Plan B Is For Bromley

Bromley  3  AFC Fylde  2

National League

As a plan, it was all coming along very nicely indeed.

With only three more grounds to do until the 92 was conquered, I was hoping that Fulham would get a home tie in the Third Round of the FA Cup, but not only that, and with the greatest of respect, I wanted it to be against one of the less attractive teams because it would have potentially meant three things would have been likely to happen!

Firstly, the demand for tickets would be reduced, secondly the price of the tickets would probably also be reduced, and thirdly, it would be less likely to be moved to a daft day or kick off time for television purposes.

So, when Oldham Athletic at home came out of the hat, my hopes were coming to frution, and when the silly kick off times were announced and Fulham clearly wasn’t one of those, I went online and bought some vastly reduced tickety-splits to London, the job was indeed a very good one.

But then, silly old me had not accounted for the fact that after the TV games have been announced, a chunk of games then get moved to the Sunday so the BBC can play at being Sky Sports for an afternoon and go round the grounds and give real time updates and highlights.

Yes, the game was moved and I had non-refundable train tickets, which for a brief moment felt like a proper schoolboy error. But then I thought about it, there must be an alternative, and of course if the weather was an issue, there must also be an alternative on a plastic pitch somewhere?

Main Stand

Working down the leagues, one game jumped out at me, Bromley v AFC Fylde, a one station stop from Victoria, a ground within walking distance, a plastic pitch, and of course a Wetherspoons right opposite Bromley South Station. So that was it, sorted.

Readers of the blog will notice that a couple of times a year I like to take advantage of a return to London via Birmingham, which can normally be procured for anything between twenty and twenty five pounds. The slight downside is it means an early start and the journey is extended by about an hour, but for the cost saving I’m fine with that.

So when you are stood on Belper Station at just after 6.30am on a cold January Saturday, your sanity does come into question ever so briefly, but to be fair once in the warmth of the carriage with the snooze button pressed, the World is a good place. The peace was shattered upon arriving in Birmingham when I suddenly realised that the Blues were playing at West Ham United with a lunchtime kick off. The place was rammed with Bluenoses, and with over 5,000 expected to pitch up in the East End, the trains would be feeling the strain.

An Erection Is Well Under Way

A large number were on the fast train, but when my train came in and it transpired it was made up of four carriages rather than the usual eight, it became clear that seats would be at a premium. I bolted on, got one away in a corner, and watched as the chaos unfolded.

That chaos was at a premium once we got to Milton Keynes, people were sat on floors, it was standing all the way down the aisles, with the only Godsend being that it wasn’t calling at Watford Junction otherwise we probably would have had a war on our hands, especially as Hammers fans were now starting to board the train!

Safely in Euston, I escaped the throng, got on the tube and was very quickly sat on the train bound for deepest Kent. The journey to Bromley South was pain free, bar a child and his Mother having an almighty ding-dong over a mobile phone which is becoming all too common these days I’m afraid.

A Belter Of A Terrace

By 11.30am, the doors of the Richmal Crompton flung open and a pint of the finest Carling was in hand and the Wi Fi duly connected to. This is the moment I love, when the journey is almost complete and that first sip of lager is passing my lips. With three and a half hours until kick off, it was time to kick back and chill, with my new Wetherpoons App of course!

The story of Bromley Football Club is one of steady progress. The Eighties and Nineties saw them predominantly an Isthmian Premier Division side, albeit with the odd relegation to the First Division. But, a relegation to Division One in 1999 finished up being the start of a six year spell, with the Premier Division returned to in 2005.

Two years later and a runners-up spot saw promotion to the Conference South. By 2013-14 the Play-Offs were reached but on this occasion they lost to Ebbsfleet United, however the following year no mistake was made and the title was duly won.

From The Terrace

With National League football secured for the first time, and professional status taken, the club have now had three seasons in the top flight and each year has seen progression. In the first season they finished 14^th, then 10^th, and finally 9^th last season. Last season saw them also reach Wembley in the Final of the FA Trophy, only to lose on penalties to Brackley Town.

This season, they sat just below the half way mark, and having seen them at Chesterfield only a month ago, the time had arrived a few pints later to make the walk down to Hayes Lane to see how they fared against high flying AFC Fylde.

The approach along Hayes Lane is a mixture of very well maintained detached houses on one side, and open land on the other where both the football ground and the adjacent Nuffield Health gym is located. Walking down the winding drive, you come to the car park, and in front of you is the main stand with the clubhouse to the side. Once through the turnstiles the stadium has a real Seventies non-league feel about it, plus the more modern day health and safety changes that have been required!

Old School

Behind the North goal is a covered terrace, albeit the roof extends just half way down the terracing. Moving clockwise you then come to a large open terrace that runs the full length of the pitch, broken up by a TV gantry on the half way line. The terracing behind the South goal has now gone, but the steelwork is going up for a large stand that is going to be erected, presumably containing hospitality areas considering the height of the facility.

The main stand is relatively small, and you can see why more seats are being put in, but overall this is a bobby dazzler of a football ground. Relatively unspoiled by progress, and somewhat unusually for inside the M25, it’s not been swallowed up by development. I would urge a visit if you haven’t already been.

There was time for another swift one in the clubhouse before taking my place on the open terracing, and what unfolded on the pitch was a very entertaining spectacle.

Panoramic

The prolific Danny Rowe gave the visitors the lead in the tenth minute with a flick at the near post, but it was the hosts who came back strongly and equalised fifteen minutes later through Jack Holland.

Less than five minutes had passed before Bromley were awarded a clear penalty for a foul, and up stepped Frankie Sutherland to make it 2-1, a score line that remained the same as the whistle for half time blew.

Fylde opened the second half strongly and equalised in the 58^th minute through Arthur Gnahoua, but then disaster struck when Mason Bloomfield went down in the box somewhat innocuously, and  it very quickly became clear it was something serious. A compound fracture of the elbow it appears, and after thirteen minutes of treatment he was stretchered from the field earning warm applause. With all substitutes used, Fylde would have to finish the game with ten men.

Bromley responded well to the delay and took the lead in the 81^st minute when JJ Hooper ran on to a through ball and poked his effort past the Fylde goalkeeper and into the net. The closing minutes plus a substantial amount of added time was played out nervously, but the bulk of the 1,102 spectators breathed a sigh of relief at the final whistle.

More Old School

Bromley South was reached with ease after the game, and in double quick time I was back at Euston and in the Royal George having a final pint of the day (cans on the train don’t count!) with the straggling Birmingham fans who had yet to make their way back to the Midlands.  Once the platform number was announced it was like a scene at start of the sales on Black Friday as passengers charged down the ramp to get a seat, something I just managed to do.

The train was late getting back into Derby, which meant I missed the 11pm bus, so it was a half an hour delay before I was heading North up the A6. And even then, we had a temporary delay when a piercing shriek could be heard as we went through Duffield. The ABS warning system kicked into life so we had to stop while the driver rang the helpline. He was told to turn everything off and then back on again, I kid you not!

The blue rinse brigade then took an age getting on the bus in Belper following a night at the Legion, so further delays took place as each and every one of them insisted on asking the driver about his Christmas. Finally I climbed back into bed at 12.15am, and needed to get to sleep quickly, it was Fuham v Oldham Athletic the following day and I had an early start and long drive ahead of me….