Bromley goalkeeper on 'amazing' Newcastle opportunity & hero challenge
BROMLEY goalkeeper Grant Smith hopes one of his team-mates can write themselves into FA Cup folklore with their own Ronnie Radford moment against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Radford’s spectacular long-range strike on a quagmire pitch at Edgar Street in February 1972 saw non-league Hereford equalise against the top-flight Magpies.
Hereford substitute Ricky George then went on to score a winner in extra-time – with the late John Motson providing all the memorable commentary for Match of the Day.
EFL new boys Bromley came through a dramatic first-round tie at Rochdale – winning a 4-3 after scoring twice in stoppage time – and then saw off Solihull Moors to book their place in the third round for the first time.
Sunday’s trip to St James’ Park will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and also via the red button, giving the Kent club plenty of additional exposure on top of the extra FA Cup prize money.
Smith – who started his career in the youth setup at Reading and then Fulham before spells at Brighton and Lincoln – hopes Bromley can make the most of their own moment in the national spotlight.
“Football is a very short-sighted sort of mind, where all it takes is one of our players to have one good game on the right stage, in front of the right viewers – and then suddenly everyone will be talking about you,” Smith told the PA news agency.
“Suddenly you are an unbelievable player and then all these different types of clubs are interested in you and it is like your whole season has been amazing.
“For some of our boys, maybe that is what they are thinking and maybe it gets their stock up a little bit.
“Hopefully we can have maybe five, six or seven of our players doing that and we could give Newcastle a good game.”
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Smith, 31, added: “The main thing, though, is the exposure for the club is amazing and the revenues will obviously be a big help for the club going forward.
“A lot of non-league and lower-league clubs rely on hopefully getting a couple rounds through the FA Cup, just to get the revenue and that can set clubs up for the next couple of years.
“So everything about the FA Cup this season has been positive and hopefully, come Sunday, we can continue the run.”
Bromley head to Newcastle on the back of seeing their 10-match unbeaten run brought to an end with a 4-1 defeat at Crewe last weekend.
With the busy festive schedule, Smith – who joined Bromley in the summer of 2023 after two seasons at Yeovil – admits Andy Woodman’s squad have not had much time to reflect on what awaits for their big day out on Tyneside.
“Over the Christmas and New Year period, it is absolutely hectic,” said Smith, whose two saves in the penalty shoot-out helped Bromley secure promotion last season by winning the Vanarama National League play-off final against Solihull at Wembley.
“We have had so many games coming think and fast that we haven’t even really had the chance to really sit back and say: ‘Oh God, we are playing at Newcastle soon’, so it has been just one game at a time.
“Now all those games are out the way, we can really look forward to the weekend and be looking to perform.”
Bromley will be missing Kamarl Grant through suspension after the on-loan Millwall defender was sent off late on at Crewe for a second caution.