Academy Update 15/12/11

Written by Murray Jones | 15 December 2011

Bromley Blues entertained their Blue Square Bet South counterparts Eastleigh in a first round FCYA League Cup fixture on Wednesday.

The game started evenly with both teams having opportunities however it was Bromley who started to gain control of the game creating good chances through Bermudian International Quadir Maynard down the left and Ehis Izokun down the right however some indifferent finishing and good goalkeeping kept the score to 0-0 at half time. The second half saw Bromley continue to pass the ball around and were now clearly dominating the game and some clever and quick passing saw Dan Hughes curl the ball from the edge of the box to give Bromley a well deserved lead. The game continued in the same fashion with Bromley pushing for another goal and although on top Eastleigh still continued to press. As the game became more open Bromley begun to look more threatening when Stefan Wright got into the penalty box from the centre of midfield and flashed a header into the net. The goal gave Bromley more confidence and they continued to create more chances, Gary Webb making a great run from left back before volleying home at the back post. The goal should have closed the game out but Eastleigh quickly scored and although there were a few scares Bromley Blues saw the game out for a well deserved 3-1 victory to go into the draw for the second round.

It was good to see forwards Ben Small and Dan Hughes play well and benefit from the experience of featuring against Cray Wanderers in the London Senior Cup and I look forward to seeing them progress over the course of the season. We also look forward to welcoming back Arron Rhule who has made the break through into the first team retuning from a two week trial with Championship club Nottingham Forest where he made a very good impression and Forest will now continue to monitor his progress. The transition for youth players breaking into senior football can be a difficult one but the players have continued to train and work hard at their game every day. It is very positive and encouraging to know that both the Academy and the under 18`s have a large selection of players to support the first team and we look forward to some of them appearing for the first team over the course of the season.

The players will now break up for the Christmas period and then look forward to their next fixture in the New Year against Weston super Mare at Hayes Lane on Wednesday January 11th.

Murray Jones