Andy Woodman and Byron Webster react to Bromley’s FA Cup defeat to Blackpool

BY JACK BURGESS

Bromley were unable to upset the odds and produce a memorable FA Cup triumph lastSaturday as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of League One Blackpool.

It was a nightmare start for the Ravens as they found themselves behind after just five minutes. Shayne Lavery received a perfectly-weighted pass from Kylian Kouassi and fired past Grant Smith to put Blackpool 1-0 up.

Karamoko Dembele put Blackpool 2-0 up on 28 minutes, with the 20-year-old producing a fantastic piece of skill to turn past Sam Woods, before playing a quick one-two with Kouassi and clinically finishing through the legs on Smith.

Charlton loanee Deji Elerewe had the best chance of the first half for Bromley, firing over following a goalmouth scramble after a Ben Krauhaus corner.

Bromley did produce a much better second-half performance, with the first chance of the half falling to substitute Olufela Olomola, who couldn’t connect with a fantastic ball that was zipped across the Blackpool box by Besart Toballoj.

The biggest chance that came in the second half fell to the man who they would have wanted the chance to fall to – Michael Cheek. Nineteen-year-old Krauhaus’ lofted corner was met by a Chin Okoli header, which was saved by Richard O’Donnell , with Cheek somehow firing the rebound wide from six yards out.

Despite a disappointing start to the match, Bromley showcased the character and fight in the second half that had seen them come into the match with 11 wins in 14 matches.

Asked by the South London Press about what he made of his side’s efforts in the second half, manager Andy Woodman said: “It would have been nice to see one go in and see if we could have had a bit of a grandstand finish. But it wasn’t meant to be.

“Fair play to Blakpool. They did a very professional job on us.”

After such an impressive run, which has seen his side climb to third in the National League, Woodman was asked about how important it is that his players are able to put the cup disappointment behind them and turn their focus back to the league campaign – with Boreham Wood their next match on Saturday.

“That’s the important thing for us now – the reaction we produce next Saturday.

“We’ve got a tough game and we need to get back to concentrating on our campaign in the league and keep that momentum going now.

“They did great. It will be a good learning curve for them and I feel they didn’t look out of place at all.”

Captain Byron Webster spoke to the South London Press after the match. He said: “We were disappointed with the first half obviously. It showed the class that Blackpool have – they had two chances and they punished us. That’s the difference between playing in the National League to League One.

“But in the second half we gave a good account of ourselves. If one of those chances goes in, it’s a bit nervy for them.”

When asked whether conceding in the first five minutes set the tone for the first half and if the team struggled to get going because of that, Webster said: “Maybe, yeah – but it’s about confidence. I’m not saying we were overawed by them but they are a league outfit who have a good manager and have a good style of play.

“Maybe the occasion got to us , but if we could have got one goal it would have been a different story.”

A feature of Bromley teams under Andy Woodman has been the faith that is put in younger players, with 19-year-old’s Krauhaus and Okoli both starting, as well as 20-year-old Elerewe.

Webster was asked how he felt the younger players dealt with the added pressure on the match. He said: “They did well – everyone did.

“Everyone comes out with credit. There’s not many times you lose a game and you come out with credit as a club.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD