Bromley 2-0 AFC Wimbledon (League Two)

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

This EFL lark is easy, isn’t it?

Maximum points gained from the opening two league fixtures with no goals conceded suggests Bromley are going to be just fine in League Two.

By no means am I rushing to say that Bromley are destined to challenge at the top end of the table, but if they stick to the principles and DNA that brought them so much success in the National League, they should find League Two far more straightforward than pundits have predicted.  

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-0 home win over AFC Wimbledon.

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

The team vs AFC Wimbledon

The Good

Don’t concede, don’t lose.

Rinse and repeat. Andy Woodman will always insist on defensive solidity, and once again it was the cornerstone of a comfortable victory over AFC Wimbledon.

Some Bromley fans wouldn’t have had both Byron Webster and Callum Reynolds in their starting line-ups for the inaugural League Two season, but their experience has proved critical.

There is much to be said for having two players who read the game so well in the back line. Think back. How many genuine chances do you remember Wimbledon creating?

Some will say: “Yes, but Wimbledon went long quite often, which is food and drink for Byron and Callum.” Maybe so, but the duo dealt with it time and again.

As Dons manager Johnnie Jackson implied at full time, while Wimbledon had the majority possession, shots, corners, and even final-third entries, it didn’t amount to anything.

Maybe Wimbledon didn’t watch a lot of Bromley tapes from last season. If they had, they would know that Bromley are always compact and comfortable out of possession. It’s one of the key reasons the Ravens were the second-best defensive side in the National League. 

The truth is, if you want to get at Bromley, you need ingenuity and sophistication. And even then, there are no guarantees.

I started by mentioning Webster and Reynolds, but the performance was down to more than these two old stagers alone. During the game, I was sitting next to former Wycombe Wanderers and QPR manager Gareth Ainsworth while he summarised for Radio 5. He couldn’t stop raving about Idris Odutayo, at one point stopping me to ask where Andy picked him up from. 

I felt really bad for Bes Topalloj when he lost his place to Idris last season, but now I get it. 

Like Bes, Idris is an exceptionally talented youngster who will go higher in the league with or without Bromley. He has a fantastic ticker, but more importantly he’s very comfortable in and out of possession. I continue to be very impressed by his decision-making.

Danny Imray will get the plaudits for his brilliant slalom run for the second goal, and rightly so. I don’t think Danny is at peak fitness yet, but with Josh Passley out injured, he’s been thrown in at the deep end and has come up swimming.

One of the reasons why so many were excited by his arrival at the club was his numbers for the Palace U21s from an attacking perspective. That side of his game was on full display for the second goal. Chalk up assist number one.

I caught up with Bromley’s Chief Executive Mark Hammond after the game. Among the various things we chatted about was the understated brilliance of Ashley Charles. Bromley fans who are longer in the tooth will remember how the ever-composed Barry Moore made us tick when we won promotion to the Conference South in 2007. Ashley offers that same metronomic ability.

When Ashley Charles is on it, Bromley move the ball incredibly efficiently in transitions, but that isn’t his sole selling point. Ashley’s all-round talent allows him to break up play, find a game-opening pass, and deliver a mean set piece. Every team needs a player like that.

Next time you watch Bromley, observe how he goes about his business. Suddenly, you will understand why he is one of Andy’s first-choice picks, even with the likes of Lewis Leigh waiting in the wings.

Much like the Harrogate game, there really wasn't an opposition player who stood out, which again speaks to how well Bromley nullified Wimbledon’s attacking threat. 

That said, I was still surprised to see Jackson remove Omar Bugiel in the 65^th minute. As Bromley fans will remember from his time at Hayes Lane, Omar is an old-school, battering-ram centre-forward who doesn’t give you a minute’s peace.

While it’s true that Webster and Reynolds marshalled him into near obscurity, the advantage of a striker like Bugiel is that by the law of averages, he will get at least one knock-down or act of chaos that will create something. 

Did things improve for Wimbledon after he left the pitch? I would say not. 

Bugiel is unlikely to score as regularly as someone like Michael Cheek, but his smashmouth play will be integral to any success Wimbledon have this season.

The Bad

I haven’t done any digging thus far, but a few fans messaged me asking why they could see some noticeable gaps in the stadium on their stream.

As I understand it, the given stadium capacity this season is 4,500 yet the announced attendance on the day was 4,102.

The game was announced as a sell-out pretty much two weeks before the game, with tickets selling like hotcakes for the historic home league debut.

So where were the missing 400? 

1. Were they season ticket holders who didn’t show up?

2. Is our safety capacity actually smaller than 4,500?

3. Did people buy tickets and just didn’t fancy it on the day?

4. Did Wimbledon not sell out their allocation?

5. A combination of all of the above?

I don’t really care if I’m honest, but as I don’t have an answer, I thought I would put the question out there.

The Ugly

What can possibly be ugly about a 2-0 win in a London derby and another clean sheet?

The answer is: Nothing. 

I suppose if Bromley continue with their good start to life in the Football League then we should be mindful that articles will suddenly switch in tone from ‘Isn’t this lovely and historic?’ to ‘Bromley are a force to be reckoned with.’ 

That is no bad thing, but I assume the club is rather enjoying the fact that they are currently painted as plucky underdogs.

Once League Two cottons on to the fact that Bromley are a very serious football club with a squad of players who will out-graft most teams, things may become tougher to navigate. 

Still, with great reward comes great responsibility. Let's go get it.

What’s your take on the game? Get at me in the comments section below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (9)

Kamarl Grant (9) 

Byron Webster (8)

Callum Reynolds (8) 

Danny Imray (8)

Ashley Charles (8)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Idris Odutayo (9)

Corey Whitely (9)

Cameron Congreve (7)

Michael Cheek (8)

Subs:

Omar Sowunmi for Danny Imray 78’ (7)

Marcus Dinanga for Cameron Congreve 64’ (6)

Levi Amantchi for Michael Cheek 87’ (n/a)

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Please note all match photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here

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