JOHNSON’S GULLS MUST DIG DEEP TO HALT RAVENS
DELIGHTED Gary Johnson hailed the character of his Torquay side after they made it four draws in a row against Bromley – despite playing most of the match with ten men.
United defender Joe Lewis saw red for a professional foul on 38 minutes but the Gulls still battled to secure a hard-fought point.
“In the circumstances it’s a point gained,” Johnson said. “They (Bromley) were very competitive and they went long and we coped with that. We did have some good opportunities in the first half and their goalkeeper made one fantastic save from Connor (LemonheighEvans)’s header.
“It’s a long time for the lads to play with only ten men – I was very pleased with them because they showed some great character and great endurance.”
Despite the visitors forcing two corners inside the opening two minutes, the Gulls began to settle as Lemonheigh-Evans nodded a corner from skipper Armani Little wide on 11 minutes.
Lemonheigh-Evans threatened again for the Gulls on 22 minutes when his header from a Stephen Wearne cross was turned behind for a corner by Bromley keeper Ellery Balcombe.
On 35 minutes, Bromley’s Jude Arthurs looked well placed to hit the Gulls with a sucker punch – but United keeper Shaun MacDonald raced off his line to clear the danger. MacDonald’s clearance then fell to Scott Wagstaff, who was also denied by the United stopper.
Three minutes later, the Gulls were reduced to ten men when Lewis was dismissed for a lunge on George Alexander. From the resulting free-kick following Lewis’ challenge, Corey Whitely fired straight at MacDonald.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Gulls went close again moments later as Lemonheigh-Evans hit the side-netting.
In the second half, the Ravens struggled to break down the Gulls, and the hosts could have sneaked ahead on 71 minutes when Wearne curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area over the bar.
Bromley looked well placed to break the deadlock through Omar Sowumni on 74 minutes but MacDonald stood strong to deny him.
MacDonald was called into action again in injury-time when he made a point blank save to deny Bromley sub Luke Coulson as United held on.
Bromley manager Andy Woodman said: “It became harder when they (Torquay) went down to ten men because they stuck ten men behind the ball – which is exactly what we would have done if we went down to ten men, so I can’t complain about that.
“I can’t fault our effort, that’s for sure, and I take the clean sheet as a positive.”
STAR MAN: Shaun MacDonald (Torquay)
ATT: 2,350
ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★☆☆
REFEREE: Paul Marsden