Bromley Starting XI: Gregory, Raymond, Brindley, Coulson, Wood, Hooper, Sutherland, Holland, Porter, Hackett-Fairchild, Johnson.
Leyton Orient Starting XI: Brill, Lawless, Ekpiteta, Coulson, Happe, Widdowson, Clay, Lee, Brophy, Bonne Simpson.
Summary
Orient got the game underway and from the first knockings of the game, the fierce tempo of the night was already beginning to emerge.
Alex Lawless had found space on the right flank five minutes into the game before being tumbled over the touchline by Hackett-Fairchild in an incident that saw the majority of the players on the pitch rush to the incident to defend their teammates. Both players who were involved in the initial incident were booked.
With 12 minutes on the clock and neither side creating much in front of goal, The O’s won a corner with James Brophy - who had been Orient’s brightest spark at that point - standing over it.
Josh Coulson managed to get his head onto the in-swinging ball however he narrowly failed to replicate his usual heroics of heading Orient into the lead as his effort was stopped on the goal line.
Half time loomed with both sides having little to show for the first 45 minutes until a long throw from Orient’s captain on the night, Charlie Lee, was hurled into the penalty area. Bromley failed to clear the danger and the ball fell to Josh Coulson who fired The O’s into the lead three minutes into second half stoppage time.
Whenever Orient had gone forward in the first half, infrequent attempts were usually smothered by the Bromley backline however on the stroke of half time the deadlock was broken when Josh Coulson’s right footed strike found its way through a crowd of bodies and into the Bromley net.
With Bromley a goal behind and creating little in the first half, they turned to Porter to deliver his usual party trick just a minute after the restart.
The Ex-Orient winger took a theatrical tumble on the edge of the Orient penalty area when Marvin Ekpiteta had made contact with him. The referee saw fit to award Bromley a penalty as well as show Ekpiteta the red card.
As things turned from bad to worse for the O’s Frankie Sutherland expertly dispatched the spot kick into the roof of the net to draw the scores level, leaving Dean Brill with no chance.
Being forced to convert to a back 4, it was a defender yet again who was most threatening going forward for Orient with Coulson’s effort forcing a corner. However the ten men failed to restore the lead.
As the second half progressed the hosts grew into the game, managing to exploit the Orient defence. Hackett-Fairchild headed home from close range to give Bromley a 2-1 lead after 63 minutes.
Justin Edinburgh was quick to react to going behind, bringing on both Josh Koroma and James Alabi just five minutes after going behind.
The introduction of Koroma gave hope to many of the Orient hopefully however it ultimately had a negative effect through no fault of his own.
A late studs up tackle from behind on Koroma by George Porter sparked further outrage for the travelling side with many mesmerised that Porter’s punishment was just a yellow card.
Despite Porter avoiding a sending off, Ross Embolton was given his marching orders in second half to a chorus of his name being sung in the awayend.
With frustration understandably growing for the away side, the assistant manager wasn’t the only one to be ordered away from pitch-side. After tempers flared between the Bromley dugout and away supporters, stewards saw fit to remove a minority of the latter from the ground.
In spite of attacking substitutions being made by The O’s manager, Bromley looked most likely to score another. Brindley curled an impressive effort with his left foot from the edge of the box which left the bar rattled and Brill beaten.
With hope running out, the fourth official held up his board to indicate seven additional minutes to salvage a point, but with Bromley beginning to hold the ball up in the corner then hitting the frame of the goal again, it looked unlikely.
Orient calves out a few chances in the dying minutes of the game but Bonne fires over from close range late on and Happe headed wide with the last touch of the game to leave The O’s one point clear at the top of the table with one game in hand.
Player Ratings
Brill - 6
Lawless - 7
Ekpiteta - 5
Coulson - 7
Happe - 6
Widdowson - 6
Clay - 7
Lee - 6
Brophy - 6
Bonne - 5
Simpson - 6
Subs:
Koroma - 6
Alabi - 5
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