The morning after the day before and I’m still smiling. The 5:45am alarm for work was a little hard to respond to than normal, but there was still a little buzz of adrenaline going through me and some strong coffee helped.
I’d got home at 11:30pm having left at 6am on Sunday morning, it was a long day, but it was all worth it. Bromley away to Newcastle Utd in the Third Round of the FA Cup, no regrets whatsoever.
For any football fan of any club, there are a few iconic moments that you will cherish your entire life and that make it all worthwhile as the cliché goes.
To add to the list of going to Wembley, winning the FA Trophy, winning promotions and even avoiding relegation with vital wins, Cameron Congreve’s 8th minute goal to put Bromley in front at Newcastle United has joined the list and ranks very high.
The last time Bromley played in front of a crowd of over 50,000 was probably in the glory days of Amateur Cup football, maybe even the 1949 Wembley Final.
The Ravens had started ok and didn’t looked over awed by it all, as they took on Premier League opposition, having reached the FA Cup Third Round for the first time in their 133 year history.
Then came the moment, Congreve cut in from the right and unleashed a shot from the edge of the area that just evaded Dobravka’s out stretched hand and nestled in the far corner of the net.
There was a pause of a fraction of a second, then the roar, the explosion of joy in the away section of the ground, 3,000 Bromley fans going crazy. Jumping up and down, grabbing each other, yelling at the tops of their voices. The noise on the highlights when that goal goes in will always raise a grin.
Photos of the scoreboard were taken, Newcastle Utd 0 Bromley 1 captured on thousands of phones. Whatever happened from here, not only had Bromley scored, but we’d taken the lead against one of the biggest teams in the country. It was beautiful.
We ‘nearly’ made it 2-0, Danny Imray raced clear down the right and cut in towards goal, he looked up to see if he could find Michael Cheek in the area, but there were a number of Newcastle defenders in the way, so opted to fire in a low shot across goal, the ball skidding wide of the far post. That was probably our last meaningful chance of the tie.
The inevitable came less than ten minutes later, Lewis Miley equalised for The Magpies with a superb strike from 25 yards out, we’d given him a fraction too much space on the edge of the area and he’d made it count.
Bromley dug in though and held out to half time, 1-1 at the break, wow!
The second half saw Eddie Howe bring on Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes, we took this as a mark of respect, but also knew what was coming.
Newcastle were awarded a pretty clear penalty four minutes into the second period and Gordon tucked the spot kick away to make it 2-1. The only thought now was to keep it respectable.
Bromley dug in although we never really threatened after that. William Osula curled in a third from distance just after the hour, I’d optimistically predicted 3-1 on the Friday and the players gave their all to keep it that way. There was no disgrace in this deafeat, just a source of immense pride for all involved.
The final whistle saw Bromley’s players and staff come over to the away section at The Leazes end and get the applause they deserved before we all headed off on our various routes home. A 3-1 loss maybe, but that goal…
The whole day had been exactly what I’d hoped for, how many times can you say that in life? Even the 12,202 steps I’d clocked up walking from the car park and up the stairs to the incredible view that greets you from the top of the Leazes Stand.
Even the Chicken Balti pie I’d scoffed on arrival was ok! I’d headed up the country with two long time mates, met loads more in the Mean Eyed Cat pub prior to the match, good people I’d been friends with since my teens, played football with and watched Bromley with, back in the days when at times it was desperate.
But we kept hope alive, believing the club could rekindle the flame of past triumphs and rise again. Amazingly we’ve done that and more. My cousin Mike was there on his birthday weekend, 46 years on from the first game we’d been to together, a 4-1 win over Chesham Utd at Hayes Lane, we’d never have dreamed of this back then.
Back down to earth, Colchester United at home on Saturday, concentrate on the debut League Two season. Not bad at all really. These are rare auld times.