Bromley 1-2 Hereford

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Who needs the FA Cup anyway?

Long gone are the days where I saw the FA Cup as the highlight of Bromley's season and it's a sign of the times that, for the most part, I was completely nonplussed with their exit on Saturday.

We've been rather spoiled with our first-round ties in recent years. Rochdale, Peterborough, Bristol Rovers and Rotherham have given us a taste of what an unlikely promotion might look like one day.

If the wider cost of not having a 'big day out vs Portsmouth' is an appearance in the National League postseason then so be it.

Here, as ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

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

The Line-up vs Hereford

The Good

It can be easy in defeat to not be able to identify any meaningful positives, but amidst a subpar performance there was a clear bright spark.

When Lateef Adaja came on in the 55th minute it seemed like an admission from Andy Woodman that he was giving up on the cup tie. However, the youngster’s performance gave credence to the decision. 

Playing with plenty of heart, the academy hot-shot brought a direct threat and pace to proceedings and was one of the few bright sparks in the second half. 

Bromley are out of the FA Cup. I’ll whisper it quietly, but on one level this is no bad thing. Would we like to see the Ravens break their first-round hoodoo one day? Yes. Is that a priority this year? No.

Arguably, last season’s profile-boosting run for Boreham Wood is the benchmark for all non-league clubs. But a few weeks ago I spoke to their injured central defender Jamal Fyfield and he conceded that the team would have traded it for a place in the National League play-offs. 

Make no mistake, it’s play-offs or bust for Bromley this season. Yes, one can rightly make noises about the commercial benefits of an FA Cup run, but this season won't be judged on that. Frankly, no one will remember the FA Cup disappointment if we make it to the postseason.

Off the field, I brought my daughter to her first ever Bromley men’s match. More on that in a different article, but, despite the result, this moment felt like life coming full circle. And those little-kicker sessions I’ve been taking her to must have paid off as she had enough knowledge to understand what Bromley were supposed to be doing. Her failure to understand how and why Bromley could fumble the bag so spectacularly in injury time will come with time. 

I felt blessed that her introduction to this club of mine started with an embittering injury-time defeat. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Real football heritage.

The Bad

Where to start? There was something off about this game. Dare I say some of the players thought the result would just come? 

Hereford had to ride their luck at times and, as is the case in many a cupset, completed what was effectively a smash-and-grab job: two shots, two goals. However, my issue is more with the wastefulness on show from Bromley. The crossing and set pieces were dreadful and the finishing in and around the six-yard box was equally bad. Ultimately, the ruthlessness displayed in the majority of our league campaign was missing 

Hereford took the lead with their first meaningful effort on goal, but Bromley should have been ahead beforehand. Then, when Corey Whitely equalised, Bromley had opportunities to put the game to bed. But they didn’t, and Hereford won it with their second chance.

You have to earn the right to win a football game and we simply didn’t do enough. It’s a cliché, but in this game it rang true.

The Ugly

The attendance was 1,432. Was this an insight into where our fanbase is without the season ticket offer? 

When you consider there appeared to be at least 300 travelling fans, if not more, what does it tell us about the desire of Bromley fans? Was there an expectation that Bromley would win regardless? Or was it a refusal to pay full price? 

Either way, it will be very interesting to see what happens next season when punters have to pay for (a) a normal season ticket or (b) advanced tickets at £20 or more.

Another concerning element is the form of Michael Cheek. When I label this ‘ugly’ it doesn’t reflect on Michael’s overall performance. He had a shot ricochet off the crossbar and once again worked very hard for the team. But this was the first game where we were relying on him to pull something out of the bag.

It’s now two goals in fourteen games for our main guy. We all assume that Cheeky will end his goal-shy start to the season, but who has the answer as to when and how?

Finally, there is a flipside to exiting the competition in this round. Let us not lose sight of the commercial ramifications. A potential money-spinning tie is always a possibility once you get to the first round and this may be the difference between RSG handing Andy Woodman a transfer kitty in the new year or saying “stick with the budget I gave you”.

Perhaps the magnitude of this exit will only become apparent in the new year.

Match ratings

Tom Smith (7)

Harry Forster (6)

Omar Sowunmi (6)

Byron Webster (6)

Chris Bush (7)

Reece Hannam (6)

Billy Bingham (6)

Ethan Coleman (6)

Louis Dennis (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

Adam Marriott (6)

Subs:

Lateef Adaja (on 55 for Adam Marriott) 7

Corey Whitely (on 65 for Byron Webster) 7

James Vennings (on 83 for Billy Bingham) 6

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Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.

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