Aldershot Town 1-0 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

When I was an impressionable teenager, I used to attend all of Bromley’s pre-season games for fear of not knowing what shape they were in before the new season started.

I’m older, ‘wiser’, and more tired these days, and find pre-season more of a nuisance than anything else.

That said, I still insist on attending at least one pre-season game (usually the last one) so I can get a sense of the squad.

My streak nearly ended this pre-season, but a last-minute change of heart and circumstances found me travelling to Aldershot Town to assess things ahead of the curtain-raiser against Harrogate Town on Saturday 10^th August.

So here, as ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 1-0 pre-season defeat at Aldershot Town.

Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

The team vs Aldershot Town

The Good

If pre-season is supposed to ask questions, this game more than fulfilled the brief.

Aldershot Town represented a good test for Bromley. While the Ravens’ shirt sleeves now say ‘EFL’, the Shots finished 8^th in the National League last season and took four points from the available six against Bromley.

Granted this Aldershot side are now shorn of Laurent Tolaj and Josh Stokes, but as evidenced by their performance in the first half, they are still a very good side in possession and continue to ask serious questions of defences.

Attacking-wise, Bromley weren’t at their fluent best, but there were signs of positive patterns at times. At points in the first half, and in the first 20 minutes of the second, Corey Whitely and Cameron Congreve dovetailed well to create opportunities out wide or through intricate interplay in the middle. This continued when Louis Dennis came on. 

Marcus Dinanga, meanwhile, will wonder how he didn’t net two of the golden opportunities presented to him. 

Away from that, I got to see 18-year-old Nathan Paul-Lavaly come on as a second-half substitute. 

The last time I saw Nathan play was 18 months ago when he was one of the standout players in Bromley’s FA Youth Cup second round tie with Ipswich Town.

Last season, Andy Woodman mentioned to me that Nathan would be the next one off the production line. Based on his performance in this game, I totally see why Andy holds him in high regard.

Fearless and brave on the ball, Nathan repeatedly made runs from wingback that put Aldershot defenders on the back foot. Despite his smallish frame, he was robust in the challenge and was not bullied.

By no stretch would anyone suggest that Nathan is the finished article. I thought his defensive positioning was found wanting at times, and there will be other areas of his game that need polishing, but he displays enough raw material to suggest his trajectory might be similar to Fisher and Krauhaus.

High praise indeed.

This season, I will use The Good to highlight the performance of an opposition player. Aldershot’s Josh Barrett is my pick from this fixture.

I first came across Josh at Kings Lynn Town when Bromley played them in 21/22. It was easy to see why he had played in the EFL for both Reading and Bristol Rovers as a youngster. His first touch, vision, and ability to find pockets of space was exemplary. 

Aldershot’s gaffer Tommy Widdrington managed Josh at Kings Lynn, so it should come as no surprise that he brought him to the Shots in January 2024.

Josh was easily the best technical player on the field in this game, BUT he is not at optimal fitness.

I think this has been an area of concern since he dropped out of the EFL. I’m not here to fat-shame, people come in all shapes and sizes, I just wonder where the line is between a brilliantly gifted heavyset player and the supposed need to be at optimal weight and fitness.

I have no doubt that if Aldershot can get Josh Barrett close to his prime athletic shape, he will be a Football League player in waiting. 

The Bad

Defensively, as a team, I thought Bromley were quite poor in stages of the first half and in the latter stages of the second half when the game became more open. Pre-season is about working on movement and shape in and out of possession and there were a few times when I thought Bromley were set up badly out of possession.

A lot of that is due to how quickly Aldershot move men and the ball in possession, but I was concerned that they were able to play through the gaps inside the full-backs.

The goal itself came from a slack piece of Bromley play. Grant Smith’s under-hit clearance was pounced on by an Aldershot midfielder, which caught Bromley’s back-line out of shape. Haydon Vaughan had the easy task of passing the ball into the net.

Of course, we have no idea how Bromley will line up for the season opener, so making grandiose statements seems a bit redundant.

Prior to this game, Bromley were undefeated during their pre-season matches, despite having experimented extensively with the personnel.

In this game, Deji Elerewe, Omar Sowunmi, Callum Reynolds, Danny Imray, Ashley Charles, Sam Woods, Olufela Olomola, and Levi Amantchi did not feature. 

Your guess is as good as mine as to who starts against Harrogate Town.

For the record, I believe only three of the starting line-up against Aldershot could be said to be guaranteed a place next week.

The Ugly

Before Aldershot scored, Bromley should have already been in front, but there was some critical dithering and indecisiveness in possession.

At times in the opening 20-25 minutes of the second half, Aldershot were very much hanging on, so why didn’t Bromley capitalise?

At key moments, players wanted an unnecessary extra touch, took too much time on the ball, misplaced an easy pass, or simply fluffed their lines. 

I wouldn’t read too much into this as the game had nothing riding on it. In fact, it had all the hallmarks of the football you play when nothing is on the line.

Can you remember any of the pre-season games from last season? I can't. 

All the same, Andy Woodman would not have been impressed, and it gives him something to focus on ahead of the big kick-off.

Who would you start with?

To let me know what you think about the above, get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Kamarl Grant (7) 

Byron Webster (7)

Besart Topalloj (6.5) 

Josh Passley (7)

Lewis Leigh (6)

Jude Arthurs (6)

Idris Odutayo (6)

Corey Whitely (7)

Cameron Congreve (7)

Marcus Dinanga (6)

Subs:

Michael Cheek (6)

Nathan-Paul Lavaly (7)

Louis Dennis (7)

Taylor Foran (6.5)

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