Bromley boss Neil Smith promises full crowd at Hayes Lane for FA Cup replay

Posted Monday, November 11, 2019 by PA

Neil Smith promised Bristol Rovers a packed 5,000 crowd for the replay at Hayes Lane after seeing his Bromley side earn a deserved second crack at League One opposition.

Centre-back Chris Bush hooked in an 83rd minute equaliser from close range following an in-swinging corner to spark wild scenes of celebration among 500 travelling fans of the National League club behind the goal.

Rovers had taken an undeserved lead five minutes earlier when Liam Sercombe’s low shot brought a first save of the game from Bromley goalkeeper Ryan Huddart and Luke Leahy tapped in the rebound at the far post, his first Rovers goal.

Substitute Leahy had been on the pitch for only a minute. Having used all three replacements, Bromley lost one of their subs, Adrian Clifton, to injury, yet still battled back with ten me to earn a draw.

Manager Smith said: “We will fill our stadium for the replay and the lads deserve nothing less because they gave everything for me today.

“I didn’t think we deserved to fall behind and it would have been easy for heads to drop after their goal, particularly as we were down to ten men.

“Adrian Clifton twisted a knee after we had used all three subs because of other injuries. He could be out for a while and the knocks are a downside of an otherwise great afternoon for us.

“To get a result in those circumstances shows guts that come from inside. We pride ourselves on being strong at set-pieces and that has brought our equaliser.

“Our chairman offered to pay for the travel of our fans, which was fantastic. I’m so pleased that the gesture was taken up by so many and that everyone has had such an enjoyable day out.”

Rovers boss Graham Coughlan said: “We didn’t turn up today and didn’t deserve to win. When you don’t get going from the start it is always going to be difficult.

“They are a strong team and we had no tempo or purpose to our play. But when we take the lead that late in the match I expect us to see games out.

“It was a soft goal to concede because we knew how good Bromley are from set-pieces and should have been prepared.

“I had to throw Jonson Clarke-Harris on earlier than I would have liked after his injury lay-off because we just weren’t at it. He seems OK, which is a bonus for us, but understandably looked rusty.

“I accept the frustration of our fans because I wouldn’t have wanted to pay to see that. But I don’t anticipate us playing like that in the replay because the season has been mainly positive for us so far.”