Bromley 3-2 Crystal Palace - Our play was the cream on the top, says Bromley boss Mark Goldberg

BROMLEY  3-2  CRYSTAL PALACE
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 5^th August 2014
Stephen McCartney reports from Hayes Lane

BROMLEY manager Mark Goldberg says he has question marks hanging over his starting eleven for Saturday’s Vanarama Conference South opener at Havant & Waterlooville.

Bromley, who train two nights a week, put in a scintillating first half performance where they totally outclassed the under 21 side of their Premier League neighbours Crystal Palace in front of 1,179 impressed fans at Hayes Lane.

The Ravens won the game 3-2, but it should have been a lot more! 

The Eagles’ two goals came in a flattering final thirteen minutes through substitute Ghassimu Sow and a penalty from winger Sullay Kaikai after Bromley ripped them apart.

Bromley stunned their full-time professionals with an early headed goal from winger Harry Grant, 20, and went on to dominate a one-sided first half.

Former Dover Athletic striker Moses Ademola, 24, scored a beautiful curler just 112 seconds into the second-half before Pierre Joseph-Dubois, 26, came off the bench and scored with his first touch.

“I was very pleased with our performance and I think it’s fair to say that we looked like men out there although it was an under 21 (Crystal Palace) squad, it was still a young squad,” said Goldberg.

“We were very well organised and we continued the good work throughout pre-season.

“It’s so pleasing to see all the players are taking on board the defensive shape we’ve been working on so well.  For me that was so pleasing but the fact that we created so many opportunities of our own through good movement and intelligent play was like the cream on the top.

“We set ourselves out to make sure we were very tight defensively and we didn’t allow them to pop the ball through the middle.

“I think it’s fair to say they didn’t really cause us too many problems in that first half at all and yet we still created some great goalscoring opportunities of our own so first half was a pretty perfect performance.”

This was Goldberg’s side’s ninth warm-up game to the new Vanarama Conference South campaign and expectations are sky high after the club finished in third-place last season and have brought in quality players during the summer.

Bromley were awarded an indirect free-kick inside the Crystal Palace penalty area after goalkeeper Chris Kettings picked up a back-pass, but Ali Fuseini teed up Reece Presedge, who drilled his shot into the wall.

But Bromley opened the scoring inside the opening nine minutes.

Prestedge swung in a corner from the right towards the far post where Grant ghosted in to plant his downward header into the bottom near corner from inside the six-yard box.

Goldberg said: “I think our set-pieces seem to be coming together now. We whipped the ball in, I think we caught them off guard a little bit and Harry just had to score at home!”

It was Bromley that played the kind of football that you’d associate a young side from a Premier League club should perform and Crystal Palace had no answer to it!

Bromley winger Louis Dennis picked the ball up on the edge of his penalty area and ran half the length of the field before floating over a cross towards Ademola, whose left-footed angled drive brought a smart near post block from Kettings.

Grant swung in a left-footed corner from the left and skipper Rob Swaine came up from the back to plant his header narrowly over the crossbar from eight-yards.

Good link-up play involving striker Jamie Slabber and Fuseini set up another chance for Ademola, but his right-footed drive from 15-yards forced Kettings to make a smart low save to his right.

Ademola then penetrated a terrified Crystal Palace defensive line before drilling another right-footed angled drive straight at Kettings from 25-yards.

Slabber played the ball into Ademola down the left and he whipped in a cross towards the near post where Dennis made space for himself to send his header wide from ten-yards.

Shell-shocked and totally outplayed Crystal Palace created a chance after 27 minutes.

Hiram Boateng played a sublime 60-yard diagonal pass which picked out Kaikai, who played the ball inside to Reise Allassani, whose shot was deflected past the near post.

Bromley squandered another decent goalscoring opportunity when Adam Bailey-Dennis played the ball out of defence and Ademola swept the ball out to Grant down the left and Ademola held his head in his hands after stabbing his shot wide at the near post.

But Crystal Palace should have grabbed an equaliser on the half-hour mark.

Jake Gray broke into Bromley’s half of the field before playing the ball to Kaikai and space opened up in front of the winger, who stroked his right-footed drive just past the foot of the right-hand post from 22-yards.

A throw from Bromley right-back Ugo Udoji found Grant in acres of space and his left-footed drive from 25-yards forced Kettings to dive to his left to make a smart save.

The impressive Prestedge saw him move the ball into Grant, who hooked his left-footed shot looping over the Palace crossbar from 25-yards.

Midfielder Prestedge played the ball into Ademola, who drilled a right-footed shot narrowly over the crossbar from 25-yards, the diving keeper relieved not to see the net bulge.

Fuseini, who was bossing the middle of the park, clipped the ball forward and the lively Ademola unleashed a right-footed shot on the turn, which deflected over the Crystal Palace crossbar.

And from Prestedge’s resulting corner from the right, the ball was headed away at the far post and Fuseini floated the ball back into the penalty area and Bailey-Dennis headed wide from six-yards.

Reflecting on a great first half, Goldberg said: “I think we controlled possession but most importantly we stopped them from playing.

“Whenever they started to move the ball around they had two or three Bromley players closing them down together as a unit and that was just so pleasing that we’re winning the ball from their possession.

“When we broke we broke away and we broke with some good passing movement and some good movement on the ball and we always looked dangerous and created some good goalscoring opportunities.”

You just didn’t want the first half to end, such as Bromley’s beautiful first half performance.

Goldberg said: “It was very difficult for me. I want to praise them so much but at the same time I didn’t want them to get complacent and drop their standards so the focus first of all ‘we’ll done, you’re doing exactly what we’re asking of you, but at the same time let’s not lose our discipline’ and I thought second half we still went out pretty strong.”

