WHITES BOSS HESS CALLS FOR LOKKO RED REVIEW

BOTH SIDES kept their unbeaten National league 2019 runs intact, though Bromley will wonder how they did not extend their winning run to five matches after playing just under 40 minutes against nine men.

After Adam Mekki had cancelled out Kevin Lokko’s headed opener, referee Adrian Quelch sent off Dover’s Bedsente Gomis for his part in a fracas minutes after the hour mark and after consulting both the linesman and fourth official, also gave Kevin Lokko his marching orders – though Lokko’s appeared to be a case of mistaken identity according to Andy Hessenthaler.

“It was hard to see from where I was,” said Dover’s boss. “But having looked at the footage, the referee may have only got one of the red cards right.

“For me Kevin (Lokko) has not done anything wrong – the fourth official told the referee to send my player off, but his view was the same as ours!

“To be honest, I just want to concentrate on how well my team did. They were outstanding and showed great fitness, character and desire to get us a result.”

Athletic’s manager concluded: “I have spoken to the referee and I want him to really study the incident as we are fighting to stay in this league and need as many of our players available to do that.”

Both sides were denied by the woodwork either side of the break. Bromley’s George Porter smacked the inside of the post from the edge of the box, while Inih Effiong saw a thunderous effort hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce down onto the goalline. With their two-man advantage, Mekki squandered some giltedged chances with the clock ticking down. Having earlier restored parity from close range following a corner, the goalscorer saw a shot bravely blocked on the line by Athletic captain Mitch Brundle and then blazed over the rebound when it seemed easier to score. Mekki was then unable to stretch his leg enough to connect with substitute Omar Bugiel’s driven pass into the area. Home keeper Mitch Walker came to the rescue at the start of ten minutes of injury time, spectaculary tipping away Richard Brindley’s low drive. After watching his side miss late chances, Neil Smith was frustrated his side were unable to make their numerical advantage count. “It’s a chance missed”, said Smith. “We moved the ball around, but we did not get the ball forward enough in that last half hour. Fair play to Dover, they sat back as an eight and defended for their lives to get a result that was awesome for them but disappointing for us.” STAR MAN: Mitch Walker (Dover) ATT: 1,216 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Adrian Quelch 6/10