Cooke's third goal in three games earns Town a point at Bromley

Jamie Cooke's third goal in three games earned FC Halifax Town a 1-1 draw at Bromley.
Hayes Lane. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)Hayes Lane. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
Hayes Lane. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

Michael Cheek's opener was quickly cancelled out by Cooke in an exciting passage of play at odds with a game that never sparked into life.

A point at Bromley is always hard-earned, never usually pretty and is an acceptable result for Town after their superb midweek win at Solihull.

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The hosts may have been bang out of form, but Town never got going either in an untidy, scrappy contest.

Bromley were direct, physical and uncompromising, getting the ball forward quickly, pushing their wing-backs high.

But this was a more tentative, less assured Bromley than previous incarnations Town had faced, probably in no small part due to their recent struggles, having lost four of their last five in the league, as out of form as Halifax were in form.

Quality was coming second to aerial battles, closing down and jostling for the ball.

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Any moments of quality were then more often than not followed by a couple of loose passes or a poor touch by both teams.

Cheek fired an early chance over from inside the box. He had scored just once in his last 12 games and, like most of the attacking players on show, was a peripheral figure in the contest.

There wasn't much finesse or fluency about the hosts; Town had shown the odd flash of promise but also their fair share of slack passing and lack of control or composure.

A shot wide by Mani Dierseruvwe on the turn from 20 yards from Jamie Cooke's lay-off was the closest Town came in a dull opening half.

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That had arisen from a rare moment of quick, incisive attacking play down the Halifax left, on which Angelo Capello had looked lively, but his crosses into the box were all cleared by a Bromley defence that hadn't been tested enough.

What both teams had done well was get plenty of bodies back behind the ball out of possession, be well organised and difficult to break down, with neither side possessing enough ability to produce even a shot on target in the first-half.

If Solihull was the acceptable face of a classic away performance, this was a more ugly version, with Halifax lacking the threat they'd carried on the break in midweek.

But the stilted deadlock of a contest suited Town much more than Bromley, who hadn't done enough as the home side desperate for a win.

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Halifax had been comfortable at the back, also not put under enough pressure, with the hosts resorting too often to hopeful long balls, while playing with too much hesitancy in the Town half when they did get on the ball.

Chris Millington, banished to the stands as punishment for his sending-off against Oldham, will have been content with the first-half, and possibly sensing a Town win after the second if his side could step up a gear.

The Shaymen looked a little less secure at the back after the interval, with the odd slip or missed tackle, but Bromley lacked the conviction to take advantage.

Such was the paucity of opportunities that Luke Summerfield's ambitious effort with a quick free-kick on halfway after an hour counted as a half-chance.

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But by far the best bit of quality of the game so far saw Bromley take the lead when a through ball saw Cheek played in on goal, and he finished well past Sam Johnson.

The lead was wiped out three minutes later though when Cooke converted the rebound after Mani Dierseruvwe had headed Jack Senior's cross against the bar.

Two goals in four minutes in a game which had failed to offer even a shot on target up to then.

The contest quickly reverted back to type though, with nothing to choose between the teams, who continued to work hard but produce little by way of a goal threat.

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Cheek was better after the interval, with Bromley playing off him more effectively.

The Shaymen looked a little shaky in defence, with Bromley making some inroads attacking against Tylor Golden and Jack Hunter on the right of the Halifax defence.

But still anything resembling a cutting edge eluded them, as it did the visitors.

Bromley looked the likelier winners in the later stages, forcing a clearance in-front of goal by Jamie Stott and a save from Sam Johnson from Cheek and then Billy Bingham.

Neither team really did enough to deserve a winner though.

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Bromley: Smith, Reynolds, Sowunmi, Webster, Hannam (Clayden 74), Forster, Bingham, Vennings, Whitely, Alexander (Marriott 68), Cheek. Subs not used: Dennis, Arthurs, Bush.

Scorer: Cheek (63)

Shots on target: 3

Shots off target: 8

Corners:3

Halifax: Johnson, Golden, Hunter, Senior, Stott, Capello, Spence, Gilmour, Cooke (Warburton 72), Summerfield, Dierseruvwe (Harker 68). Subs not used: Alli, Osawe, Minihan.

Scorer: Cooke (66)

Shots on target: 1

Shots off target: 7

Corners: 2

Attendance: 2,488 (67 away)

Referee: Greg Rollason

Town man of the match: No Town player was arguably below an eight out of ten on Tuesday, but no-one probably reached that level here. I'll give it to Jamie Stott, who competed well in the air and marshalled the Halifax back three well in the centre of defence.

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