A highly efficient and classy performance by second place Cheltenham saw Bromley return from Gloucestershire with tails firmly between their legs.

Unable to register a shot on target until the 70^th minute, Bromley were humbled and outclassed without Cheltenham seemingly needing to get out of second gear to secure the emphatic victory.

In the week prior to the game, Bromley had sent out Reece Prestedge and Ugo Udoji on loan to Chelmsford and St Albans respectively seemingly to both cut costs as well as free up wages in order to bring in a much needed winger. Yet this decision seemed all the more baffling as the team line-up on Saturday saw two academy players named on the bench as once again long term injuries robbed Mark Goldberg of first team reinforcements.

The opening fifteen minutes witnessed an even affair with both sides slowly working their way into game and trying to get into their stride. It was Bromley who fashioned the first opportunity when good interplay between Moses Emmanuel and Adam Cunnington led to the latter floating a cross into the penalty area that Paul Rodgers headed wide of the goal under pressure. That was to be as good as it got for Bromley in the first half as Cheltenham then proceeded to get a stranglehold of the game.

The opening goal came in the 20^th minute, good work from Jack Barthram on the right wing created an opening for home debutant Dan Holman who killed the cross with his right foot before swivelling and hitting a sweet volley past Alan Julian in the Bromley goal. The goal was a fantastic strike, by which, to break the deadlock and merely confirmed the astute business Gary Johnson had pulled off by securing Holman’s signature during the January transfer window.

Five minutes later, good hold up play and a nice through ball by Danny Wright left Holman in acres of space inside the penalty area and he made no mistake with a low drilled effort past Julian to put the Robins two goals ahead.

With Bromley barely able to get out of their own half and the forwards unable to hold up the few balls that came their way the remainder of the second half played out as a glorified training session of attack vs defence. In the few minutes before the half time whistle both Asa Hall and Wright went close to adding a third. First Hall broke through from midfield unchallenged and saw his 20 yard drive whistle narrowly wide before Wright had a volley from the edge of the 18 yard box tipped expertly away by Julian’s fingertips.

On the stroke of half time and deep into time added on, Holman came close to his hat-trick when he turned Rob Swaine inside out inside the penalty area before striking a fierce effort past Julian but inches over the crossbar.

If half-time represented an opportunity for Mark Goldberg to inspire his beleaguered charges, his words must have fallen on deaf ears as three minutes after the restart all hopes were extinguished. An innocuous corner found Danny Wright all alone in the penalty area and he planted his header beyond Julian with all the ease in the world.

With Bromley fans resorting to gallows humour and bemoaning the lack of any clear shot on goal or any goal at all in 2016. The Bromley defence promptly gifted Cheltenham a fourth in the 63^rd minute. Sean Francis inexplicably took his time clearing the ball inside the penalty area and when Holman charged his effort down, the Bromley defence stood static expecting the ball to roll off the pitch only for the alert Holman to play the ball back into the danger area. Asa Hall was given all the time in the world to calmly slot the ball to Wright who promptly toe-poked a simple effort into the net. That there were seven Bromley defenders in the box and only three Cheltenham defenders made the goal all the more indefensible.

With nothing to lose and the body language of most Bromley players indicating that the team was mentally shot. Goldberg sent on Bradley Goldberg and Adam Coombes for Cunnington and Rodgers respectively, these changes led to Bromley’s brightest passage of play. Indeed Bradley Goldberg was to force the first effort at goal when his 20 yard drive stung the palms of Cheltenham custodian Dillon Phillips who could only parry the effort behind for a corner. This brought rapturous applause from the 104 Bromley fans behind the goal.

However Cheltenham were to comeclose to adding a fifth in the 74^th minute, substitute Jordan Cranston saw his wayward left-wing cross deceive Julian and crash off the angle of post and crossbar.

The last meaningful action of the game was to come with five minutes remaining; the lively Coombes broke free from the left wing, through the middle of the pitch and played in Alex Wall who slotted a fine finish past Phillips to bring some belated cheer for the Bromley contingent.

Despite the consolation goal it couldn’t mask a woeful performance by Bromley which at times resembled men against boys. With Bromley having won only two of their last fifteen league and cup games and rumours abounding of the departure of top-scorer Moses Emmanuel it is hard to see how the side can arrest the downturn in form anytime soon. Bereft of confidence and imagination on the pitch and Eastleigh, Grimsby and Wrexham on the immediate horizon one wonders where Bromley’s next points will come from.

 

Cheltenham Town FC: Phillips, Barthram (Munns 80), McLennan, Storer, Parslow, Wright, Hall, Burgess, Rowe (Cranston 70), Dayton (Waters 81), Holman

Subs not used: Kitscha, Harries

Goals: Holman 20,25 Wright 49, 63

 

Bromley:  Julian, Swaine, Holland, Cunnington (Goldberg 65), Rodgers (Coombes 65), Anderson, Minshull, Wall, Emmnauel, Francis, Chorley (Fuseini 48)

Goals: Wall 85
Subs not used: O’Connor, Higgs

Referee: Mr Richard Wigglesworth

Attendance: 2,662 (104 Bromley)