Michael Cheek’s magnificent hat-trick fired Bromley to the top of League Two for the first time in a 3-1 win over Crawley Town.
Bromley made good use of their early dominance of possession when Cheek met Idris Odutayo's cross and headed into the top left corner.
Right on the stroke of half-time, Crawley equalised from a set-piece when centre-back Charlie Baker rose highest from a corner, nodding past Grant Smith. The first half was one with very few chances, but both sides were clinical when opportunities arrived.
Bromley nearly regained the lead straight after the goal when Corey Whitely's effort was expertly stopped by Crawley 'keeper Harvey Davies.
The Ravens, however, were en route to the top of the table when Odutayo's shot from outside the area was blocked and deflected into the path of Cheek, who poked the ball past Davies on 55 minutes for his second of the evening.
He completed his hat-trick six minutes later when he was played through by Ashley Charles, and held off a couple of defenders before firing the ball into the net to claim a fifth consecutive league win.
Andy Woodman’s side claimed their fifth consecutive league victory, edging ahead in the League Two promotion race and leapfrogging Walsall, who were beaten at Oldham, to enter the New Year as league leaders.
“There was only one team out there on the money and it was us,” Woodman said.
“Onto the next one now. We don’t want to get carried away. We’ve put ourselves where we want to put ourselves – now we’ve got to stay there.
“There’s something special going on here. Everyone talks about budgets, we’ve got the lowest budget, but we’ve got the biggest heart and players who work their socks off.”
Bromley face a quick turnaround of fixtures, hosting second-from-bottom Newport County at 3pm on Thursday, January 1st.
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