BROMLEY manager Mark Goldberg admitted his side were lucky to be in the next qualifying round of the FA Cup after their 1-0 victory over Burgess Hill Town on Saturday.
The Lillywhites were made to work hard for the win against their Ryman South opponents at Hayes Lane and will now face Heybridge Swifts at Hayes Lane in the next stage.
But Goldberg was just relieved to have avoided a potential cup upset at the weekend after being made to work hard for their success by a plucky Burgess Hill Town outfit.
“We were fortunate to have won,” he told News Shopper.
“But we’re in the next round and can only play better.
“We surely can't play any worse than we played.
“It was a bit disappointing we didn’t give the fans more entertainment, but we got the victory and that’s what counts.
“I said to the guys after the game, with so many of them being under par it doesn't really matter in the FA Cup whether you win 5-0 or 1-0, it’s all about being in the hat for the next round.
“We’re in the hat and able to learn from the bad experience today.”
Bromley are flying high in second place in the Conference South after a superb start to their league season and despite the slightly lacklustre performance in the cup, the Hayes Lane boss insists they can learn from the cup outing.
“Hopefully it's the sign of a good team that you can play badly and still win,” he explained.
“If you win and you learn by the fact you haven't played well then a manager loves that really.
“I’d much rather learn by winning and not playing well than learning and losing.
“Instead of being in a situation where we were seeing the game out with a clear cushion, which is what we should have really had, we were quite pleased to hear the final whistle.
“But that’s the way it went today and we can at least smile about it because we're through.”
Bromley are two victories away from yet another potentially lucrative appearance in the first round proper and Goldberg emphasised just how important a cup run was for the club.
“The FA Cup is massive,” he said.
“It’s got that magic for me personally and it is important for everybody at the club - commercially, the fans, everybody.
“I can’t say enough how important it is we got through today.”
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