Lillies sunk in Wales

9:55am Monday 6th October 2008

Newport County 3-0 Bromley

TEN-MAN Bromley reached a new low on Saturday at the Newport Stadium when they sunk to their heaviest defeat of the season.

Opponents Newport County, third from bottom in the table going into the match with only one victory so far, outplayed Bromley from the start, adapting to the wind and heavy rain far better than the Hayes Lane Club.

The absence of players who have left the Lillywhites recently, particularly Danny Hockton, was plain for all to see and their replacements just don't seem to be up for the job.

Newport might have taken the lead as early as the second minute when Craig Hughes headed a left wing corner over the bar, and Gareth Williams saved Paul Bignot's shot four minutes later which skidded off the wet pitch.

A promising move by Bromley was abruptly halted by the assistant's flag for offside and goalkeeper Glyn Thompson rushed out of his area to deny Nic McDonnell, but these were isolated attacks by Bromley.

The visitors gifted Newport the opening goal on 20 minutes when Williams came for a routine punch from Bignot's long cross into the area, but missed the ball completely and it sailed into the net.

Seven minutes later, Newport doubled their lead from the penalty spot.

A lackadaisical back-pass by Luke I'Anson went straight to Craig Reid and as he burst into the area, Rob Gillman mistimed his sliding tackle and took his legs from under him.

Reid got up to send Williams the wrong way with a firmly struck spot kick.

An in swinging left hand corner on 31 minutes was headed off the line from underneath the bar by Gillman and, a few minutes later, Williams did well to tip Reid's low volley around the post as the rest of the defence stood appealing for an offside whistle which never came.

With the wind behind them in the second half, the Bromley fans who had made the long trip to south Wales might have expected more from their team, but sadly it was not to be.

A mistake by Sobers nearly led to a third goal when Reid dispossessed the defender on the byeline to set up Danny Rose, but Moses Sawibu saved his colleagues blushes with a timely tackle in the six yard box.

Bromley were reduced to 10 men on 65 minutes when Adam Everitt was dismissed for two bookable offences within four minutes.

Before Bromley had reorganised, they found themselves three down.

A quick break had the defence in all sorts of trouble, which left Williams very exposed and Hughes capitalised on the disarray to fire into an empty net.

The introduction of Donal O'Sullivan on 69 minutes perked Bromley up somewhat and Loui Fazackerley's free-kick was saved before McDonnell scooped over the bar from close range after he had beaten three defenders.

A 30-yard shot from I'Anson was deflected for a corner before Gillman's header came back off the upright in a purple 10 minutes for the visitors.

But it was all too little, too late as the home side might have increased their lead in the final minute when substitute Kevin Cooper just skimmed the junction of the post and the crossbar with a first time volley.

Bromley: Williams, Corneille, Everitt, I'Anson, Sobers, Gillman, Joseph, Swaibu (Harding 87), McBean (O'Sullivan 69), McDonnell, Fazackerley, Subs not used: Anderson, Manning, Clark. Att: 746

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