BROMLEY were knocked off the top of the table when they suffered their first league defeat of the season when they were trounced at Basingstoke.

The visitors got off to the worse possible start when they conceded after just seven minutes.

Following a mistake by Wes Daly in the middle of the park, David Pratt seized on the loose ball, ran forward and squared to the unmarked Greg Draper for a simple tap in to an empty goal.

Jerrome Sobers was unlucky in the 12th minute when his header from Tony Finn’s corner came back off the bar but that was as good as it got for Bromley in the first half.

Although they had most of the possession, Bromley had no penetration where it mattered and too many moves broke down in the final quarter of the pitch.

Basingstoke might have had a second on 25 minutes when Matt Pattison was allowed to run forward some 40 yards but his final goalbound shot hit one of his own players and was cleared to safety.

A ball over the top saw Draper go clear 11 minutes later and although he seemed to be held back by Jon Scarborough, the referee let play go on.

The second half started in dramatic fashion with two goals in the first two minutes.

Bromley equalised with a cracking volley from Tutu Henriques following a Finn corner on the left but the home side went ahead again just 30 seconds later.

Pattison broke down the right before sending a low cross into the area which Bromley’s defence failed to deal with and Warner pounced to swivel and hook a shot home from an acute angle.

Warren McBean went close to equalising on 51 minutes when he turned his marker before firing narrowly over the bar and a half-hearted header by Nic McDonnell went straight into the young keeper’s arms.

Bromley should have levelled with 14 minutes remaining when McBean put McDonnell through on goal but the striker scuffed his shot wide when he only had the keeper in front of him.

That miss was to prove costly as Bromley then lost their composure and discipline, conceding a further two goals and picking up three bookings for dissent.

A rare error by keeper Wes Foderingham presented the home side with their third goal in the 79th minute when the Lillies stopper sent a routine clearance straight to substitute Delano Sam-Yorke, who promptly fired into an empty net.

Sam-Yorke was denied by Foderingham in the 85th minute but the keeper could do nothing about the fourth Basingstoke goal in the three minutes later.

Finn and Sobers got in a mess by the corner flag, resulting in a low cross into the goalmouth.

Scarborough and Daly both missed the ball, allowing it to run through to Sam-Yorke who toe-punted home off the far post from close range to complete a miserable afternoon for the Hayes Lane club.

Bromley: Foderingham, Fray (Vines 62), Patterson (Davisson 75), Daly, Scarborough, Sobers, Finn, Henriques, McBean, McDonnell, Butler (Green 62). Subs not used: Boyle, Ibrahima. Att: 502.