Bromley 1-2 Cray Wanderers - I want to go on and win the London Senior Cup, says Ian Jenkins

BROMLEY  1-2  CRAY WANDERERS
London Senior Cup (Sponsored by Coventry Scaffolding) Fifth Round
Sunday 11^th December 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

CRAY WANDERERS manager Ian Jenkins says he takes no pleasure from inflicting more misery on landlords Bromley, who suffered their ninth defeat on the bounce in this London Senior Cup tie.

The Wands boss played six players (Andy Walker, Alex Bentley, Aaron Day, Tyrone Sterling, Chris Saunders and Danny Phillips) that defeated Bury Town 2-0 at Hayes Lane just 24 hours earlier, which puts them in sixth-place in the Ryman Premier League table with 34 points from 20 games, just one point adrift of fifth-placed Hendon.

Bromley, meanwhile, were humiliated by Dover Athletic at Crabble yesterday, as the coastal side found themselves 4-0 up after half-an-hour before target-man Hakeem Araba grabbed his eleventh goal of the season with a late consolation.

The Ravens are languishing in eighteenth place in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South table with 18 points from 19 games and today’s defeat ensures that their last win (away to Dartford in the Fourth Qualifying Round of The FA Cup on 29 October) is now a distant memory.

Jenkins said: “I thought it was quite an even first half to be honest with you, but second half performance we dug in and created some good chances and scored two good goals.”

Under-pressure Bromley boss, Mark Goldberg, took positives from his side’s first half performance.

He said: “Disappointed to be out of the Cup.  I thought the youngsters’ performed very well today without a doubt in the first half and we should’ve been three or four nil up.

“We were a little bit stretched in the second half.  The youngsters’ tired but they (Cray Wanderers) had two chances and they took those two chances and we probably eight or nine chances and we only took one.

“That was the story of the game, I think.  There’s no doubt that we played the football certainly in the first half so it’s so disappointing because we can’t stop this run of losses at the moment.

“At half-time I felt good.  I really did believe we would go on and win today.  That feeling of losing is a difficult one at the moment.  Very difficult to take but we’ve got to bounce back (at home to Dorchester Town) on Tuesday night and we’ve just got to stop this rot.”

With a side sprinkled with first team squad members and youngsters, Bromley were full value for their half-time lead as skipper Joe Dolan headed home his first goal of the season following a 29^th minute corner, but Cray Wanderers booked their place in the quarter-finals as strikers Michael Power and Lewis Perkins converted goals in the second half.

Bromley created the game’s first chance inside the opening three minutes when Ben Small stabbed a ball across the penalty area to Ibra Sekajja and the striker teed up a chance for Michael Jones, who was playing in his more natural position in central midfield, and the former Greenwich Borough player turned and cracked a left-footed shot over from 20-yards.

Cray Wanderers first chance swiftly followed when central defender Tony Dolby clipped a ball over the top for left-winger Sterling to latch on to but the versatile player chipped the ball over the advancing Paul Agu and just past the foot of the near post.

Jones was enjoying playing in the middle of the park and he played the ball inside for Orlando Smith, who stretched a right-footed drive past the right-hand post from 25-yards.

But both goalkeeper’s were called into action in the space of 42 seconds.

Cray Wanderers’ midfielder, Phillips, cut in from the right and swept a left-footed drive towards goal from 25-yards but Agu (who was starting his first game of the season) dived to his left to push the low shot around the post.

Bromley striker Sekajja, who is on loan from Crystal Palace, latched onto a ball over the top of the Cray defence but Walker advanced off his line to make the block.

Bromley went close when Rob Hughes floated the ball over Bentley’s head for Small down the right flank and he cut the ball back to Smith, who whipped in a cross towards the far post but Sekajja’s downward header from three-yards was blocked on the line by Danny Young.

Bromley took a deserved lead in the 29^th minute through Dolan’s far-post header.

Hughes swung in a corner from the right and the ball was flicked on by Taylor Parmenter (who is on loan from Queen’s Park Rangers) at the near post and the ball sailed across the face of goal and an unmarked Dolan powered a header into the roof of the net from one-yard.

Goldberg revealed: “That’s the first set-piece that we’ve scored from, I think, this season.”

Jenkins added: “It’s a very good corner. I thought they worked it well.  They’ve got a near post flick on it.  It’s hard to defend sometimes if their centre half’s got a run on your centre half or a centre forward marking him and he gets in front of you, you’ve got to score it.  I would’ve been happy scoring a goal like that!”

Sekajja’s pace saw him turn Dolby, who was left on his backside, but he swept a left-footed shot across Walker and past the far post from fifteen-yards.

Cray Wanderers almost levelled when Bentley swung in a corner from the right and the ball skidded off the Hayes Lane turf and landed at Power’s feet, but Dolan was in the right place at the right time to clear the ball off the line.

