Tipped pre-match as one of the games of the day in the Vanarama National League as sixth place Bromley visited seventh place Lincoln, the 2,550 fans were certainly served up an ultra competitive game with the 110 Bromley fans most delighted with the treat of three points to take home.

With Lincoln unbeaten at home all season, coming off the back of a FA Cup first round replay victory over Tranmere Rovers and possessing the league’s second top scorer in Matt Rhead it was always going to be a hard task for Bromley to get something from the game.

Indeed it came as no surprise that Lincoln created the best moments in a lively first half where both sides were eager to get on the front foot.

That said it was Louis Dennis who was to have the first genuine chance of the match and Bromley’s best moment of the first half, sending a 25 yard free kick inches wide in the eleventh minute.

From then on Lincoln seized the initiative in the game and could count themselves unlucky not to have gone in front at the break. First Chris Kettings had to be alert to keep out a Luke Waterfall half-volley on the quarter hour with a full stretch fingertip save at his near post.

Ten minutes later, Jack Muldoon profited from a deep cross falling into his path inside the penalty area but as his crisply driven effort seem destined for the net it was blocked by several scrambling Bromley defenders.

In the 32^nd minute Alan Power was unlucky to see his drive from the edge of the area palmed away by Kettings for a corner and from the resulting set-piece Kettings was unable to deal with it leaving Ben Chorley to clear the loose ball off the line.

Despite the pressure that was to be as good as it got for Lincoln in the first half as the rest of the half ebbed and flowed without any further incident.

With the benefit of a half-time team talk, the ravens came out for the second half with greater resolve and a much better all-round vibrancy to their game. As early as one minute into the second half Anthony Cook sent warning signals to the Lincoln rearguard with great trickery on the edge of the box followed by a fierce drive that smashed against the top of the crossbar.

The turning point, however, for Bromley was the fact that Louis Dennis came into his own in the second half, having terrorised many a backline this season, it was notable that Dennis was seeing more of the ball in the second half drifting in off the wing and causing havoc with his pace and skill.

In the 55^th minute, one such Dennis run from his own half saw him waltz past three Lincoln defenders before sending in a dangerous cross for Jack Holland to meet with a volleyed side foot effort. However Paul Farman in the Lincoln goal pulled off a world class point blank reaction save that left everyone in the ground applauding.

With Bromley now knocking on the door, five minutes later Moses Emmanuel placed a diving header just wide at the back post following excellent link up play between Dennis and Ali Fuseini.

Fuseini himself was to go close a minute later flashing a volley wide from the arc of the penalty area. When the menacing Dennis then curled a great effort against the base of the post following another marauding run, Bromley fans began to suspect it wasn’t going to be there day.

A lull in play followed the Dennis effort, the only highlight being Cook’s attempts to win himself a yellow card for several offences eventually succeeding when involved in handbags with Lincoln full back Bradley Wood.

Following the fracas and the resultant free kick, Waterfall saw his header from a Terry Hawkridge cross excellently tipped over the bar by Kettings.

In the 82^nd minute Emmanuel was to come up trumps with the telling moment of the game, having been relatively quiet in the penalty area for the majority of the game. Emmanuel came alive when it mattered. Fuseini’s well placed free kick found Emmanuel in the area under pressure and with some work to do but as is the want of the league’s top scorer, a quick swivel and turn opened up just the fraction of space he needed to place his effort across Farman and into the net.

With the Bromley fans in dreamland, Lincoln launched a long ball barrage in the closing minutes in an attempt to force an equalising goal however despite the unrelenting pressure, the Bromley backline held out superbly to record a famous victory and cement the ravens back in the National League playoffs.

As we now enter the month of November and with Bromley still up amongst the leading pack of the top tier of non-league football. Slowly one must begin to wonder when talk can turn from surprise package to actual playoff contenders. For now, however, Mark Goldberg will be content to reflect not only on a satisfying Saturday and three very useful points but also more importantly the confirmation that his side can mix grit and style away from home against the bigger sides and win.

 

Lincoln City: Farman, Wood, Waterfall, Bush, Muldoon (Robinson 72), Power, Rhead, Hearn (Wotton 59), Hawkridge,  Beeevers, Howe

Subs not used: Tempest, Sparrow, Grant

 

Bromley:  Kettings, Udoji, Anderson, Fuseini, Chorley, Swaine, Minshull, Dennis, Cook, Holland, Emmanuel
Subs not used: Rodgers, Kiernan, Prestedge, Tumwa, Francis

Goals:  Emmanuel 82

Attendance: 2550 (Bromley 110)

Referee: Mr Michael Salisbury