By Tim Hutton

BROMLEY assistant manager Hayden Bird was happy to see the Lillywhites get off to a winning start on Saturday despite not playing to their full capabilities.

The home supporters at Hayes Lane saw their side fall behind in the seventh minute but strikes from Paul Vines and Warren McBean ensured it was Bromley who collected all three points.

Bird said: “We were very pleased with the win on Saturday, definitely.

“I was disappointed with the performance as I thought we made life difficult for ourselves in the way we played.

“But at the start of the season that happens sometimes and it’s just important to get off to a good start.

“Thankfully we achieved that.”

He added: “I think the players felt a little pressured because they had done so well in pre-season.

“To go behind in the first half was a little bit of a shock for them and I felt one or two people lost their nerve.

“It’s very important in football to play to the same principles, whether you’re winning or losing, and we moved away from those principles, which meant we were causing ourselves problems.

“Once we got back to those principles, I think we managed to get a better stranglehold on the game.”

Both sides missed a penalty in an action-packed encounter and Bird was keen to heap praise on Lillies stopper Jamie Butler afterwards.

He said: “That was an unbelievable penalty save from Jamie.

“It was a great penalty, as there was a lot of pace on it and the save was outstanding.

“Jamie is a good goalkeeper and I think people forget he is only 18.

“At Bromley we are blessed with being very strong in that position.

“Craig Holloway is clearly very good and Jamie has the potential to give him a run for his money.”

Bromley visit Boreham Wood this evening.