It’s always nice when a club listens to the fans and it’s mainly thanks to supporter pressure that Bromley have taken the Kent Senior Cup seriously for the first time since they became a National League side, fielding a good strength side in all of the rounds.
It all began for The Ravens in November at Hayes Lane with a well taken win over Bostik League Division One South East Faversham Town, followed by a very impressive win over Charlton’s exciting Under 23 team in February.
The semi saw Bromley travel to Tonbridge where they edged the Bostik Premier Angels by a single first half goal and some great goalkeeping from David Gregory, securing a cup final against old rivals Maidstone United to look forward to in April.
The last time Bromley appeared in the Kent Senior Cup Final was back in 2011 when Hayden Bird’s side lost 4-1 against Dartford, with Warren McBean scoring the only goal for us on a May Bank Holiday afternoon to forget.
The last time Bromley won the competition was in 2007 when they defeated Tonbridge Angels 3-1 at Hayes Lane to retain the trophy we had won the previous season when defeating Gravesend & Northfleet 3-2 after extra time. The Ravens have won the competition a total of six times in 1950, 1977, 1992, 1997, 2006 & 2007.
The National League fixtures between The Ravens and The Stones this season have seen Bromley come out on top winning 1-0 at The Gallagher Stadium in October and 2-0 at Hayes Lane in February.
Now managed by veteran boss John Still, Maidstone have former Bromley favourites Rob Swaine and Blair Turgott in their squad and are the current holders of the cup.
The Stones also are the competitions most successful team having picked up the trophy seventeen times to date and will be looking to take the trophy back to The Gallagher Stadium to lift the spirits following their relegation from The National League a couple of weeks ago in a difficult season that has seen three management teams hold the reins.
At the weekend both sides were on their travels with The Stones losing 4-1 at Chesterfield, Turgott netting for the Kent side, while Bromley grabbed a late draw in a 2-2 at Halifax Town, with the goals coming from Luke Coulson and Richard Brindley.
The point kept The Ravens in thirteenth with 56 points from 42 games played. Coulson is cup tied for the final along with Charlton loanees Bredndan Sarpong-Wiredu and Reeco Fairchild-Hackett.
Manager Neil Smith is also without the injured duo of Adam Mekki and Jake Goodman, but he will be hoping the reminder of his squad can win some silverware for the club.
Entrance is £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.
The Road to The Final:
Bromley Maidstone Utd
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Faversham Town H 4-1 Dover Athletic H 4-2
Charlton Athletic H 3-1 Dartford A 1-1, won 8-7 on pens
Tonbridge Angels A 1-0 Gillingham H 2-2, won 4-2 on pens