Bromley fell to a disappointing defeat on Tuesday night as Solihull Moors took full advantage of a listless display by the Ravens that suggested the FA Trophy is the priority.

Caught between a rock and a hard place vis-à-vis challenging for the playoffs and the small matter of a FA Trophy semi final 2nd leg on Saturday, manager Neil Smith made the difficult decision to rest some of his key players.

Out went Louis Dennis, Jack Holland, Roger Johnson and Frankie Raymond to be replaced by Luke Wanadio, Josh Rees, Ben Chorley and Dan Johnson.

Despite the changes it was still a strong Bromley line-up that should have been more than competitive against a, albeit improving, Solihull side in the bottom four.

However it was Solihull who made all the running in the first half and they deservedly took the lead in the 12th minute when Liam Daly’s knock down was tapped in by on-loan Coventry City forward Kwame Thomas. It was no more than Solihull deserved having earlier seen Thomas have an effort cleared off the line by Tyrone Sterling and Adi Yussuf slash an effort wide of the post when well set inside the penalty area.

With Bromley struggling to produce anything of worth in the final third it was completely against the run of play when neat interchange between Wanadio and Rees allowed the latter to release Brandon Hanlan but the explosive front man saw his shot excellent tipped away by Max O’Leary.

That was to be as good as it got for Bromley as they failed to find anyway past a Solihull rearguard marshalled by the excellent Daly.

Solihull could have gone in at half time two goals to the good but David Gregory did well to save from Jermaine Hlyton after he had profited from a quick free kick.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with scrappy play interspersed with a few chances for the home side and Bromley completely ineffective going forward.

It took until the 65th minute for anything of note to happen in the half, Gregory once again denying Yussuf before Jamie Reckord had a free kick deflected inches wide of Gregory’s right hand post.

As both teams tired the respective managers introduced fresh legs to try and bring some impetus to proceedings but in truth it did little to alter the quality of the action. However as the norm for sides struggling at the wrong end of the table they tend to always give up one opportunity and that was to be the case as the game ticked into injury time.

Despite having barely threatened all game Bromley nearly fashioned an undeserved equaliser. Substitute Shane McLoughlin worked some space on the right wing but his inch perfect cross was headed wide by Hanlan when it seemed easier to hit the target.

Solihull were to punish Bromley for their wastefulness with a clinching goal with the last kick of the game. Luke Woolfenden made a hash of dealing with a long ball and his header back to Gregory fell short allowing the on rushing

Alex Reid to lob the Bromley custodian and seal the win for the Moors.

The three points were no more than Solihull deserved for the intent and desire they showed to win the game but for Bromley it represented lost ground on the top seven.

More than the defeat, however, Neil Smith would have been disappointed with the lack of tempo and incisiveness shown from his shot shy side. With a big cup semi final now ahead on the Saturday it was even more disappointing that not many made a claim to be selected.

Whilst Bromley are by no means out of the playoff equation undoubtedly the primary aim is to win on aggregate against Gateshead on Saturday and seal a historic trip to Wembley for the FA Trophy final.

Perhaps only after that game can one look back at the performance at Solihull as an acceptable write off in the grand scheme of things.

Solihull Moors: O’Leary, Williams, Daly, Kelleher, Reckord, Carter ©, Storer, Osborne (P Green 65), Thomas, Yussuf (Carline 89), Hylton (Reid 79).
Subs: Lait, Green

Bromley: Gregory, Woolfenden, Chorley ©, D.Johnson, Sterling (R.Johnson 85), Wanadio, Sutherland (McLoughlin 62), Higgs, Rees, Mekki (Allen 82), Hanlan

Subs: Enver, Huxter

Goal scorers / Time of goal: Solihull Moors: Thomas 13, Reid 90+4

Referee: Mr D Middleton

Attendance: 624