Bromley 1-2 AFC Wimbledon (Carabao Cup)

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

In Machel’s absence, Peter gives us his North Terrace view of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s Carabao Cup tie with AFC Wimbledon. 

Bromley were never going to win the Carabao Cup, but it was nice to be invited. 

For teams in League Two, the EFL Cup is a wedding invite with caveats: You’re on the kids’ table and please keep off the dance floor. Bromley were airbrushed out of the wedding photos at the earliest opportunity, losing 2-1 to AFC Wimbledon in a reassuringly closely contested cup tie.

Squad rotation was high on the agenda for both sides, but this was no U21 run-out; the names in the starting line-ups were familiar ones. For the players, this was the chance to put in a place-staking performance ahead of Saturday’s repeat league fixture. But did anyone take it?

Join me as I explore The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-1 Carabao Cup first round loss at home to AFC Wimbledon.

The team vs AFC Wimbledon

The Good

There wasn’t a single Bromley player who looked out of place against AFC Wimbledon. That’s a good sign.

The phoenix-Wombles have been playing league football since 2012, so it was no surprise to see them making the moves and grooves of an established outfit. Their squad this season looks capable of a play-off push at the very least, so it was heartening to see Bromley’s mix of knowns and unknowns pushing them all the way.

There were some standout performances from the Bromley contingent, so let’s start with Cameron Congreve, who reaffirmed the positive noises that have been pinging around the stands and social media salons.

The left-footer seemed to be playing as a half-winger/inside forward on the right side, dovetailing with Jude Arthurs and Nathan Paul-Lavely to try and feed the strikers ahead of them. Their dove was missing a tail for the first fifteen minutes, meaning Bromley struggled to get Cameron on the ball. We didn’t know what we were missing.

When he finally got into the game and began cutting cloth with his stronger foot, Bromley looked a different proposition; suddenly capable of playing ground ball instead of percentage ball. If you watch the highlights, you’ll notice it was Cameron’s pass that set Besart Topaloj free to deliver a fizzing cross for the first goal. 

Cameron Congreve. Remember the name.

While we’re remembering names, how about Hanani Levi Micael Amantchi? It’s a beautiful collection of monikers, but you can see why he shortens it. 

On the face of it, Levi Amantchi is a rangy target man. There’s nothing wrong with that, every team should have one. But in this game, we saw glimpses of his other qualities.

Not content to be the route-one masthead alone, Levi looked to find space behind the back line, get on the ball where possible, and make smart runs into the box. That kind of run was what earned him his very well-taken goal in the 19th minute (against the run of play, I should add).

Importantly, Levi was a headache for Wimbledon’s hulking centre-backs. He’ll come up against plenty of man-mountains in League Two, so every bit of experience he can gain will help him to explore his potential. 

After a run of injuries last season, it’s great to see Levi back strutting his stuff on the Hayes Lane turf. The hyper-critical would ask for the ball to stick to him a bit better when he’s in target-man mode (à la Mark Beck), but that’s the kind of thing that develops with time. Hopefully, Levi gets a lot of time this season.

Looking at the match overall, Bromley had some good spells of football. They looked very hard to deal with when they moved the ball quickly in the final third, which is definitely something to build on. 

This game made it clear that playing the percentages with long balls into wide areas is likely to be less effective this season. The rise in defensive quality lowers said percentages to the extent that you’re basically throwing away possession for lack of a Plan B. 

There’s not a team in the world that can’t be pulled out of shape with sharp passing and smart movement, so honing that art will give Bromley the Plan B they need to mix it with the big boys this season.

Some miscellaneous observations: It’s great to see that Callum Reynolds has picked up where he left off. Bromley have a very wily and safe pair of hands there. Sam Long looks to be on a good trajectory as a keeper. The youngster isn’t the most vocal, but he goes about his business with minimal fuss. He didn’t always hit the opposition wing-backs with his kicks, which seemed to be his task, but he’ll find his range in time. Then there’s Kamarl Grant, who continues to impress as both a defensive and attacking dynamo. A wonder-save denied him his second goal in as many games. You can’t beat a goal-hungry centre-back.

I couldn’t finish without mentioning Nathan Paul-Lavely. According to Google, he’s not 18 until next month, but he didn’t look out of place in the cut and thrust of the right flank. The young wing-back looks physically ready for the men’s game and seems undaunted by his task, which is likely to earn him some precious minutes in the team.

