Kentish Football 
I really fancy ourselves to do really magical things at Fleetwood, says Danny Waldren
Sunday 21st October 2012
BROMLEY midfielder Danny Waldren says he wants to produce a magical day and create history for the club when they face League Two highflyers Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup First Round.The 23-year-old, who lives in Bermondsey and is an east London based removals man, is only one of four survivors of Mark Goldberg’s side that went down to a 3-0 away defeat to Leyton Orient in the First Round last November.
But since that game at Brisbane Road, Goldberg has brought in players that are more than capable of pulling off a headline grabbing giant-killing act when the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South club travel to the 5,094 capacity Highbury Stadium on the first weekend in November.
Fleetwood Town presently lie in third-place in the League Two table with 22 points from thirteen games. They have, however, lost two of their three games at home.
They are 61 places higher than Bromley – who are sixteenth-place in the Blue Square Bet South – and are a side that have defeated Sutton United, Dover Athletic and Worcester City to reach this stage, banking £24,500 in FA prize money in the process.
Bromley have NEVER beaten a Football League club in their entire 120-year history and their last win in the FA Cup First Round was back in 1945.
Goldberg’s hopes of producing a giant-killing act were thwarted when they were defeated by three League One sides in the shape of Gillingham (2006), Colchester United (2010) and Leyton Orient last season.
Waldren gave his reaction after former Chesterfield FA Cup hero Sean Dyche pulled out ball number 70 in match number eight.
He said: “Very sticky game. A League team, so happy with that. The whole experience of the journey up there will be great.
“A team that I fancy on our day we can pull off a great result against.
“I would be happy with the replay but wouldn’t put it past us to get the win. The FA Cup is a crazy competition where any team can beat any team. I wouldn’t rule us out.”
Waldren added: “It’s amazing! Similar to last year. We’ve got a slightly better team than we had last year so I really do fancy our chances. On our day we are really up there with the best so I don’t fear no-one to be honest.”
When reminded about the club’s miserable record against Football League opposition in The FA Cup, Waldren said: “Hopefully we can turn the corner. I’ve got to much belief in my team that we can beat them away. I really fancy ourselves so hopefully we can do magical things.”
Waldren, whose work-mates watched him play at Brisbane Road last season, is one of a few part-time players at the club.
He said: “I do have a day time job and that’s removals over in east London, which is why it was a great thing to play Leyton Orient last year because all the boys from work were there watching.
“It’s fantastic to get as far as we’ve gone in the FA Cup. It’s just unbelievable.”
Bromley assistant manager, Neil Smith, 41, who played League football for the likes of Gillingham, Fulham and Reading, and is employed full-time by his home-town club in its successful community scheme, is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“They are a League Two side who are doing well,” he said.
“We would have loved a home draw. It’s a new stadium so hopefully the supporters can have a great trip to Blackpool.
“It’s going to be a really tough game, but they were a non-league side so we can go there and give it a right go.”
Jim Brown, 65, the runs the club shop on a voluntary basis at Hayes Lane and paid £700 of his own money to provide a coach to Dorchester for supporters on the final day of last season, said: “My first thought, it’s a long way, but at least it’s against a pro-club. It should be an interesting day out or maybe a weekend.
“It will be a tough match though, but who knows we could spring a surprise.”
Barry Wicks, the club’s commercial manager, added: “Yet again a League team in the First Round. Happy to be in the hat. Sure we would have liked to have been at home, but we feel it’s a place we can go and get a result.
“We will prepare professionally as always. The first team coach is booked to leave on the Friday, with a supporters coach also booked for an early start on the day. Our fans will make a weekend of this fixture and our following will be superb as always.”
But before their trip to the Lancashire coast, Bromley face two vital Blue Square Bet South games at Hayes Lane. They face leaders Salisbury City on Saturday, before mid-table Maidenhead United visit on 30 October.
Mr Wicks added: “I am sure the first team management will be concentrating on our next home league fixture against Salisbury before even thinking about the Cup game. We will work and embrace the whole meaning of the FA Cup at the appropriate time.”
Bromley’s FA Cup exploits have seen them drop down to sixteenth-place in the table and after exiting the competition last season the club went on an eighteen-match run without a win and only just escaped relegation by a couple of points, finishing in seventeenth-place.
The Bromley camp appreciate the importance of putting the Fleetwood Town game to the back of the mind for the time being.
