Barrow AFC 3-3 Bromley
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Nord VPN came to my rescue for the final time this season for Bromley’s helter-skelter 3-3 draw at Barrow.
On three occasions, Bromley came from behind to salvage a point, displaying a new strand of Bromley DNA. Never say die indeed.
Join me for the penultimate time this season as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 3-3 away draw against Barrow.
Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The team vs Barrow
The Good
As someone who has attended many live football matches in my time, I always find it interesting watching Bromley games on a visual media platform. I remain convinced that you get a better feel for a match when you watch it in person. The camera, after all, only shows you what it wants you to see.
This is why I don’t like writing The Good, The Bad and The Ugly after a night behind the screen; I fear I might have missed the nuance that encapsulated the essence of the game.
That said, at face value, Bromley were good, although more specifically in the second half when they threw caution to the wind and got their just rewards.
The introduction of Nicke Kabamba to join Michael Cheek up front, while moving Cameron Congreve to left wing-back, added a dual attacking threat that posed questions Barrow struggled to answer.
Midway through the second half, Andy introduced Marcus Ifill and Nathan Paul-Lavaly, which also paid off. By the end of the game, Bromley were playing with a midfield of Congreve, Thompson, Whitely, Ifill, and Paul-Lavaly, all tucked behind a front two.
It’s rare we see Bromley go all-out-attack, and it certainly raised the level of entertainment for those who made the long journey to Barrow.
Congreve got an assist (11 league goal contributions for the season) and Kabamaba scored his first goal for Bromley, while Paul-Lavaly also registered an assist. Chalk one up for the tactical changes.
You have to assume that everyone was happy for Nicke. Last week, I wrote that I liked what I saw from him in the win at Swindon. This was the second consecutive game where we saw what a Cheek-Kabamba partnership might offer next season.
Even more impressive was the introduction of Nathan Paul-Lavaly. It is easy to forget that Nathan is only 18. I spoke to David Smith the other day, who is playing at Carshalton under Peter Adeniyi, and he told me that Bromley calling Nathan back from his loan at Carshalton was the main difference between the Robins ending just outside the Isthmian Premier League play-offs and ending inside them.
When I mentioned that Nathan had come off the bench at Barrow to set up an equaliser, David wasn’t surprised in the slightest. He believes Nathan will go on to have a successful career in the EFL if all of the chips land right. Obviously, Andy Woodman rates him, and I think we can expect to see Nathan feature a lot more next season. With Danny Imray going back to Crystal Palace, it wouldn’t surprise me if Nathan is the go-to back-up for Carl Jenkinson in 25/26.
Bromley did well to equalise three times, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Barrow side in this game were better than the one that turned up at Hayes Lane in October. This draw made it six games unbeaten for the Bluebirds.
Given time, Andy Whing will build a team that are as hard to beat as his Solihull Moors side, so don’t be surprised if they’re in the top half next season. It will all come down to how well they can recruit over the summer.
While no particular Barrow player stood out to me, I saw enough moving parts to suggest that Whing can build around and upskill this side. What did you think?
The Bad
The first half was an absolute non-event and Bromley were non-existent as an attacking threat.
A lot of Bromley’s attacking play travels through Michael Cheek, but when the Ravens come across a back three, it is sometimes too easy for the opposition to smother and nullify him. At that juncture, you need the other attacking threats in the Bromley side to show up.
They didn’t.
This is why I wonder what Andy’s plan is for next season. Making Cheek the figurehead up top has led to the frontman putting up 30 goal contributions, so it’s not like Plan A hasn’t worked, but Andy wants to take Bromley to the next level.
Did that second-half performance offer him a vision of the future?
Ifill was brought to the club in January for a reason, and essentially this was his pre-season. Lavaly’s loan was terminated early for a reason. Money was paid for Kabamba for a reason. You catch my drift.
Bromley need another goal threat and lively, speedy direct runners. For a long time, people thought 5-3-2 was locked in as Bromley’s formation as it had served them so well in the National League, but then it evolved at the back-end of the promotion season to 3-4-2-1. This season, 4-2-3-1 has been the preferred formation.
This tells us that Andy isn’t wedded to a particular shape. However, so far, he has been wedded to a style. I wonder what the next evolution of Bromley will look like as he plots a play-off charge next season.
I would say something about the nature of the goals conceded, but it was the end-of-term so I think we just have to allow it and move on.
The Ugly
With one more game to go, thoughts turn to matters off the pitch.
The departure of Alan Dunne was unforeseen, and Alex Dyer and Steve Aris have stepped up their involvement in response. Byron Webster has also been noticeable in the dugout when he hasn’t been playing. Will we see some backroom movement in the off-season?
Will Andy stick or twist?
This past week has seen fans kicking off about the season ticket renewal process ahead of the new stand being opened in September.
If I'm honest, due to press commitments, I am too far removed from the process to give it the appropriate treatment, but I do encourage anyone who wants to write about their misgivings to submit an article.
For what it’s worth, I believe the club is somewhat in between a rock and a hard place here. We are growing so quickly on the pitch that we’re having to learn at hyperspeed off of it. Throw a stadium redevelopment into the mix and you can see why there are so many teething problems.
That said, could the club be communicating better?
Get at me in the comments below.
Match ratings
Grant Smith (7)
Danny Imray (6)
Omar Sowunmi (7)
Byron Webster (6)
Deji Elerewe (6)
Idris Odutayo (6)
Ashley Charles (6)
Jude Arthurs (6)
Corey Whitely (6)
Ben Thompson (6)
Michael Cheek (7)
Subs:
Nicke Kabamba for Idris Odutayo 46’ (8)
Cameron Congreve for Jude Arthurs 46’ (8)
Marcus Ifill for Ashley Charles 65’ (7)
Nathan Paul-Lavaly for Danny Imray 65’ (8)
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