Match report
The Dons' promotion campaign remained on track despite two dropped points late in the game in the most controversial of circumstances.
If conceding a goal to an obvious handball at Eastleigh wasn't a sign that the Blue Square South gods aren’t decked out in yellow and blue, events in injury time at Hayes Lane certainly were. With seconds remaining of the four minutes added at the end of normal time, Jay Conroy went down injured in the Dons’ penalty area. Jon Main put the ball out for a throw-in 40 yards from goal, and once Conroy was back on his feet the visiting supporters were preparing themselves for an almighty celebration. Their team were 2-1 up, Hampton & Richmond had drawn and Eastleigh had lost. The title was almost in the bag.
Then Bromley's Kenny Beaney threw in the ball to Ryan Hall, near the halfway line. Hall lofted the ball in the direction of Pullen, who was waiting on the edge of the penalty area, and it sailed over the keeper’s head and curled into the net. The Dons’ five-point lead at the top of the table was suddenly back to three.
In chaotic scenes, the Dons players, management and coaching staff remonstrated with their opposite numbers, and even the injured and suspended Dons players behind the dugouts joined in as the huge away following vented their feelings. There was little the referee could do because Hall hadn't contravened the laws of the game. Wimbledon management and the referee all asked Bromley to do as Chesterfield did in the FA Cup earlier in the season against Droylsden: simply stand back at the restart and let the Dons score. But they decided not to do so, and lined up to defend from the kick-off as usual.
It was an extraordinary end to a game that hadn't really threatened to be anything more than a routine victory for the Dons, if the first half was anything to go by. A superb volley from Elliott Godfrey with only 2 minutes gone looked set to be the catalyst for an easy win. However, the Dons just couldn't find the killer ball, and a second goal never materialised. Chris Hussey and Danny Kedwell came close, but time after time Jerome Sobers stretched out a long leg and prevented Wimbledon from extending their lead. Bromley rarely threatened at the other end, with top scorer Warren McBean on the bench and the skilful Ali Chaaban unable to make the most of his possession.
Seven minutes into the second half, with Godfrey out of the action with a damaged shoulder, Hall fired past Pullen with Bromley's first decent attempt on goal, and the game changed. The home side suddenly looked interested and sensed that, despite dominating the first half, the Dons were there for the taking. When McBean came on, his electrifying pace began to trouble Ben Judge and Jake Leberl, and only some great saves by Pullen kept the Dons' hopes alive.
With two minutes remaining, and after Bromley had been in control for most of the half, the Dons took the lead again. A Tony Finn corner was flicked on by Kedwell, and substitute Lewis Taylor, making his first appearance since his pre-season injury, got a significant touch to the ball, which fell invitingly for fellow debutant and sub Rocky Baptiste to touch home from six yards and send the travelling Dons fans into short-lived ecstasy. |
90) (sub 83) Liam Norval