Benedict Watson
On a cold Tuesday night at Meadow Lane, Notts County faced Bromley in a bid to keep their fantastic form going in their charge towards promotion. Having won their last seven league games, with resounding 4-0 and 6-1 victories recorded in their most recent successes, a win was expected, but a fierce Bromley display saw them earn a well-deserved point from this fixture. Benedict Watson watched on and rounds up all the action.
County were fortunate to go into half-time 1-0 up after a 45 minutes filled with big chances for both teams. The first huge opportunity came for Bromley when striker Michael Cheek rounded Notts keeper Sam Slocombe, but his attempt at goal was weak and was excellently blocked by the backtracking Alec Baldwin.
Bromley were quickly punished for this wastefulness when a fabulous cross from Rodrigues on the right-hand side was calmly finished by Adam Chicksen to put County 1-0 up in the 16th minute. A second goal should have been scored by the prolific Macauley Langstaff, but he fired over the bar from just outside the six-yard box.
County’s high defensive line was caught out several times in the first half, with the period between the 30th and 40th minute being one in which Bromley would’ve been disappointed not to have scored in. Harry Forster nipped the ball past Chicksen in the 34th minute but was met with a fantastic save from Slocombe, and the English shot-stopper was called into action again shortly after to tip Cheek’s free header over the bar.
A 2-0 deficit would have been harsh on Bromley
A scramble in the box led to big penalty shouts from the Bromley players, but referee Lewis Smith waved away the claims. The final significant moment of the first half fell to County’s maestro Rodrigues who hit the post with an effort from outside the box, however a 2-0 deficit would have been harsh on Bromley.
The second half continued in end-to-end fashion, although County had the better of the early chances. Langstaff was put through on goal but hit the keeper, then shortly after crashed one into the bar after turning brilliantly to create space to get the shot away. Nevertheless, in the 60th minute it was Bromley who equalised with a near-post header from Cheek via a corner.
The County faithful grew restless, with refereeing decisions and Bromley injuries the main focus of their anger. A double change for County in the 76th minute nearly paid off with Castro seeing his close-range header saved in the 83rd minute. County were building the pressure with a big penalty shout late on and a free kick going marginally over the bar with less than five minutes to go.
The boos heard at full time were surely for the referee rather than the home team
It wasn’t to be for the home side, though, as Bromley held on to secure a well-earned point that delighted their 81 travelling fans, whilst the 6308 County fans were left disgruntled with two dropped points in their promotion battle. The boos heard at full time were surely for the referee rather than the home team, who have delighted the fans for most of the season and came close to recording an eighth successive league win in this match. County are next in action at Meadow Lane on 19th November against Yeovil Town.
Benedict Watson
Featured image courtesy of Rhys Thomas. Permission given to Impact to use. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @nottscountyfc via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @bromleyfc via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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