Bromley 1-2 Hartlepool United

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

For the first time since the opening games of the season, Bromley have suffered back-to-back defeats in the National League. 

There can be no doubt that the better side won. Hartlepool United’s second-half performance rendered Bromley workmanlike and nothing more. 

Mini crisis or just a natural blip?

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from the 2-1 home defeat against Hartlepool United. 

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

The team vs Hartlepool United

The Good

The real good news came on the eve of the game with the announcement that Deji Elerewe has signed a permanent deal at Bromley.

Deji has been unbelievable during his two loan spells at Hayes Lane. Truth be told, he shouldn’t be in the National League. Andy Woodman and Robin Stanton-Gleaves will be banking on promotion this season so that Deji, and other talented Ravens, can play in the EFL where they belong.

Deji wasn’t the only signing on deadline day. Midfielder Ashley Charles, and centre-backs Kamarl Grant and Idris Odutayo all joined the club. Charles and Grant, own goal notwithstanding, were okay on their debuts. Odutayo will have to wait his turn. 

These extra bodies aren’t just intended to help Bromley compete on two fronts. In theory, they should help them hit the postseason running, too.

On the pitch, the final score and subpar second-half shouldn’t mask what was actually a relatively good first-half performance. 

Hartlepool’s equaliser, when it came, was against the run of play. And if it wasn’t for a strong display by Joel Dixon in the Hartlepool goal, Bromley might have regained the lead before half time. 

As I’ve often repeated, Michael Cheek is a streak goal-scorer. He had gone four games without a goal prior to Saturday’s game but netted in the 9th minute to give Bromley the lead. If you follow the pattern of his performances, this goal, his 14th of the season, will likely trigger a run of three or four in his next six games.

If Cheek hits 20 league goals this season, and the rest of the team continue to chip in, then I think it’s fair to expect that Bromley will end up in one of the top play-off spots.

I like to highlight an opponent's performance if I think I’ve seen a standout player. Props must go to Manny Dieseruvwe in that regard. 

It is no hyperbole to say that he put in the best striker’s display I’ve seen at Hayes Lane this season. Note that he played the lone target man with Joe Grey, Callum Cooke, and Courtney Senior playing off of him. 

Manny brought them all into the game while being a persistent threat himself; posting up against Webster and any other defender that fancied a piece of the action. Whether winning fouls, dragging defenders out of position, or making sure all duels were a minimum 50/50, no one got a moment's rest.

It was real bully-boy forward play. His headed equaliser was a thing of beauty, and it was his pressure on Kamarl Grant that led to the own goal for the winner. But his performance was about so much more than goal contributions alone. 

We can argue about which defenders could and should play in Bromley’s back three, but I have no doubt that Manny would have dominated whoever played on Saturday.

He’s scored 18 goals this season. There’s more to come.

The Bad

If Bromley were the better side in the first half, they were anything but in the second. As Andy Woodman reflected post-match, Bromley didn’t make Joel Dixon work and looked pedestrian at best. 

Quite simply, Hartlepool won the battle in the middle of the park and therefore controlled the tempo. Some have used the term ‘bullied’. Whatever you call it, Bromley lacked the guile to a) assert control and b) break Hartlepool down once they’d taken the lead.

The defeat was only surprising in that very few teams have been able to come to Bromley and out-Bromley Bromley this season. 

Aldershot did it by playing their brand of high-tempo free-flowing football. Barnet did it when Bromley were contending with injuries. This match was significant in that Hartlepool were the first side to sit deep after taking the lead and actually pull off the W. 

That Bromley couldn’t find an answer to Hartlepool’s game plan should pose some questions for Andy Woodman and his backroom staff.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Bromley were so one-paced going forward. 

It would be fair to say that Ben Krauhaus had a subpar game by his standards. Olufela Olomola, who hasn’t scored in 6 league and cup games, also struggled to get a foothold. On top of that, the quality of Bromley’s wide deliveries didn’t give Michael Cheek or substitute Levi Amantchi anything to work with. 

Too slow. Too predictable. Lots to think about.

The Ugly

At the time of writing, there are seven centre-backs at the club, which leaves Andy Woodman with an embarrassment of riches.

Neither Odutayo nor Elerewe were in a position to play in this game as the club was still assessing their fitness levels. Deji, in particular, is coming back from a hamstring injury so will need to be carefully managed.

Callum Reynolds was not in the match-day squad (injury?) and Cole Kpekawa remains persona non-grata for whatever reason. 

This leaves the back three who started on Saturday. 

People can gripe about why Bromley lost, and Andy Woodman himself said the team needs to get back to keeping clean sheets, but Bromley have only kept one of those in the last nine league games. This isn’t down to just one or two players alone.

Ultimately, while Andy Woodman needs to find his best back three, the team has to defend better as a unit.

Watch Hartlepool’s goals again and you’ll notice two things: 1) The mistakes that caused them were self-inflicted. 2) The mistakes occurred well before the final phase.

Over to you. When everyone is fit, what would your best back three look like?

Before you shoot from the hip, remember that the key to our forward play and attacking shape is a LCB and RCB who can carry the ball from deep.

Anywho, let me know what you think about the above in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (7)

Josh Passley (7)

Alex Kirk (6)

Byron Webster (6)

Kamarl Grant (6)

Besart Topalloj (7)

Ashley Charles (6)

Ben Krauhaus (6)

Corey Whitely (7)

Olufela Olomola (6)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Louis Dennis for Kamarl Grant 77’ (6)

Levi Amantchi for Olufela Olomola 63’ (5)

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