Boreham Wood 0-2 Bromley
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
At one point I was definitely going to Boreham Wood then three hours before the game I remembered that I have been going to Boreham Wood vs Bromley for what seems like 15 years. Sometimes it’s ok to just say no.
Thankfully, Boreham Wood is still a big draw for Will Clutton and he was happy to step into the breach for The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.
A Tuesday night trip into Hertfordshire on the Thameslink? Well, why not.
OK, so this is not a fixture that any team in this league looks forward to, in particular not a midweek away trip. Prior to Tuesday night, Bromley had not tasted victory against Boreham Wood at Meadow Park since a midweek win in September 2015, early in both sides’ residency in the National League. Since then, Luke Garrard has shown himself to be one of the best managers outside of the football league and has done an incredible job in cementing The Wood in the higher echelons of the National League, making them very difficult to beat.
With our hosts nestled comfortably in the top 7 after a quarter of games played, a tough evening seemed to be on the cards.
So, the good, the bad and the ugly? Here are my thoughts – it would be interesting to hear yours too.
The Line-up vs Boreham Wood
The Good
After leaking two goals in injury time on Saturday at Solihull Moors, surrendering two points in the process, a positive reaction and a robust defensive display would no doubt have been asked for by Andy Woodman. His team gave him just that.
As the esteemed editor of this blog is so fond of saying, defences win you points - if you don’t concede, you don’t lose. Whereas the hosts were slightly off the pace, the back line once again showed the form that has seen them keep seven clean sheets in twelve games. Tom Smith was equal to everything thrown at him between the sticks, including a great save early in the second half from Femi Ilesanmi, and seems to have adapted very well to the role since Reice Charles-Cook’s injury.
The hosts were otherwise largely neutralised going forward by an assured defensive display. Very reassuring to all in attendance after the disappointing finale on Saturday.
It was also pleasing to see Adam Marriott, on his return from injury, notch another two on his return to the starting line-up for the first time since the Maidstone home game last month, where…he also bagged a brace. His two goals showed his striker’s instinct and the strong relationship developed with Michael Cheek - the first goal superbly finishing off a great team move after being set up by his strike partner and the second reacting quickest to a rebound after Cheek’s effort hit the post.
Nathan Ashmore is known as one of the best non-league keepers for a reason and it takes a lot to get past him. If Woodman can keep getting this form out of Marriott, we are guaranteed goals. If Cheek starts hitting the onion bag as well, then things will get really interesting indeed.
Credit also to the intense workrate of Jude Arthurs, who was still covering an immense amount of ground, even as the minutes ticked into three figures (more on that below), and nearly nabbed a third goal at the end.
The Bad
Ok, I’ll admit it. I’ve been racking my brains for a couple of days, trying to pick negatives out of this performance and I can’t. It was a well-drilled and well-deserved Tuesday night away victory against a very good team and there were no weak links or poor performances. More of this on Saturday, please!
The Ugly
A very nasty injury to former Bromley man Dennon Lewis saw him down for ten minutes after taking a ricochet full pelt at close range, being attended to by both sets of medical teams before being stretchered off with oxygen. The game was restarted after that, with fifteen minutes of stoppage time played, but neither team was really in the mood. We all hope he makes a full and quick recovery.
Match Ratings:
Tom Smith - 8
Jude Arthurs -9
Reece Hannam - 8
Byron Webster - 8
Omar Sowunmi - 8
Callum Reynolds - 8
Ethan Coleman - 8
James Vennings - 8
Corey Whiteley -8
Michael Cheek - 8
Adam Marriott -9
Subs:
Mason Bloomfield (on 74 for Adam Marriott) 7
Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.
Please note the photograph in this article was taken by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here
If you havent as yet make sure you read the other articles in the archive.
If you’d like to show an appreciation for the work that goes into this newsletter you can buy me a coffee through the link below.
You can also find Machel St Patrick Hewitt on Twitter - here
Most importantly of all subscribe to the newsletter to ensure you get these updates direct to your inbox
 | A guest post by
|