Bromley were rather fortunate to get a replay from Saturday’s 0-0 draw at a Grays Athletic side who wasted several opportunities to win the game.

In another poor performance, it was the Essex hosts who enjoyed the better of the exchanges, forcing several corners in the opening stages. 

Danny Waldren headed clear from underneath the crossbar Dumebi Gb-Dumaka’s well-placed header before Jack Holland blocked Jonathan Glowacki’s goal-bound header.

Adam Birchall shot wide from 22 yards for Bromley, and Grays’ veteran Mark Bentley headed behind Damian Scannell’s tantalising cross.

Jordan Robertson found the side-netting from an acute angle after Birchall had helped on a Joe Anderson throw in.

The best chance of the half fell to Harry Grant on 32 minutes when Robertson found him fully 30 yards from goal, but his powerful shot skimmed the bar with the Grays keeper hardly reacting.

As the half closed, Waldren was on hand to eventually hack clear from within the six-yard box following a goalmouth scramble which saw Gb-Dumaka and Frederick Ladapo having shots blocked.

Bromley pressed hard at the start of the second half forcing several corners but to no avail.

They nearly came unstuck when Joao Carlos broke clear, only to be denied by a timely tackle from Waldren.

Robertson was unlucky not to make the breakthrough on 58 minutes as keeper Conor Gough tipped away the centre forward’s curling strike before Scannell blazed the loose ball over.

Bromley keeper Seb Brown escaped punishment when his mis-placed clearance went straight to Glowacki 40 yards out, but the midfielder’s effort went narrowly wide of the upright with Brown still out of his goal.

Within two minutes of coming on, Pierre Joseph-Dubois had a couple of chances to break the deadlock, but in both instances Gough produced two first class saves.

Firstly, the Bromley attacker turned his marker in the box to shoot across goal, where Gough at full stretch just tipped the ball away.

Then the substitute had his header brilliantly tipped over by the one-time Charlton keeper following Ali Fuseini’s chip across the area.

Gb-Dumaka headed just wide from a Carlos cross which looped over Brown, while Gough denied Moses Ademola with an outstretched leg at the other end. 

Grays finished the game strongly.

Carlos ran fully 60 yards past several opponents before shooting wide and over.

Glowacki fired narrowly wide after being set up by Carlos and a free-kick on the byline was only cleared as far as Kenny Beaney.

His low shot through a crowd of players had Brown scrambling across his goal as the ball went just the wrong side of the post. 

In time added on, Ademola was put through on goal by Anderson, but Gough was alert to the situation and made another good save to take the tie back to Hayes Lane tomorrow evening.

The winner will face Evesham away in the final qualifying round.

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Bromley: Brown, Udoji, Anderson, Fuseini, Waldren, Holland, Scannell, Prestedge, Robertson (Culley 70), Birchall (Ademola 61), Grant (Joseph-Dubois 59). Subs not used: Bailey-Dennis, Agu, Dennis, Swaine. Att: 350