Click here to listen to Glenn’s post-match interview.

 

Six goals from six different sources sent City on their way to a thrashing of Kent club Bromley, and Manager Glenn Pennyfather knows the best way to keep pressure on the top four is to maintain the Clarets’ lengthy unbeaten run, claiming: “Hopefully we’ll reel people in!”

 

Kezie Ibe, David Rainford, Max Cornhill and Michael Bakare, as well as substitutes Joe Benjamin and Craig Parker, all got on the score sheet in a home drubbing of the mid-table side. Bromley were also down to ten men after their skipper, Tutu Henriques, was dismissed for a handball which blocked Adam Tann’s goalbound shot.

 

City stayed in fifth position but took advantage of some of the leading pack’s dropped points, Glenn reacting: “We’re about a third of the way through the season and there’s a long way to go, but hopefully we’ll reel people in. All we can do is win our own matches, and today’s goal difference is an added bonus. We’ve made some ground and now we’ve got two big games against Woking, so we’ll look forward to those.”

 

“It’s always good to share the goals around - the more scorers you’ve got in your team the better the chance you’ve got. I felt for the first ten minutes it was a bit sloppy actually. They had a couple of corners where they whipped the ball in some decent balls and I was hoping it wasn’t going to be one of those days. But once Kezie got the opening goal I think it settled us down.”

 

Bromley had started well and one of the aforementioned corners had to be cleared off the line on 4 minutes, followed by a near-post Lewis Taylor cross which Hakeem Araba dived at to head wide. But Chelmsford took a 16th-minute lead when left-back Aiden Palmer ventured forward and fed Ibe ten yards from goal, who turned his marker before rolling past goalkeeper Tommy Forecast into the bottom corner.

 

That advantage was added to in the 21st minute in what was a pivotal moment in the game. Several Clarets players attempted to force the ball home from close range and, when Tann tried his luck, the arms of Henriques thwarted him and resulted in the latter being sent from the field. Rainford remained calm during the aftermath and confidently hammered the resulting penalty into the top corner.

 

Bromley were now facing a long remaining 70 minutes and an inch-perfect Palmer cross picked out Cornhill on 27, his bullet header being kept out by an exceptional, acrobatic Forecast save. However, within 60 seconds, Bakare, Ibe and Palmer had quick-fire shots and Cornhill rammed the loose ball into the bottom corner on the half-volley.

 

Chelmsford were in full command and kept possession for long spells, taking advantage of their greater numbers. Bakare, a replacement in the starting eleven for Greg Morgan, could also have made it four with moments of the half left when through on goal though Forecast rushed out to block and Sam Corcoran couldn’t bag the rebound.

 

After half time Bakare atoned for that missed chance by converting another. It was becoming a true rearguard action for the visitors, whose defence backed off as Bakare advanced into a shooting position to the left of the area and his low effort flew beyond Forecast. Bakare later got on the end of Warren Whitely’s deep cross-field delivery and volleyed at goal, Bromley’s ‘keeper making another brilliant intervention.

 

City were able to substitute Tann and Cornhill in the second half yet there was no change in standards and a tantalising 62nd-minute cross into the danger zone came out the other side where Whitely placed it back into the goalmouth. Corcoran rolled the ball into the net through a crowd of bodies in the area but, after a period of deliberation with his Assistant, Referee Ian Cooper disallowed it for offside.

 

One of the replacements, Parker, supplied Bakare with the ball in the 67th minute and he turned his marker before striking a yard off-target while, at the other end, a rare Bromley attack saw Bradley Goldberg dribble towards goal and sting the palms of custodian Stuart Searle from distance. The Lilywhites did then grab a 79th-minute consolation, Taylor making the most of his space on the edge of the box to drill home.

 

The loss of their clean sheet irked the hosts, who pressed home their superiority thanks to two more late goals. With seven minutes left, Benjamin outpaced the away rearguard on the right-hand corner of the box and screeched a deflected drive into the opposite top corner. Then, a minute into stoppage time, the ball was worked inside from the left and Parker was ideally placed to sweep home from a few yards.

 

In-between, Bromley could have registered a second as some good footwork from Orlando Smith was followed by a strike just wide, while a quick break enabled Goldberg to turn and shoot beyond the post. However, it could easily have been seven for Chelmsford when Benjamin hit another screamer from range which was blocked into the path of Mark Haines, who rapped the crossbar with the goal gaping.

 

Pennyfather rated the performance and result as excellent, with a trip to runaway leaders Woking coming up, and he added: “After the sending off we were very professional. We passed the ball well, changed the point of attack which was important and kept as much width as we could. It could have been a lot more in the end.”

 

City:

 

1 Stuart Searle

2 Justin Miller

3 Aiden Palmer

4 Adam Tann

5 Kenny Clark

6 David Rainford (C)

7 Warren Whitely

8 Sam Corcoran

9 Kezie Ibe

10 Max Cornhill

11 Michael Bakare

 

12 Joe Benjamin (On for Bakare, 72)

14 Jermaine Brown

15 Mark Haines (On for Tann, 55)

16 Ben Nunn

17 Craig Parker (On for Cornhill, 59)

 

Bromley: Tommy Forecast, Tutu Henriques (C), Marlon Patterson (Nathan Green, 58), Liam Harwood (Orlando Smith, 46), Joe Dolan, Rob Gillman, Danny Waldren, Lewis Taylor, Hakeem Araba, Bradley Goldberg, Aaron Rhule (Rory Hill, 58). Unused Substitutes: Ugo Udoji, Mike Jones.

 

Bookings: City: Tann (45+3, foul), Corcoran (69, foul). Bromley: Taylor (50, persistently infringing the laws of the game), Hill (81, foul).

 

Sent Off: Bromley: Henriques (20, denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity).

 

Referee: Ian Cooper.

 

Assistant Referees: George Sprague and Alan Marshall.

 

Attendance: 1,008.

 

City Man of the Match: Kezie Ibe.