Bromley 2-0 Harrogate Town

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

“I’m not going to settle for just being in this league. What’s the point of that?”

Following Bromley’s third consecutive win, and more importantly third consecutive clean sheet, they sit in 10^th place, seven points away from the play-offs.

Whether you consider it bullish or realistic, Andy Woodman prides himself on playing postseason football. Once again, that goal seems to be at the forefront of the manager’s mind, even in Bromley’s first season in League Two.

As ever, join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-0 home win over Harrogate Town.

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

The team vs Harrogate Town

The Good

Good teams win while playing badly. It’s a tired cliché but a more than serviceable one.

Let’s be honest, Bromley weren’t very good. Actually, that’s too kind. For much of the first half they were shocking. I’ve never seen so many passes and simple decisions go astray. Yet, by the time the interval rolled around, Bromley were 2-0 up.

During an otherwise woeful first 45, Bromley put two good deliveries into the box. Fortunately for the Ravens, on both occasions, Michael Cheek was on hand to score and assist.

The beauty of a genuine goal-scorer is summed up by those moments. Having someone who only needs a sniff to make a difference can get you points, whether you deserve them or not.

We saw Cheek do this over and over again in the National League and he has shown no sign of letting up in League Two.

Harrogate were the perfect opponents to showcase the importance of a goalscorer as they had no one on the pitch who was even 5% the player Cheek is. Seldom have I seen such a shot-shy performance.

Bromley improved in the second half, perhaps not in terms of attacking threat, but certainly in the way they managed the game. The Ravens grafted hard and kept the Sulphurites at arm’s length. In response, Harrogate failed to fashion a meaningful effort on goal.

He won’t win many plaudits because the work he does isn’t the showy kind, but I thought Ashley Charles had a very tidy game while screening in front of the back four.

The #4 is the water-carrier role. Breaking up play and starting the forward momentum with simple passes will rarely win you Man of the Match, but you notice when that type of player is missing from your side.

As much as Ben Thompson has been a bit of a revelation playing in the #10 behind Cheek, the defensive solidity that has led to three clean sheets is also thanks to the industrious work of both Arthurs and Charles behind him.

Harry McKirdy made his long-awaited Bromley debut and had a bit of the Glen Hoddle rolled-down sock look about him. Andy thought Harry was excellent, and for someone who hasn’t started a game in a year, I’m inclined to agree.

McKirdy worked hard defensively and was a nuisance going forward. At one point in the first half, his mazy run and jinky-janky twinkle feet earned him a shot in the penalty area that, had it gone in, would have graced social media highlight reels for years to come.

That moment in itself showcased why he has been brought to the club. For all of their doggedness, Bromley have lacked a bit of mercurial X-factor of late. If Andy can get Harry up to speed and tap into his innate ability, it will be an overwhelming net positive for both player and club.

Lastly, a word for Cameron Congreve. Just before the second goal, I tweeted that Cam’s first half had been a bit of a shocker and he would be lucky to not be hooked at half-time. This was despite him providing the key assist for the opening goal (NB: I thought it was Adam Mayor at the time).

Cameron lost the ball so many times in the first half that I thought his head must not be in the game. And from where I was sitting, it looked like the Bromley bench were losing patience too.

But Congreve knuckled down and went on to provide another great cross for Michael Cheek, who headed across goal for Arthurs to score the second. Rather than getting hooked at half-time, Cameron played the full 90 and ended up giving a solid account of himself. What do I know?

As I alluded to earlier, Harrogate were poor. I saw nothing from their squad to make me stand up and pay attention.

Normally, I focus on one player, but I’m at a loss to single anyone out. If any Harrogate fans who were present felt there was a standout player, feel free to get involved in the comments section.

Ben Fox in midfield was tidy enough, perhaps befitting someone who has spent the last season and a half in League One, but other than that I’ve got nothing.

The Bad

Have you ever seen Bromley misplace as many passes as they did in that opening half-hour? A better team would have punished them for such a sloppy start.

It doesn’t matter how low in the league your opposition is, if you start without the necessary intensity and aren’t locked into the challenge, you will be found out more often than not. This game was a statistical anomaly.

It didn’t just affect just one or two players, literally every single player in white misplaced a pass at some point. Was it a cumulative case of the yips?

Off the pitch, rumours about Danny Imray’s availability proved to be true. The winger was forced to watch this one from the sidelines and seemed to be limping a little as he made his way around the stadium. I have no idea what the injury is, or how long he is out, but I suspect we won’t see him for a while.

Bromley were forced to adapt in his absence, but if they can get Harry McKirdy up to full speed and keep Corey Whitely happy with a rotation role, then one would hope Imray’s absence isn’t felt too keenly.

That said, there is no getting away from the fact that every League Two aficionado has Imray in their provisional League Two Team of the Season, and would almost certainly put him in their Team of the Half-Season.

Bromley will have to be clever in how they replace Imray’s speed and counter-attacking thrusts. It doesn’t have to be like-for-like, but it does have to ensure that the sum of its parts replaces what is lost.

The Ugly

Having already made two changes at half-time, Harrogate boss Simon Weaver made a double substitution on the hour mark, swapping Bryn Morris for Levi Sutton and Josh March for Tom Cursons.

The changes were met with loud boos from the away end, along with echoing chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing.”

I felt for Simon Weaver at that moment. Has familiarity bred contempt in North Yorkshire?

Harrogate got promoted to League Two five seasons ago and are still there. That is an achievement in itself. And last season, the Sulpherites achieved their highest-ever league finish: 13th.

But there is no getting away from the fact that this season has been subpar. With 13 games to go, Harrogate are on track to lose more games than they’ve ever lost in a League Two season, or at least equal that unwanted record.

In view of that, does Weaver deserve the vitriol, or is this a case of modern-day social media fans treating every defeat like it’s the biggest crisis of all time?

Bromley aren’t immune from this phenomenon. We’ve all seen our fellow fans lose their minds when the Ravens get a couple of poor results on the spin, and that’s despite Bromley having a fantastic first season in the Football League.

So what hope is there for managers like Weaver?

When did football become an all-consuming social media outrage product anyway?

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

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Carl Jenkinson (8)

Deji Elerewe (7)

Byron Webster (8)

Adam Mayor (8)

Ashley Charles (8)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Harry Mckirdy (7)

Ben Thompson (7)

Cameron Congreve (7)

Michael Cheek (9)

Subs:

Brooklyn Ilunga for Ben Thompson 76’ (6)

Corey Whitely for Harry Mckirdy 55’ (7)

Nicke Kabamba for Michael Cheek 76’ (6)

Louis Dennis for Adam Mayor 86’ (n/a)

---

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

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

All articles are edited by Peter Etherington you can link to him here

If you havent as yet make sure you read the other articles in the archive.

If you’d like to show an appreciation for the work that goes into this newsletter you can buy me a coffee through the link below.

You can also find Machel St Patrick Hewitt on Twitter - here

Most importantly of all subscribe to the newsletter to ensure you get these updates direct to your inbox.