Bromley doubled their lead with a beautiful goal from Ademola, who takes his pre-season goalscoring tally to three goals since his move from promoted Dover Athletic.

Receiving the ball from Joe Anderson’s throw-in, Ademola cut inside and curled a right-footed peach around Kettings to find the far corner from 25-yards.

Goldberg said: “Beautiful goal. Moses has been threatening to do it. It’s taken him a little while to settle in but what a good time for him to come up with very good performances in the last two games.”

Bromley goalkeeper Seb Brown was called into action in the 52^nd minute when he reacted superbly to save with an outstretched right arm to prevent a near post header floating into the top corner from an unknown, yet pacey, substitute.

A lay-off from former Millwall midfielder Fuseini set up Dennis, who drilled a right-footed shot into Ketting’s arms from 25-yards.

Fuseini clipped the ball down the right wing and Ademola brought the ball down under his spell with some excellent technique before he played the ball inside to Prestedge, who set up Dennis, who couldn’t apply the finish the move deserved, hitting his left-footed drive over the bar from 25-yards.

Goldberg made four substitutions around the hour mark and one of them wrapped up Bromley’s goalscoring in the 63^rd minute.

Prestedge swung in a corner from the right and Joseph-Dubois – who netted 20 goals last season – scored with his first touch, a stooping header, which bounced over the line.

Goldberg said: “Pierre has a habit of being in the right place at the right time.  That experience and that quality, you can’t buy that quality.  You either have it and we’re very lucky that Pierre’s there for us and showing that sort of commitment every year with us and let’s hope that this year can be a year where he scores a number of goals from midfield.”

Crystal Palace came more into the game in the final 25 minutes and Kaikai swung in a free-kick from the left which was glanced wide by central defender Michael Chambers at the near post.

Goldberg said: “The second half because a little bit open. I think the last twenty minutes, it became extremely open and it went from one end to another but I didn’t really see them too much of a threat until we had to make some changes to save some legs.”

Joseph-Dubois almost scored with a second header at the other end but his effort was straight at Kettings following Dennis’ free-kick.

Crystal Palace scored a wonderful goal with thirteen minutes remaining, which at the time looked to be a consolation.

Left-back Luke Croll rolled the ball inside to substitute Ghassimu Sow, who got all his power behind his shot, drilling a right-footed screamer curling into the top far corner from 30-yards.

Goldberg said: “I think we didn’t close him down as well as we should have done to be honest. We’ve just made a substitution, the back four was a little bit unsettled, our shape wasn’t quite as good and we didn’t really close him down and they put it in the only place they could put it, which was just over the fingertips of our goalkeeper and just clipping the underside of the crossbar.

“I don’t think our goalkeeper really could have done much more than he’s done.  A little bit disappointed the way that we conceded that.”

Former Gillingham striker Adam Birchall was to be denied his second goal for Bromley in the last ten minutes.

The move involved substitute Tommy Degiorgio and Prestedge and Birchall stroked his right-footed shot against the near post and Kettings caught the rebound from Joseph-Dubois.

Outclassed Crystal Palace, meanwhile, scored a flattering second goal in the final five minutes.

Rob Swaine was penalised by referee Constantine Hatzidakis for fouling Kaikai, who clinically found the bottom right-hand corner from the resulting right-footed penalty to give the scoreline a much more closer feel to it.

Goldberg added: “I think a bit unlike Rob to dive in like that. He had an excellent game Rob Swaine. He was a leading example today as a captain but a foolish decision by him to dive in.

“At the same time I’d rather get all of those out of our system in pre-season, rather than Saturday against Havant.”

Bromley travel down to Hampshire to tackle Havant & Waterlooville, who finished in the top six last season, level on 69 points with fifth-placed Dover Athletic, who defeated Sutton United and Ebbsfleet United in the play-offs to clinch promotion alongside champions Eastleigh.

“I had my idea of what the starting line-up was going to be but I really don’t know at this moment in time,” admitted Goldberg.

“I really need to digest it and see who deserves to be starting on Saturday because they all do, but I’ve got more question marks now then I had before in terms of what my best team will be to face Havant.”

Goldberg’s history as the chairman at Selhurst Park is well-documented and the Bromley manager was pleased to be able to play against the team he supports.

“It always means a lot to me. I’m really grateful to Crystal Palace for coming and bringing a team, a great crowd and obviously means so much more because of my history at Crystal Palace.”

Bromley: Seb Brown, Ugo Udoji (CJ Williams 61), Joe Anderson (Tommy Degiorgio 80), Ali Fuseini, Rob Swaine, Adam Bailey-Dennis (Danny Waldren 46), Louis Dennis, Reece Prestedge, Jamie Slabber (Adam Birchall 62), Moses Ademola (Sam Higgins 62), Harry Grant (Pierre Joseph-Dubois 63).

Goals:  Harry Grant 9, Moses Ademola 47, Pierre Joseph-Dubois 63

Crystal Palace:  Chris Kettings, Sam Magri, Matthew George (Sonny Black 69), Hiram Boateng (Luke Croll 69), Michael Chambers, Ryan Inniss (Mandela Egbo 46), Reise Allassani (unknown 51), Connor Dymond (Ghassimu Sow 46), Morgan Ferrier (Elijah Gabsi 61), Jake Gray, Sullay Kaikai.

Goals: Ghassimu Sow 77, Sullay Kaikai 85 (penalty)

Attendance: 1,179
Referee: Mr Constantine Hatzidakis (Bromley)
Assistants: Mr Freddie Collins (Beckenham)  & Mr Valentine Anekwe (Bromley)
Fourth Official: Mr Ian Bentley (West Wickham)