Bromley edged a pulsating second-half derby encounter but were pushed all the way by the Fleet who had a brace from Dominic Poleon to drive them on as they pursued their second-placed visitors right to the end.
A quiet first-half belied was to follow in a much-improved second-half where Fleet scored twice and set up a grandstand finish that just fell short of a point.
Two changes were in order for the Fleet for this Boxing Day derby as Luke O’Neill and Matthias Fanimo came in for Toby Edser and Greg Cundle. Bromley’s ex-Fleet trio, meanwhile, were named in the squad, Michael Cheek and Corey Whitely starting and Myles Weston on the bench.
The home side made the first real moves when Poleon supplied namesake Samuel for a shot. He was felled leading to penalty claims and Ben Chapman couldn’t force the loose ball home but the flag was up for that eventually. As it was for Bromley’s first note of menace three minutes later, Olufela Olomola on to Whitely and he slid it wide.
But Bromley made no mistake on nine minutes. Hayden White was caught in possession as the ball rolled under his foot in his own box and though Mark Cousins raced out to challenge the intercepting Whitely, he squared it to the waiting Cheek who had an unguarded net to find.
Cousins stood up to Josh Passley’s attempt to take it around him on 18 minutes and it would be another 10 before Fleet troubled the visitors again An excellent break out of defence by Myles Kenlock let Poleon away on his travels. The top scorer rounded Whitely to home in on the target and his goalbound shot needed the legs of Grant Smith to keep it out.
White’s leg was vital at the other end as Passley responded once more for Bromley with a ball into the six-yard box. Cousins then pushed Ben Krauhaus’ snap shot the other side of his post.
The Fleet looked dangerous on the occasions Fanimo was able to get away and burn some pace and he did just that six minutes before the break, the red shirts eventually playing O’Neill in for a good shot on target that Smith plucked out of the air.
Smith was rather closer to the grass for Fleet’s next attack when Poleon delivered for Samuel who tried to curl a low effort around the Bromley keeper but again the visitors’ No.1 managed to grasp it. That was a good spell for the Fleet and when Josh Wright went over in the box from a push in the back, there were appeals once again for the referee to intervene but he waved those away.
Besart Toppaloj allowed Bromley to end the half as they began it with a shot from outside the box that whipped across the danger zone to whistle wide of the far post.
Weston added to the ex-Fleet contingent as he replaced Passley at half-time but it was Wright with the first meaningful contribution of the second period, a shot that looped away past the upright.
Fleet were much quicker out of the blocks this time around and they found the equaliser at a similar time in the second-half as Bromley had in the first. Chapman took the ball on wide, cut inside to get it on his right foot, exchanged passed with Samuel, and then found a gap towards Poleon in the box. With the Bromley defence caught napping, Poleon swooped to steer home his 11th of the season.
The game certainly caught fire by then and a purposeful run by Samuel down the right on the hour ended up with a quick deliery into the middle for Chapman whose fierce drive was deflected behind for a corner. A fabulous show of strength from Poleon to take out Callum Reynolds brought the crowd to its feet but Chapman had Poleon’s cross stolen off his toes.
Much more confident in their attacking play, Fleet saw substitute Darren McQueen twist his way to another shot on target that Smith held but Bromley took the fire out of the Fleet with a goal against the run of play on 66 minutes. An attack down the left by Olomola found its way to Krauhaus whose shot on sight took a deflection that wrong-footed Cousins and then somehow found the only gap he hadn’t guarded.
And Bromley extended the lead on 75 minutes. Fleet’s quickly taken goal-kick upfield was intercepted by Reynolds to start another attack down the left flank and Olomola fought off Wright to produce an excellent finish, a powerful low shot driving into the bottom corner despite Cousins getting an arm on it.
A succession of Fleet corners threatened and Poleon almost ghosted in on a long ball that bounced the wrong side of the visiting defence. Bromley succeeded in keeping the Fleet firmly shut out with a line of five across midfield and sought to pick off the red shirts when Weston drove an effort wide as time ticked down.
But the home side gave their fans hope when substitute Craig Tanner got a sniff of space to play a wonderful one-two pass for the onrushing Poleon who unleashed an equally accomplished shot curling away out of Smith’s reach and into the corner.
Six minutes were added and McQueen’s quick feet won a corner that enticed Cousins forward in search of successive goals and he had three attempts in the Bromley box, the final effort coming off his head and skimming across the face of the goal. But there was to be no fairytale ending for the Fleet this time as Bromley just about held out to take the points.
EUFC: Cousins, O’Neill, Kenlock, Martin (Tanner 79), White, Cissé, Wright, Chapman (Cundle 79), Fanimo (McQueen 57), Samuel, Poleon. Subs: Bingham, Edser
BFC: Smith, Passley (Weston 46), Reynolds, Webster, Kirk, Leigh (Woods 69), Toppaloj, Krauhaus, Whitely, Cheek, Olomola. Subs: Dennis, Jones, Sharman-Lowe
Attendance: 1,988
Vote for your man of the match below.
