Bromley 2-0 Aveley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Two second-half goals from Michael Cheek and Louis Dennis were enough to defeat National League South side Aveley and secure Bromley's place in the FA Trophy quarter-finals. But the spotlight in this game was firmly focused on Bromley’s rearguard.

After last Saturday’s home defeat to Hartlepool United, Andy Woodman stated that keeping clean sheets would be his priority in the coming matches. He duly delivered on that promise with a 2-0 victory at Hayes Lane, albeit over lower-league opposition. 

Changes to the line-up included defensive-minded midfielder Sam Woods sitting in front of a back five marshalled by centre-back Callum Reynolds instead of club captain Byron Webster. Is this a sign of things to come? 

In Machel's absence, Colin Head reviews The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-0 FA Trophy win over Aveley.

Give it a read and get involved in the comments section.

The team vs Aveley

The Good

A clean sheet was top of Andy Woodman’s wish list and his defence responded in kind, shutting Aveley out and being sure not to give them any undeserved openings. This solid defensive stance gave Bromley’s forwards the platform to launch measured attacks on their stubborn opposition. 

The Millers had seven men behind the ball at times, but the Ravens remained patient. Rather than panic, they chipped away and earned their chance to go in front. 

That said, when the opportunity presented itself, Bromley were sometimes guilty of fluffing their lines. Tricky frontman Louis Dennis squandered the best chance of the first half, but his sublime finish in the second half easily eclipsed his earlier error.

On another positive note, Josh Passley and Besart Topalloj both had good games at wing-back; defending well and getting forward at key moments. Andy Woodman’s renewed focus on defence presents a tricky balancing act for his wing-backs, but Josh and Bes successfully kept their feet on the tight-rope in this game.

Above all, this result will give the team a much-needed confidence boost ahead of some big National League fixtures this month.  

The Bad

Bromley’s tactic of using long throws isn’t yielding results and really needs to be reassessed.

When long-throw merchants Chris Bush and Omar Sowunmi were at the club, it made sense to utilise their talents. But there don’t seem to be any throw-in specialists in this squad, and the stop-gap approach isn’t working, so why persist with it? Wouldn’t ball possession be more valuable? 

Another area of confusion in this game was Bromley’s lack of substitutions. The Ravens were comfortably ahead with twenty minutes remaining, and they’ve got some big games coming up, so why not rest a few key players?

Andy Woodman’s explanation in his post-match interview was that he wanted the starting XI to feel like they had earned the win and seen it through.

In my view, however, given the importance of forthcoming fixtures, Corey Whitely, Ben Krauhaus, and Michael Cheek could have all benefited from an early shower. James Vennings and Jude Arthurs, meanwhile, need game time. This felt like a great opportunity to get them involved.

The Ugly

A sparsely populated Hayes Lane told a story of overpriced tickets and a lack of enthusiasm for the early-round fixtures of the FA Trophy. I also had to feel for the Aveley supporters who paid £22 to stand in the rain. Did this game really need to be segregated?

Where ticket prices are concerned, any change to the host club’s usual price structure has to be agreed by both clubs and the FA, so it can be a tricky venture to embark upon at short notice. 

Discounted prices would likely attract more fans and make up for the revenue gap, but as the host club would earn roughly the same amount of money either way, they rarely bother pleading their case. They have to give half of their match-day revenue to the visiting team anyway, so why go above and beyond? 

Atmosphere. 

Visitors to Hayes Lane on Saturday would have noticed that the ground was much quieter than usual. Cup games can be wonderfully atmospheric when both teams are going at it in front of a packed house. But a half-empty ground rarely inspires great football, which only adds to fans’ sense of feeling short-changed. 

If you make cup games an occasion, even against lower-league opposition, you will reap the benefits in the long term. If you make them an underwhelming and overpriced spectacle then eventually people will lose interest. 

The FA Trophy has presented some wonderful memories for Bromley in recent years. It would be a shame if fans sour on this historic competition.

If Bromley land a home draw in the quarter-finals, I would like to think fans will rally behind their team, but it remains to be seen.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Aveley Manager Danny Scopes reaction to the match

Match ratings

Smith 8 

Passley 8 

Topalloj 8 

Kirk 8

Reynolds 8

Grant 8

Woods 7

Whitely 8

Krauhaus 7

Cheek 7

Dennis 7

Subs Not Used: 

Orlowski 

Webster

Olomola

Arthurs

Vennings

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Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis by Colin Head.

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

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