Nicke Kabamba fired Bromley up to fifth in League Two in a 2-1 victory at home to Barrow.
Kabamba turned in Michael Cheek’s 88th-minute low cross to settle a tight contest which secured their first EFL victory against Barrow, after both meetings last season ended in 1-1 and 3-3 draws respectively.
Marcus Ifill fired Bromley ahead with a 32nd-minute curled strike into the bottom-left corner from Ashley Charles’ pass.
Whitfield however snatched a 50th-minute equaliser for Barrow through his powerful low shot into the far right corner, having pounced on a loose ball after Rekeem Harper was tripped up.
With low clouds surrounding the Copperjax Stadium and chilly conditions, Barrow made a solid start pressing Bromley’s defence back which culminated in a 11th-minute shot from Josh Gordon, after the loanee met Kane Hemmings’ knockdown header but his shot flew wide of the near-bottom right corner.
Such was Barrow’s organised tight attacking play, Bromley struggled to carve out many early clear-cut chances aside from a 14th-minute curled effort by Ifill whose curled shot was saved by Wyll Stanway.
Stanway however couldn’t keep out Ifill before half-time as the ex Brighton Under-21s player picked up Charles’ 32nd-minute pass and curled low past Stanway via a deflection into the bottom left corner to net his first senior goal.
Bromley eventually protected their slender lead into half time amidst a yellow card for Corey Whitely after a high-boot foul on Barrow’s Lewis Shipley, of whom had to be stretchered off due to the severity of the impact.
Shipley’s absence however didn’t affect Barrow early in the second half as Harper won possession but was tripped as he cut in, which allowed Whitfield to smash low into the far right corner to restore parity.
Bromley subsequently upped their intensity as Corey Whitely and Michael Cheek saw shots saved, whilst Will Hondermarck blasted a 62nd-minute shot over the bar and Deji Elerewe then headed wide a further 16 minutes later from Mitch Pinnock’s cross.
Barrow however did have their own chance to take the lead but Gordon’s header from Elliot Newby’s cross was flapped away by Grant Smith to his near-right post.
Bromley finished the match on top but lacked a composed final touch to retake the lead as Michael Cheek volleyed wide in the 87th minute from a scrappy recycled set-piece delivery, which caused a scramble inside the box before it fell to the prolific striker.
Cheek however atoned for his wasteful finishing touch a minute later as he met a cross and calmly played a low cross across goal, which evaded Stanway and left Kabamba free to smash into the left corner at the near-right post.
Barrow almost restored parity in the first minute of injury time as a quick attack culminated in a wide volley from substitute, Connor Mahoney much to Bromley’s relief as the Ravens clung on to climb back into the top five for the first time since matchweek two last season.
Cheek however nearly further consolidated the hosts’ victory as he turned Ben Krauhaus’ pass towards the top-right corner, only for Stanway to punch his shot away to keep Barrow’s loss to just one goal.
What’s Next?
Bromley face a tricky test at home next weekend as they host Salford at Copperjax Stadium in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday 22 November.
Barrow meanwhile will host Cambridge at Holker Street on the above date at 3pm.
Teams
Bromley: Grant Smith, Marcus Ifill (Ilunga 82′), Deji Elerewe, Omar Sowunmi, Idris Odutayo, Ashley Charles, Corey Whitely (Kabamba 68′), Jude Arthurs (Krauhaus 59′), Will Hondermarck, Mitch Pinnock, Michael Cheek
Substitutes; Sam Long, Kyle Cameron, Ben Krauhaus, Nicke Kabamba, Jemiah Umolu, Brooklyn Ilunga, Alex Stepien-Iwumene
Barrow: Wyll Stanway, Charlie Raglan, Niall Canavan, Lewis Shipley (Mahoney 45+6′), Ben Jackson, Rekeem Harper (Fletcher 90′), Charlie McCann, Elliot Newby, Ben Whitfield, Josh Gordon (Earing 79′), Kane Hemmings
Substitutes; Ben Winterbottom, Jack Earing, Scott Smith, Michael Adu-Poku, Isaac Fletcher, Connor Mahoney
Referee – Stephen Parkinson
Leave a Reply