Ben Thompson’s late brace saw Bromley climb to second in League Two with a 3-2 comeback victory at Bristol Rovers.
Thompson dragged Andy Woodman’s Ravens level with his 81st-minute finish from Idris Odutayo’s pass, before he clinched his brace with a close-range finish from Mitch Pinnock’s shot to seal Bromley’s comeback victory.
First-half strikes from Jack Sparkes and Fabrizio Cavegn had fired Steve Evans’ Gas into a 2-0 lead at half time, before Shaq Forde was dismissed for a 53rd-minute foul on Ashley Charles.
Nicke Kabamba subsequently pulled a goal back in the 68th-minute with his finish of Deji Elerewe’s cross to spark the visitors’ comeback.
Bromley now sit second in the League Two table whilst Bristol Rovers remained 22nd and one point above the relegation zone.
Sat just one point above the relegation zone but buoyed by the fact that this was their first home match under new manager, Evans, Bristol Rovers almost snatched a third-minute lead after Cavegn pounced on a defensive fumble but the Swiss fired wide of the far-bottom right corner.
Further frustration awaited the hosts when Luke Thomas’ 15th-minute pass was curled wide by Shaq Forde, before Josh McEachran saw a shot blocked two minutes later.
Forde then saw a tightly-angled shot deflected behind by Bromley’s Grant Smith before Elerewe then blocked Joel Cotterill’s shot, which led to a poor short set-piece that allowed Marcus Ifill to counter-attack but his shot was blocked.
Ben Krauhaus then rifled his touch from Mitch Pinnock’s short delivery just wide of his near left corner.
Bromley’s lacklustre defending was eventually punished in the 34th minute after Sparkes burst up the left into the box, and was left unmarked to smash a shot into the far-top right corner to put the Gas in front with his first goal for the club.
Bromley failed to heed that warning as six minutes later, Sparkes again burst up the left and clattered into Ifill, who in response tripped him up into the box, which referee – Jacob Miles adjudged as a fair incident.
Moments later, Conteh laid off a throw-in for Cavegn to smash low into the net to double the hosts’ lead, whilst he in-turn ended his 10-match streak without a goal.
Bromley eventually kept their deficit to just two goals at half time and after Taylor Moore’s shot was saved moments after the restart by Smith, Woodman’s Ravens found their attacking gears as Elerewe and substitute, Nicke Kabamba dragged shots wide.
Bristol Rovers’ attempt to regain control were dealt a blow after Shaq Forde was shown a second yellow card and dismissed in the 53rd minute, having recklessly hauled Ashley Charles to the ground from behind.
Omar Sowunmi headed in from the subsequent free-kick to reduce Bromley’s deficit but was swiftly disallowed by referee – Jacob Miles, due to multiple collisions off-the-ball inside the box.
Ben Krauhaus then fired wide as Bromley continued to up their intensity, yet they almost were dealt a killer blow after a forward pass was played toward Cavegn, but the forward fired wide.
Bromley’s improved second-half intensity eventually saw them snatch a goal after Elerewe’s 68th-minute cross was smashed into the net by Kabamba.
Sowunmi saw another attempt to get on the scoresheet denied in the 78th minute as he headed Jude Arthurs’ cross wide.
Substitute, Thompson eventually pulled Bromley level with a clinical on-the-turn strike from Odutayo’s 81st-minute pass, albeit just two minutes after the midfielder had come onto the pitch.
Bristol Rovers proceeded to try and ride their luck to settle for a draw but Thompson completed Bromley’s comeback in the second minute of injury time, after a cross into the box was diverted by Kabamba for Pinnock to shoot on goal only for Thompson to get the final touch to complete his brace.
The result lifted Bromley up to second and a single point behind league leaders – Walsall, whilst it too marked their first-ever win over the Gas in all competitions.
What’s Next?
Bristol Rovers wrap up 2025 with a home game against Barnet on Monday 29 December at 7:45pm GMT, before they begin 2026 with a trip to Shrewsbury on New Year’s Day at 3pm.
Bromley head to Crawley on Monday 29 December in their final match of 2025 at 7:45pm, before they begin 2026 at home to Newport County on New Year’s Day at 3pm.
Teams
Bristol Rovers: Luke Southwood, Taylor Moore, Alfie Kilgour (Lockyer 75′), Clinton Mola, Jack Sparkes, Josh McEachran, Kamil Conteh, Joel Cotterill (Bilongo 62′), Luke Thomas (Dewsbury 75′), Fabrizio Cavegn, Shaq Forde
Substitutes: Bryant Bilongo, Alfie Chang, Ollie Dewsbury, Tom Lockyer, Stephan Negru, Ruel Sotiriou, Brad Young
Bromley: Grant Smith, Marcus Ifill (Ilunga 79′), Deji Elerewe, Omar Sowunmi, Idris Odutayo, Ashley Charles, Corey Whitely (Kabamba 46′), Ben Krauhaus (Thompson 79′), Will Hondermarck (Arthurs 46′), Mitch Pinnock, Michael Cheek
Substitutes: Sam Long, Kyle Cameron, Ben Thompson, Nicke Kabamba, Jude Arthurs, Lakyle Samuel, Brooklyn Ilunga
Referee – Jacob Miles
Leave a Reply