Corey Whitely’s 88th-minute winner saw Bromley extend their unbeaten run to 20 matches with a 1-0 victory at Newport County.
Whitely intercepted a loose short clearance and smashed his low shot into the far-left corner to seal victory, which saw Bromley achieve a 20-match unbeaten league run for the third time in their history.
Bromley now sit five points clear of MK Dons at the League Two summit, whilst Newport in 20th position found their gap to the relegation spots trimmed to a single point.
Having made the 175-mile trip to Newport’s Rodney Parade off the back of just two wins in their last seven games, Bromley soon found themselves on the backfoot as Harrison Biggins rifled wide on a third-minute counter-attack by Newport.
Newport soon asserted their authority on the match as Ben Lloyd saw two shots deflected, whilst Matt Baker flicked wide from Grant Smith’s block of a cross.
Biggins then curled a 32nd-minute free-kick over the bar from the edge of the box after Ben Krauhaus clipped Thomas Davies to the ground.
Bromley meanwhile were frustratingly limited in the first half as Mitch Pinnock volleyed wide from a Lee Jenkins clearance, before he almost saw his 33rd-minute free-kick headed on goal by Nicke Kabamba if not for Jordan Wright’s right-handed outstretched punch to flick the header behind.
Woodman’s Ravens’ late improvement almost paid off as a 43rd-minute throw-in from Pinnock was cleared to Will Hondermarck on the edge of the box, but the midfielder rifled his shot just over the bar.
Bromley however were spared their blushes before half time after Bobby Kamwa cut in from the left flank with a curled shot to his near-left corner, which was nodded on by Ben Krauhaus towards his own goal but Smith luckily saved the ball much to Krauhaus’ relief.
Newport however continued to maintain their pressure in the second half but got a slice of luck in the 59th minute as two Bromley substitutes combined, through Corey Whitely’s cross to an unmarked Marcus Dinanga who flicked narrowly wide of the left corner.
Lloyd then smashed Nathan Opoku’s 63rd-minute pass onto the left post much to Bromley’s relief as both teams continued to lack a clinical final touch to beat their oppositional goalkeepers.
Wright proceeded to keep Newport level with an instinctive 76th-minute left-handed punch to deflect Sowunmi’s header off the line from Pinnock’s corner.
Dinanga then nodded Pinnock’s cross over the bar just two minutes later as Bromley began to turn up their intensity further after weathering waves of Newport attacks in the second half.
Newport substitute, James Crole was slipped through by Lloyd in the 85th minute but Smith deflected his shot over with a quick reactive outstretched block.
Smith’s save proved crucial as Bromley broke forward from the cleared corner and won their own corner from Lloyd’s deflection, which was scruffily cleared amidst various recycled deliveries.
The ball eventually found Kabamba whose pass was deflected into the path of Whitely, who bent a low high-speed shot across the box into the far left corner to snatch victory against his former team.
Bromley’s win also saw Woodman become the third manager in Bromley’s history to oversee a 20-match unbeaten league run, with only Charles Juniper and John Biddle having previously achieved that feat with the Ravens.
What’s Next?
Newport continue their fight for EFL survival as they visit Walsall on Saturday 21 March at 3pm GMT.
Bromley look to set a new club-record unbeaten run of 21 matches as they host Colchester at Copperjax Stadium on Saturday 21 March at 3pm,
Teams
Newport: Jordan Wright, Lee Jenkins (Smith 38′, Baker-Richardson 90′), Thomas Davies, Matt Baker, Joe Thomas, Sven Sprangler, Cameron Evans (Nyakuhwa 90′), Ben Lloyd, Harrison Biggins, Bobby Kamwa, Nathan Opoku (Crole 70′)
Substitutes: Courtney Baker-Richardson, James Crole, Gerard Garner, Shaun MacDonald, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, Liam Shephard, Matthew Smith
Bromley: Grant Smith, Marcus Ifill (Ilunga 79′), Omar Sowunmi, Jesse Debrah, Idris Odutayo, Jude Arthurs (Charles 71′), Damola Ajayi (Whitely 57′), Ben Krauhaus (Dinanga 57′), Will Hondermarck, Mitch Pinnock, Nicke Kabamba
Substitutes: Ashley Charles, Marcus Dinanga, George Evans, Brooklyn Ilunga, Sam Long, Zech Medley, Corey Whitely
Referee – Paul Howard
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