but Danny Carroll quickly took the gloves and we managed to clear the corner. Just before the break we had a corner headed off the line, but the main focus was on the ridiculous red card as the players went off.
The second half started evenly. Johnson continued to miss the obvious and punish the innocuous, not seeing clear fouls on Logan and Amoako. The linesman then joined in on the farcical officiating by ruling an Amoako goal offside despite the ball being flicked on by a Hastings defender! Bromley dug in at the back and Carroll handled the ball well. Logan had a great game up front and was denied again by Brown from the edge of the box. As the ten man Ravens tired Hastings scrambled home an equaliser on 79 mins, the ball barely crossing the line, but it was spotted by the linesman. Now bordering on exhaustion Bromley were mistakenly ruled offside when trying to mount an attack and from the free kick Hastings made it 2-1, Rowland volleying home from distance on 85 mins. Watson was thrown on, but the ball didn’t fall kindly as the final attacks were launched and after a free kick was cleared by Hastings, they broke quickly. Luckily Henriques was on hand to clear the ball off the line in injury time. Despite the defeat Bromley were applauded from the pitch by the fans for their incredible efforts, ruined by Gary Johnson.
Quote for the game, ‘That’s a fucking foul ref!’ – Andy Walker
Team: Walker, Tiffin, Harding, Potterill, Henriques, Carroll, Drewett, Logan, Amoako, Curnow, Luckett.
Subs: Stradwick, Watson, Boosey, Labadie, M Kember.