Bromley 1-1 Gateshead

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Bromley remain unbeaten at home but Gateshead gave them a good run for their money. This almost felt like a point gained for Bromley given the nature of the performance but it wouldnt have been the expectation prior to the match.

As ever I reflected on proceedings via The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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

The Line-up vs Gateshead

The Good

On a day where Bromley were lacklustre at best, we perhaps saw one of the strengths of the squad.

On the bench, Andy Woodman had Billy Bingham, Mason Bloomfield, Louis Dennis, Harry Forster, and Chris Bush to turn to. In the stands, fit but not in the squad, were George Alexander and new signing Charles Clayden.

This is simply a strength in depth that Andy Woodman hasn’t been able to call upon in his previous eighteen months in the job.

In the past, against a side that pressed hard and bossed possession for large parts of the game, Bromley probably would have lost. However, Woodman was able to inject Dennis and Forster at the hour mark and they combined to turn the game and give Bromley the lead.

This kind of squad depth will be required in clutch moments throughout the season if Bromley are to keep pace with the top seven.

There was good news off the pitch too, as the gate was a very healthy 2,593, with just 44 hardy Gateshead fans in attendance. The number of £97 season ticket holders is almost irrelevant. Games that you wouldn’t normally associate with 1.5k gates are now getting that and then some. 

These are heady times to be a Bromley supporter. Bromley are fifth in the league, FA Trophy holders, and are averaging 2.5k fans at home. Let's never take that for granted. 

The Bad

This wasn’t a vintage performance on the field. For the second time this season, Bromley struggled against a side that played a possession-based game. Think back to when Bromley played Altrincham and you will remember a very similar pattern.

Bromley couldn’t match Gateshead’s intensity and were pressed into mistakes in possession. And, when they didn’t have the ball, they had to work extremely hard to get it back. 

The Ravens were rarely in control and struggled to formulate a game plan that could counteract the Heed. Should they have reverted to counter-attacking football? Was it a mistake to not start with Dennis and Forster? 

All well and good in hindsight perhaps, but the game was crying out for players that could run at the Heed defence. This only materialised when Dennis and Forster came on. Should they have started, with Whitely at LWB, to maximise the direct runners on the pitch?

I don’t know if this is something that we will see repeated, but the only other side in the league that I know to play good, possession-based football are Notts County. 

With that in mind, Woodman & Co. may want to formulate a better strategy before our trip to Nottingham on November 1st.

I spoke with Andy post match have a listen to the recording below before you move on

The Ugly

Of the six games where Bromley have dropped points this season, four of them were from winning positions.

Wealdstone: Bromley were leading 2-1 with 20 minutes to go (lost)

York City: Bromley were drawing 1-1 against 10 men with a minute of injury time to go (lost)

Solihull Moors: Bromley were winning 2-0 going into nine minutes of injury time to go (drew)

Gateshead: Bromley were winning 1-0 with 10 minutes to go (drew)

I don’t believe Bromley made catastrophic substitutions that ceded their advantage on the pitch, but the raw evidence highlights that we aren’t managing games well in the final quarter. 

I don’t know, and can't pretend to know, what a manager does to rectify this issue. Does Woodman see it as an anomaly that will sort itself out in time? Or is it a psychological barrier that the team has to overcome and the manager needs to address?

If the small intangibles matter as much as Woodman often says they do, he would probably agree that at least three points have been needlessly thrown away in those four games; most notably at York and Solihull.

With those additional points, Bromley would be sitting in third place, three points off top spot. 

Small changes lead to big changes. 

Match ratings

Tom Smith (8)

Jude Arthurs (6)

Omar Sowunmi (7)

Byron Webster (7)

Callum Reynolds (7)

Reece Hannam (6)

James Vennings (7)

Ethan Coleman (6)

Corey Whitely (6)

Michael Cheek (7)

Adam Marriott (6)

Subs:

Louis Dennis (on 57 for Jude Arthurs) 7

Harry Forster (on 57 for Reece Hannam) 7

Billy Bingham (on 78 for Adam Marriott) 6

For those who are interested, I have also included the interview with Gateshead manager Mike Williamson - always worth seeing how the opposition viewed a match as well.

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