Bromley FC became Buildbase FA Trophy winners, with a Michael Cheek goal proving enough to secure a 1-0 victory meaning the trophy will be heading to the south-east of London rather than to the North of Wales this year.
In front of 46,111 fans, a fantastically-worked move led to the dangerous Connor Whitely squaring it beautifully for Cheek to fire into the roof of the net.
The Wrexham contingent were in fine voice ahead of kick-off as they gave an emotional and powerful rendition of the Welsh national anthem, which was sure to have got the juices flowing of the players.
And the Welshmen started brightly, with Ollie Palmer seeing his early shot impressively blocked by Bromley defender Billy Bingham. This didn’t deter the Dragons however who continued to roar on, much to the acclaim of the strong support.
Corey Whitely tried to put a dampener on Wrexham’s good start, the agile 30-year-old proving a constant thorn in the side of Wrexham’s otherwise solid defensive structure.
Whitely drove forward with the ball towards the edge of the penalty box, the anxiety amongst the Dragons’ support was palpable, for Bromley a buzz of excitement swept across Wembley. He did well to jinx past two defenders to create a yard of space, only to see his fierce strike from 25-yards sail narrowly over the bar.
Wrexham were creating chances of their own in the first half though, with 27-year-old striker Paul Mullin, who has 26 goals to his name in the National League this season, causing issues for the Bromley centre-backs.
When Mullin was set away down the right-hand side, he rolled it into the path of Jordan Davies but his effort was scuffed and fell gratefully into the hands of Ellery Balcombe, much to the relief of the Ravens fans.
Chances were few and far between as the half progressed, both sets of supporters were doing their best to galvanise their teams but to no avail. Bromley’s Harry Forster curled an effort over the bar from the corner of the penalty box, although Wrexham’s Christian Dibble seemed to have it covered.
On the brink of half time, defender Omar Sowunmi sustained what appeared to be a nasty head injury and had to be substituted off for Joe Partington on the brink of half time, much to the frustration of by Ravens manager Andy Woodman.
The second period was livelier than the first half. As the half progressed, Bromley gradually grew into the game and began to gain the upper hand. Bromley’s Ali Al-Hamadi did superbly to gracefully skip past Ben Tozer but his shot was underwhelming and was an easy save for Dibble in the Wrexham goal.
Cheek had a golden chance to score for Bromley just moments later, but again Dibble held firm between the sticks, much to the dismay of their travelling fans.
However, the deadlock was eventually broken on the 64th minute through Cheek, to send the Ravens fans into raptures. Whitely, who had been causing problems for the Wrexham defence all afternoon, was played in beautifully by the enforced substitute Partington and the 30-year-old had the simple task of rolling it square to Cheek who coolly slotted it into the roof of the net, to give Bromley the advantage.
Wrexham, for the remaining half an hour of football, were relentless in their pursuit for an equaliser, desperately searching for a moment of inspiration, but it wasn’t to be. Dan Jarvis sliced an effort wide and over the bar much to the annoyance of the Dragons fans who had made the 180 mile journey over the border to be in attendance.
Dragons substitute Jake Hyde was wheeling away in celebration in the last minute of added time when he thought his effort had drawn the Welsh side level in the dying seconds, but the linesman had his flag up much to the dismay of the Hyde who had his head in his hands.
The win sees the south London side lift the trophy for the first time the club’s incredible 130 year history, with the Ravens coming close in the 2017-18 season, only to fall short to Brackley Town in the Final, but history didn’t repeat itself on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium.
Bromley FC (4-3-3): 13. Ellery Balcombe, 4. Billy Bingham, 5. Chris Bush, 6. Omar Sowunmi, 7. Luke Coulson, 9. Michael Cheek, 17. Byron Webster ©, 18. Corey Whitley, 19. Harry Forster, 21. James Vennings, Ali Al-Hamadi
Substitutes: Joe Partington replaces Omar Sowunmi 45’, Liam Trottor replaces Billy Bingham 75’, Mason Bloomfield replaces Michael Cheek 79’
Unused Substitutes: 1. Mark Cousins (GK) 10. James Alabi, 11. Louis Dennis, 34. Jack Cawley
Wrexham AFC (4-4-2): 21. Christian Dibble, 3. Callum Mcfadzean, 6. Ben Tozer, 7. Jordan Davies, 8. Luke Young ©, 10. Paul Mullin, 11. Liam Mcalinden, 22. Tom O’Connor, 30. James Jones, 32 Max Cleworth, 35. Ollie Palmer
Substitutes: 2. Reece Hall-Johnson replacing Liam Mcalinden 74’, 12. Dan Jarvis replacing Tom O’Connor 74’, 9. Jake Hyde replacing Luke Young 85’,
Unused substitutes: 23. Lee Camp (GK), 15. Tyler French, 18. David Jones, 19. Jordan Ponticelli
