Youngsters impress Bromley boss in Tooting win (From News Shopper)

Youngsters impress Bromley boss in Tooting win

11:57am Wednesday 13th March 2013 in Sport By Olly Groome

BROMLEY manager Mark Goldberg hailed the impact of his side’s youngsters as they eased past Tooting & Mitcham United in the London Senior Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night.

A mixture of first-team and academy players saw the Lillywhites through with a 2-0 victory at a very cold Hayes Lane, and Goldberg was pleased in particular with how his academy players fared.

He said: “It was a very solid, good performance considering we had four or five youngsters from the academy in the squad, as well as four or five reserve team players, so it was an excellent win considering and it was a good experience for the youngsters.

“Carlos Talbot at right back had an exceptional game through out, he was probably the man of the match for me.

“Our keeper George Howard also did well.

“It's fair to say young Tommy O’Connor, he's only 16, but when he came on he added a lot to our composure on the ball and had good feet.

“Felix Ogeah came on, scored a goal and showed a lot of composure as well.

“Considering they trained today and played yesterday in the academy, these boys really stepped up to the mark.”

It was a scrappy first half, as the home side struggled to get on top of their visitors from the Isthmian Division One South.

But as the second half progressed, Bromley began to dominate their opponents.

Elliot Buchanan finally broke the deadlock after 70 minutes with a fierce volley, which was closely followed four minutes later as Ogeah beat the offside trap to finish neatly past Tooting keeper Darren Behcet.

Watching from the stands, the Bromley boss was less than impressed with his team’s first half showing but was pleased with how they adapted after the interval.

Goldberg explained: “The first half was very scrappy and we weren’t composed enough on the ball all the way from the back line.

“Our centre halves, who had been our most experienced players in the squad, both Mike Jones and Helge Orome, started panicking on the ball and clearing our lines when we didn't need to.

“We needed to keep possession and play simple ball.”

Goldberg added: “It started at the back and carried on through the team and in the first half it was very erratic and scrappy.

“But we had a chat at half-time, made a change and we started playing football to feet and we only cleared our lines and hoofed it when we had to.

“Other than that we put our foot on the ball, if there was space to run into we ran into the space and if there was an opportunity to pass to feet we did.

“Our movement was much better and in the end both goals were clinical.”

Bromley advance to face Isthmian Premier side Wingate & Finchley in the semi-final of the competition and although Goldberg is keen to finish the season with some silverware, he emphasised the usefulness of the competition to his squad as a whole.

“We would like to win a trophy if we can this year,” the Hayes Lane boss said.

“But the most important thing is we progressed and we were able to give experience to the youngsters and give some rest to the first team players.”

Bromley return to Conference South action on Saturday with a visit to Boreham Wood.

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