Bromley Left Without Answers As QPR Find Clinical Edge

A heavily rotated Bromley side were looking to freshen up some of the squad players in this fixture, taking the chance to bed in a lot of young talent and start some of their recent signings. Richard Taylor got the nod at centre back despite coming off seemingly with an injury on Tuesday night against Millwall, with Ben Thompson, Mitch Pinnock and Corey Whitely the only squad members to have played a prominent role in the League 2 triumph.

QPR themselves were also preparing for their season opener, the most notable starter being Pierce Charles. The goalkeeper, on loan from Premier League side Manchester City, played 19 times in the Championship last season for relegated Sheffield Wednesday, one of the star players for their side and and is already a Northern Ireland regular at 21. They also made the decision to start a number of fringe players and new signings, though not to the same extent as their hosts.

Unsurprisingly it was QPR who struck first, the Championship side scoring twice within a matter of minutes thanks to a quickfire double. A cutback left Ilias Chair completely open with three minutes on the clock, and barely a minute later Alfie Lloyd was given too much time to get his shot off. Dillon Addai, the Bromley goalkeeper, arguably should have done better.

Bromley had thrived so far in their home pre-season games by being defensively resolute, but the defenders were granting Lloyd too much space too early on. There was no early control, even by their standards, but a lot of that could be accredited to heavy rotation. The QPR attacks provided similar danger to Millwall’s attack on Tuesday night but on this occasion there didn’t seem to be a way to stop them.

Bromley did nearly have a moment of magic of their own, Freddie Cowin launching a ball forward from left back before a one-two between Mitch Pinnock and Victor Adeboyejo left Pinnock in a favourable crossing position, but no one was there to convert as the ball was flashed across goal. Pierce Charles was still yet to be troubled.

The away side could have had a third, a seemingly hopeful shot from Isak Alemayehu beating the ‘keeper but coming back off the crossbar, before a counter attack minutes later left Philip Sanyaolu in a one vs two, his shot sent straight to the goalkeeper but showing that QPR’s threat was still very real.

The first real chance for the home side came half an hour in, with Adeboyejo sent forward in a favourable opportunity to shoot. Having to try and set up the opportunity himself, he made the decision to pass, giving the QPR defenders time to retreat into their box and leaving Ben Thompson’s shot to be blocked with relative ease.

By the end of the first half QPR could have had a penalty shout as Sanyaolu went down to a challenge deemed too soft by referee Carl Brook, but Paul Smith would slot home the away side’s third a minute later, almost walking into the box and placing his shot into the bottom left corner to the jubilation of the travelling fans.

Both sides went into the second half without making any changes , hoping for a quiet start but it was only a matter of minutes that would feature any level of calm. Bromley hoped to find some sort of positive to take but the opposition had too much quality. Every pass was a warning, each attack a threat until they finally grabbed another goal.

QPR would get their fourth and fifth of the game by the time the clock struck 55 minutes, an Isak Alemayehu bicycle kick from a rebounded shot leaving Bromley supporters stunned and Sanyaolu scoring a header unmarked at the back post leaving the result far beyond doubt. The play for both goals was worthy of a Championship side but Bromley were showing no signs of even containing their opposition.

After five came six for the away side with Alfie Lloyd the third player to grab his second goal of the game in what was becoming a rather leaky Bromley defence on the night. Another goal from a cross in what was a recurring pattern in the game, an issue that felt uncharacteristic of the Bromley from last season.

And things went from bad to worse at 67 minutes as Headman gave away a penalty thanks to a handball, Alfie Lloyd being given the ball to potentially finish his hat trick. He sent the ball into the bottom left corner and Dillon Addai couldn't stop the strike from going under him for 7:0.

Eventually the game settled into a rhythm, QPR still having plenty of opportunities but unable to add an eight goal. The usual pre-season substitutions were made, Bromley giving some more of their young talents a chance with their senior stars not in the matchday squad, but they couldn't silence the travelling fans. Bromley had some chances of their own but by full time the score remained 7:0.

It was an unfortunate end to Bromley's home pre-season games, with their fixture against Liverpool u21's being cancelled earlier on in the day, but the result can be excused by the heavily rotated side to an extent. QPR will certainly be the happier side, but the home side will know that they have to play better in a week's time against Reading if they want to start their season off with a positive result. They have the chance to rectify their troubles away at Barnet in their final pre-season friendly, where we will likely see a more senior side, but for now the fans will be eagerly awaiting the return of the League Cup and the league season opener away at Barnsley.