We don’t know how long Josh Passley will be out of contention, but Nathan has shown that he can step in and step up when needed. With some competitive match experience, and the hard knocks that come with it, he should be on track to become a very good player. 

As Andy Woodman implies in his post-match interview, this game won’t have much bearing on Saturday’s repeat league encounter as the line-ups are likely to be quite different. That said, I suspect it might have given him some clues as to how Wimbledon will tick tactically. Saturday’s result may hinge on which management team learned the most about the other’s style.

Where this weekend’s starting XI is concerned, I would give Levi Amantchi another run-out to see if he can build up some momentum. Callum Reynolds, Kamarl Grant, Jude Arthurs, and Cameron Congreve all seem like sensible choices too.

But let’s hear your view. Based on this game, who would you keep in the lineup for Saturday?

The Bad

I mentioned Bromley’s reliance on percentage ball in The Good, but I’m going to circle back to it here. 

Wimbledon pressed hard and pressed smart and Bromley got flustered a little too often. They will meet a lot of this kind of pressure this season, so it is important that they find ways to keep possession in the face of it. 

The urge to clear lines and hit wide areas has strong appeal. In the National League, this exit strategy has a decent chance of winning you a knock-down or a set-piece in the opposition’s half. But Bromley aren’t in the National League any more. Clear your lines like that in the Football League and you stand a good chance of handing over possession and having it rammed back down your throat.

This season, I believe it will be important that players free themselves up for a short pass rather than sprint forward for a knock-down. This might be anathema to Bromley’s recent style guide, but the Ravens look at their most dangerous when they move the ball quickly on the floor. Playing this way relies on players staying on the move and working overtime to get into space. Shake a leg, lads.

When Bromley had the ball at the back in this game, the movement ahead of the man on the ball was glaringly static at times. With the opposition closing down fast, and no movement ahead, the percentage ball became the best option all too often. It doesn’t need to be that way.

The long-ball tactic also didn’t play to the strengths of Marcus Dinanga, who seems most comfortable playing on the shoulder or in the channels. Up against Wimbledon’s burly centre-backs, Marcus didn’t seem to back himself in the aerial duels he was frequently asked to leap into. He looked physically up to the task, but there was a hesitance in his challenges that implied he wasn’t comfortable and was simply trying not to get clattered. 

Dinanga looked most effective when finding space and chasing balls around the corners of the penalty area, which was exactly the kind of zone Wimbledon were often found probing. I lost count of the times they popped a channel-splitting ball into the space behind the wide centre-backs and the wing-backs. I sense Marcus wouldn’t have minded getting on the end of a few of those. 

A final downer was that Lewis Leigh didn’t have his best game. Frequently hurried off the ball and at fault for the first goal, the talented baller will have much better games than this one. Even though he spent the back end of last season playing in League Two, he is still on a learning curve in senior football. One iffy game doesn’t define a player. What they learn from it does.

The Ugly

Look, I’m a football hipster at heart. ‘No pyro, no party’ and all that. But when you know that your pyro has the potential to earn your club a serious fine, who are you doing it for? 

C’mon, be honest. It’s just to impress your mates, isn’t it? 

We’ve all had our rebellious streak. I once drove a Smart car. But living out your pyro dreams at Bromley isn’t just going to catch up with you in the shape of a fine and a stadium ban, it’s going to catch up with your mates who’ll be harassed by stadium security thereafter, and it’s going to hit the pocket of the club. “Want a toilet block that’s not full of mould? Hard luck, we’ve got pyro fines to pay.”

Just buy a Smart car and get it out of your system, lads.

In other news, the pitch looks nice, doesn’t it? It seems about a foot and a half higher, too, which gives fans a better view of the action. Will it still look lush and plush in January? Time will tell. But props to the club and ground staff for getting it in shape for the season opener. Job’s a good'un.

Got something to add? I’m bound to have missed something. Have your say in the comments section below.

Match Ratings:

Sam Long (7)

Nathan Paul-Lavely (7)

Omar Sowunmi (6.5)

Callum Reynolds (7)

Kamarl Grant (8)

Besart Topalloj (6.5)

Lewis Leigh (5.5)

Jude Arthurs (7)

Cameron Congreve (8.5)

Marcus Dinanga (6.5)

Levi Amantchi (8)

Subs:

Ashley Charles (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

Olufela Olomola (6)

Idris Odutayo (7.5)

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