Bromley agonisingly hit the woodwork just before the break when Small’s flicked the ball to winger Smith, who whipped in an excellent cross from the left to pick out Sekajja at the far post, but his right-footed volley clipped the near post, but the landlords were full value for their half-time lead.

Cray Wanderers almost levelled when Bentley whipped in an in-swinging corner from the right which the flapping Agu was relieved to see bounce on the top of the Bromley crossbar.

But the Wands clawed themselves back into the game, levelling in the 56^th minute.

A stretching Perkins cracked a stunning left-footed volley in a central position from 45-yards, which sailed over Agu and agonisingly bounced off the crossbar and the ball fell kindly to Power, who steered the rebound past a stranded Bromley keeper into the bottom right hand corner.

Jenkins praised Perkins’ vision, saying, “A fantastic finish but a great strike from Perkins.  It’s the sort of player he is.  It’s all off-the-cuff, like most of them are off-the-cuff players.  We encourage that sort of play out there.  We’re not regimented.  If you see something and go for it, why not?”

Goldberg added: “It was a great strike and he’s a clever player and he’s finished well.   I think it’s fair to say it was against the run of play.  We were more dominant today than they were but they got the result.  They’re on a good run at the moment and we’re not and that’s what happens.”

Agu made a morale boosting save when he dived to his left to parry Phillips’ left-footed drive from 25-yards after the midfielder cut in from the right just before the hour-mark.

A fine move down the left hand side ensured Cray Wanderers gained the local bragging rights in the 67^th minute.

Bentley fed Sterling, who whipped in an excellent cross from the flank in between the two Bromley central defenders (Dolan and Parmenter) and Perkins cut across them both and powered a header across Agu (who dived to his left and stuck out an arm) and into the far corner.

Jenkins said: “Great goal!  Great move down the line.  Tyrone’s whipped in a great cross and he got on the end of it.  It was a great finish.  Lewis went right-back in the end.  It shows you what sort of player he is.”

Goldberg added: “It was a great cross, a great finish.  We should’ve never had allowed the cross.  Maybe it was a little bit too easy.  Maybe our centre halves should’ve dealt with it better?”

Bromley squandered a late chance to force extra time when substitute Dan Hughes threw the ball into the penalty area and Parmenter glanced his header straight at Walker from six-yards.

And at the other end, Phillips forced Agu into making a comfortable save low to his left.

Cray Wanderers, on paper, face crisis-club Croydon Athletic in the quarter-finals, but with the Surrey club’s future uncertain, the Wands could face one of Welling United, Kingstonian, Dulwich Hamlet, Erith & Belvedere or Haringey & Waltham Development away from home in the semi-finals.

And with a potential final against League Two side AFC Wimbledon up for grabs, Jenkins admits he is taking the London Senior Cup seriously this season.

He said: “We’ll take it serious because players’ need to play.  It’s good to be in a Cup competition.  We’re in the competition.  If we can get past Croydon Athletic, we’ll be favourites for that I should think.  When you get to this stage of the competition of course you want to win it and it’s the only one we’re in so it takes a little bit of pressure off the league games.”

Jenkins does not want to see Bromley endure a painful relegation at the end of the season and hopes Goldberg can turn things around.

He said: “I’m obviously gutted with the position that Bromley are in because I spoke to Mark before the game. I get on really well with Mark and I’m gutted to see where they are (in their league). They’ll be alright at the end of the day. 

“It’s always nice to beat anyone, but I’m not saying we wanted to put one over the landlords as they’ve been brilliant for us. 

“Would this club be around without them? I don’t think it would, so we owe them a massive, massive debt.”

All that Bromley’s got left to play for now is to secure their Conference South status at the end of the season.

Goldberg added: “It’s very much a young side that’s never played together so really there’s some positives out of today’s performance.”

Bromley: Paul Agu, Ryan Adams, Nathan Green, Michael Jones, Joe Dolan, Taylor Parmenter, Orlando Smith (Dan Hughes 75), Rob Hughes (Ben Lockett 85), Ben Small (Jordan Greaves 70), Ibra Sekajja, Aaron Rhule.
Subs: Eamon Gaughan, Tokumbo Akolade

Goal: Joe Dolan 29

Cray Wanderers: Andy Walker, Alex Bentley (Danny Husband 81), Tyrone Sterling, Aaron Day, Danny Young, Tony Dolby, Lewis Perkins, Chris Saunders, Michael Power, Danny Phillips, Rhema Obed (Tommy Whitnell 70).
Subs: Leigh Bremner, Jack Clark, Grant Hall

Goals: Michael Power 56, Lewis Perkins 67

Booked: Tony Dolby 90

Attendance: 118
Referee: Mr Russell Howes (Wood Green, London N22)
Assistants: Mr Hilary Achegenan (Clapham, London SW2) & Mr Andrew Okocha