Goldberg, who is celebrating his son Bradley’s nineteenth-birthday today, insists he has learnt from what happened last season.
He said: “We’ve got two tough games but we need to now concentrate on the league and we need to push up the table.
“We’re confident that we’ve got a stronger squad now. We’ve got more strength-in-depth. We’re smarter, we’re more experienced as a management team as well, so I’m hoping that we’re not going to see a repeat of last year.”
Midfielder Waldren added: “Looking at the table now it’s so tight from bottom to top. You’re a few wins on the bounce away being in that position you really want to be in.
“Obviously with the loss last Saturday (2-0 at home to Welling United) was massively disappointing as it pulled us right back down there and that just shows you just how tight the league is.
“Obviously what happened with our FA Cup run last year after the Leyton Orient game we went something like eighteen games without any win, which was unbelievable, but hopefully we can focus on what we need to do this year and make sure the League is just as much a priority as having such a great FA Cup run.”
Bromley’s owner, Jerry Dolke, 51, paid tribute to Goldberg for his fantastic record in the FA Cup.
Although naturally disappointed of not being drawn at home, with all the lucrative benefits that would come with staging a FA Cup First Round tie at Hayes Lane, Mr Dolke said: “It’s different class. When we got the club in 2001 I think our last First Round appearance was 1996. To look at the years we’ve waited to actually consistently do this is just unbelievable. Four times in six years’ is one hell of a record!”
The Bromley faithful were put through all sorts of emotions against Worcester City – a side in sixth-place in Blue Square Bet North – during an enthralling final twenty minutes.
Bromley had Moses Swaibu harshly sent-off for picking up two yellow cards in the 75th minute – and his suspension kicks in on the day of the Fleetwood game - before Pacquette slid home his sixth-goal for the club, before Worcester could have snatched a replay when substitute Michael Taylor was put through on goal and inexplicably swept his shot wide of the far post which was the last kick of the game!
Mr Dolke added: “It’s what it’s all about! It gets emotional. To see all these supporters actually going through the extremities of those last fifteen minutes and that emotional release at the end is just unbelievable!
“What Mark has just proved is that Mark delivers. The boys, it’s Mark, it’s Del (Parnham), it’s Smudge (Neil Smith) and the players and what the players have achieved yesterday. There’s a good, solid group there with a lot of spirit so that’s what we’re proud off.”
But the former Beckenham Town and Bromley player wants League points on the board before focusing on the FA Cup.
Mr Dolke added: “We’ve just got to be as professional as we can be. The focus now is Salisbury at home next Saturday and Maidenhead at home on the Tuesday.
“They’re two big games at home that we want to get some serious points on the board.”
BROMLEY'S FA CUP RECORD
Bromley first competed in The FA Cup back in 1914, their run being ended in the Sixth Qualifying Round by Luton Town, after starting in the previous round, needing a couple of games to get past Hampstead Town.
Bromley have never beaten a Football League club in The FA Cup
Bromley have gone 67 years' since winning a First Round tie in The FA Cup
Bromley's record win (12-1) came in a FA Cup Preliminary Round tie away to Chertsey Town back in 1982.
1937-1938:
First Round: King's Lynn (away) W4-0
Second Round: Scarborough (away) L1-4
1938-1939:
First Round: Apsley (home) W2-1
Second Round: Lincoln (away) L1-8
1945-1946:
First Round: Slough United (home) W6-1 & (away) L0-1
Second Round: Watford (home) L1-3 & (away) D1-1
1947-1948:
First Round: Reading (home) D3-3 & (away) L0-3
1949-1950:
First Round: Watford (home) L1-2
1950-1951:
First Round: Aldershot (away) D2-2 & (home) L0-1
1951-1952:
First Round: Torquay United (away) L2-3
1976-1977:
First Round: Swindon Town (away) L0-7
1996-1997:
First Round: Enfield (home) L1-3
1996-1997:
First Round: Gillingham (away) L1-4
2009-2010:
First Round: Colchester United (home) L0-4
2011-2012:
First Round: Leyton Orient (away) L0-3
2012-2013:
First Round: Fleetwood Town (away)
FA Cup Qualifying Round ties not listed
Visit Bromley’s website: www.bromleyfc.net
Bromley v Salisbury City
Blue Square Bet South
Saturday 27th October 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd