Chesterfield 3-2 Bromley: Spireites come back to beat 10-man Ravens in National League play-off semi-final

Darren OldakerImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Darren Oldaker's free-kick put Chesterfield in front for the first time after 79 minutes

Chesterfield booked a date with Notts County in the National League promotion final after coming from behind to beat 10-man Bromley after extra time.

The Ravens led through Adam Marriott's strike in first-half injury time but the hosts levelled via an own goal from Deji Elerewe, who was later sent-off.

Darren Oldaker thought his free-kick had won it but Michael Cheek's 99th-minute equaliser forced extra time.

Liam Mandeville's fierce strike settled it in the first half of extra time.

A protracted game saw kick-off delayed because of crowd congestion, before a further hold-up in the first half due to a medical emergency in the stand, while the second half was interrupted by drones hovering over the pitch.

Marriott glanced an early header inches wide from a Jude Arthurs free-kick while Jeff King picked up a yellow card for a lunge on Elerewe and might have seen a second after going down in the box awaiting a challenge from Callum Reynolds, either for simulation or for his furious reaction to not being given a penalty.

The deadlock was broken 14 minutes into first-half stoppage time when Cheek was sent down the right and fired in a low cross which Ash Palmer and keeper Ross Fitzsimons left for each other, leaving Marriott with a simple tap-in.

The hosts levelled just before the hour as Ryan Colclough's low cross from the right went in at the near post off the unfortunate Elerewe.

The 19-year-old defender had been the hero with the quarter-final winner at Woking on Wednesday, but with 15 minutes of normal time remaining, Elerewe flew into a rash challenge on Mandeville and received a straight red card.

Billy Bingham was close to conceding a penalty for a handball on the edge of the box but Oldaker dispatched the free-kick as if it were a spot-kick, whipping the ball through the wall and past Bromley goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook for his first goal since November.

It looked like being the winner but nine minutes into stoppage-time Omar Sowunmi nodded down a deep cross from Mitchel Bergkamp for Cheek to send the game into extra time with his 17th goal of the season.

The short-handed Ravens looked weary in the additional 30 minutes and Mandeville lashed an angled drive inside the post from the right of the area to book Chesterfield's first Wembley trip in nine years.

The Spireites finished the regular season in third - one place behind runners-up Notts County - but 23 points behind them, and will face them in the promotion final at Wembley on 13 May.

Chesterfield keeper Ross Fitzsimons told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I've never been involved in a more extraordinary game of football.

"It was nail-biting from the first minute, and it was always going to be - they are a brilliant team and it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. I'm just glad we've got it done.

"Football is never straightforward. The game is never done regardless of what minute it is. We got the job done in the end and that's the main thing. The boys put a shift in, Bromley did too. It was a great game. They were never out of the game.

"It's personally a dream come true (to be at Wembley) but we aren't up yet, we need to do it again, we've got potentially another 130 minutes to do. You're probably looking at maybe the two best footballing teams in the division going at it. We'll see what happens.

"We've got strength in depth and this year we are flying into the play-offs. Let's hope we can get these brilliant fans back into the Football League."

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