Whites went out at the quarter final stage of the Kent Senior Cup after a confident performance by Bromley. It was a fairly even start to the game, but after two first half goals from Moore and McDonnell, there was only going to be one winner. Substitute Gareth Williams added to the score in the second half to give the visitors a comfortable win.

The competition gave Clive Walker the chance to play some of the fringe players, with a number of youngsters getting their chance to impress. Vallance, Tanner, Walker and Smith all started, with Tyne and Chapman continuing their comebacks from injury. Reserves Andy McNicholas and Duncan Bishop were both named on the bench, with the former making his first team debut as a late substitute.

Whites started reasonably well, with Tyne looking sharp on his first start for a month, and he had the first effort on target of the evening, curling his shot from the corner of the area into the arms of keeper Andy Walker. Barry Moore fired over for the visitors from 25-yards out, and it wasn’t long before he scored the opening goal.

A Bromley free kick was charged down by the Whites defence, and as the home side stood appealing for an infringement, Moore fired the ball into the corner of the net from 20-yards out.

On the half hour mark however, Whites went within an ace of drawing level. Anton Innocent rolled his marker on the edge of the area to put himself through on goal, and his drive was well blocked by Andy Walker. As the ball rolled away from him, Vallance looked certain to knock the ball into the empty net, but the keeper did superbly to snatch the ball back into his grasp and thwart the Dover defender.

This proved pivotal, as within three minutes the visitors had got their second. A short free kick was played into Nic McDonnell down the left hand side of the area, and he did well to turn and fire the ball into the far corner of the net.

Whites almost got back into the game before the interval, when a fumble by the keeper fell to Nick Humphrey, but his shot was headed off of the line by Jerrome Sobers. Tyne then headed a Humphrey cross wide at the far post, but the lead couldn’t be reduced before the break.

After halftime, Moore had a drive on target blocked by Smith following a strong run from the Bromley man, yet just before the hour mark the game was effectively put to bed. Tyne was hounded off the ball in midfield, with substitute Gareth Williams put through on goal and he slotted the ball under Smith and into the net.

The game ended as a spectacle for the 210 that had made their way to Crabble with the third goal, and chances were at a premium for the final 30 minutes. Innocent was put one-on-one with the keeper, but his weak shot was easily stopped, and substitute Jimmy Dryden headed a Tanner free kick wide at the far post, but Whites were never likely to make a late comeback.

It was a disappointing evening result-wise, but at least the game gave more experience to some of the youngsters, and more minutes on the pitch for those returning from injury. Focus now returns to the priority this season, with a league game at Walton Casuals on Saturday.