Bromley 2-2 Aldershot Town
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
There are good draws and there are bad draws. I think this one was somewhere in between.
Some will say a 2-2 home draw with 16th-placed Aldershot Town represents dropped points. On the other hand, when you have 15 shots on goal, with 7 of them on-target, it’s hard to feel like you weren’t entertained.
Carrying on where they left off against Yeovil, Bromley played ‘front foot’ football that elicited a buzz from the home crowd that I haven’t felt for some time.
It's points on the board that matter, and the point earned from this game takes the Ravens into the play-offs. Though it’s worth noting that they’ve played more games than some of the teams below them.
For all of the positives, there were self-inflicted blows that need to be scrutinised. That’s the purpose of these write-ups after all.
So, as ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-2 draw at home to Aldershot Town.
Have a read and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
The Line-up vs Aldershot Town
The Good
New contract and a revitalised Michael Cheek.
As mentioned in many previous articles, the main thing that has taken people by surprise this season is Cheek not leading the way with the goals. Whatever the reasons for his subpar goal return this season, Saturday saw him back to his best.
His first was a poacher’s effort, turning in James Vennings’ dinked cross in the six-yard box. The second was a classic one-on-one finish. And he could have had a game-winning hat-trick right at the death, but we’ll let him off that small indiscretion.
It bears repeating that if Cheek maintains his goal ratio from the last 10 games (5 in 10) for the remaining 20 league games, Bromley will most likely be there or thereabouts vis-à-vis the playoffs.
As mentioned, Bromley created countless opportunities against Aldershot and only the most curmudgeonly of home supporters would’ve walked out of the ground upset with the entertainment on offer.
At the heart of that attacking display was Harry Forster. I’ll be the first to say that I’ve been critical of Harry this season. I’ve never doubted his ability, but it’s meaningless without end-product.
The change to a 4-2-3-1 formation has seemingly unlocked his true form as he was a constant problem yet again. Arguably, if he hadn’t had to go off just shy of the hour mark, he may have been the difference between one point or three.
Either way, long may this run of form continue. If Harry can add improved decision-making to his direct play and burst of speed, it will be brilliant for Bromley. And, on an individual level, he’ll have plenty of EFL scouts coming to watch him, too. Win-win.
Is it worth me mentioning Kellen Fisher anymore? Surely we all believe the hype now? If you don’t, I’m not sure I can help you.
Aldershot definitely encouraged their seasoned target man, Inih Effiong, to drift left and play on Fisher’s shoulder. A lesser youngster would have crumbled under that pressure. But, once again, Fisher rose to the challenge and was not bullied by the bigger, more experienced player.
More significantly, Kellen’s attacking performance and willingness to drive with the ball played as important a role in Bromley’s attacking threat as anyone else's.
Word is starting to travel about Kellen’s performances and I’ve lost count of the number of opposition fans who rave about his maturity and quality.
If, or perhaps when, Kellen moves on in the summer, we can only hope the club secures a deal that ensures he is loaned back to Bromley. That’s in addition to securing a big financial bag.
Lastly, a small word for Mitchel Bergkamp. We finally got to see his debut, albeit a five-minute injury-time cameo. I don’t want to be that fan who hypes up a player before they’ve made a meaningful impact, but Mitchel showed enough in five minutes to let us know that he’s technically gifted.
Is that worthy of a mention in The Good column? Perhaps not. But it was good to see him make his debut and show early glimpses of his ability.
The Bad
Last week, in my review of Bromley’s 4-1 win over Yeovil, I warned about how open we were at the back at times. On another day, the Glovers might have scored several goals of their own.
If we’re going to praise our threatening forward play, we have to acknowledge that we conceded two easily preventable goals. Are we sacrificing our compact shape for our attacking impetus? Or is it as simple as individual mistakes?
Aldershot’s first goal was more criminal than the second. Kellen Fisher was easily dispossessed on the halfway line by centre-half Tyler Cordner, who instantly drilled a through-ball into a gaping hole in Bromley’s defence. The Shots’ young striker, Jake Hutchinson, ran in behind a flat-footed Callum Reynolds and found himself in acres of space to slot home the opener.
It all happened so quickly, but given how far the ball travelled, you have to look at Callum Reynolds’s lack of positional awareness as integral to the way the situation unfolded. If he’d read the situation faster, he could have made all the difference.
Where Aldershot’s second goal is concerned, many will point to Byron Webster’s needless foul on the by-line. While I understand that critique, the resulting free-kick still had to be defended. But it wasn’t. The ball ricocheted off a flat-footed Billy Bingham and it was yet another soft goal to concede.
As a result of these defensive errors, some will call for Omar Sowunmi to come back into the side. And, given that our next opponents are the ever-dangerous Dagenham & Redbridge, there is a lot of merit to that argument.
But who would you replace and why?
I spoke with Andy post match to get his reflections on the game - have a listen to the recording below before you move on
The Ugly
I was once a young twat at football matches, so the following judgement comes with that caveat. However, I was never a kid who tried to live out Football Factory fantasies on non-league terraces.
It's been a while since I had to speak about the young scrotes, and their adult counterparts, who seem to attend Bromley games just to goad away supporters.
Perhaps it’s part-and-parcel of the football experience these days? Maybe I’m just getting old? Either way, I don’t get it.
Undoubtedly, the security fencing gives these people the balls to act the twat, knowing full well that, just like an anonymous Twitter profile, you don’t have to turn location on, so to speak.
However, both sets of supporters got a bit overzealous on Saturday. I saw a few Aldershot fans being carted out, but arguably the same should have happened to some of the ‘yoof’ behind our own goal.
This isn’t something that has happened in isolation, and should be monitored for the next few home games to see how it develops. By now, the stewards should know the faces behind the aggressive behaviour. If it continues, they should issue whatever directives they have at their disposal to weed out the problem.
Maybe I’m overreacting? After all, as I’m observing from the media section of the ground, I’m not exactly in the eye of the storm.
But what if I’m right?
Let’s hear from you. If you stand behind the goal, near enough to the moody turnout crew, is it all just joviality, or should the club intervene before it goes too far?
Match ratings
Reice Charles-Cook (6)
Kellen Fisher (8)
Byron Webster (6)
Callum Reynolds (6)
Besart Topalloj (7)
Billy Bingham (7)
James Vennings (7)
Harry Forster (8)
Corey Whitely (7)
Louis Dennis (7)
Michael Cheek (8)
Subs:
Mitchel Bergkamp for Louis Dennis 90
Ben Krauhaus for Harry Forster 55 (7)
Omar Sowunmi for Callum Reynolds 81
For those who are interested, I have also included the BBC Surrey interview with Aldershot Town manager Ross McNeilly - always worth seeing how the opposition viewed a match as well
Editor’s Footnote
The term ‘flat-footed’ turns up twice in quick succession in this article (you just can’t get a good editor these days). It’s about to turn up a third time because flat-footed is an apt description of Bromley’s movement during attacking set pieces.
Our free kicks and corners (don’t get me started on the short corners) both fell victim to the Greek statue approach to attacking. Sure, there were a few last-second jolts for space, but the lack of players running from deep or wide spaces made our set pieces all too easy to defend.
Remember how Rob Swaine and Jack Holland used to bag goals at the back post? They weren’t exactly standing still. Didn’t we used to have a set piece expert on the staff?
And, in answer to Machel’s question about the likely lads behind the goal, I dwell in the shadows of the carpark end (Curva Parcheggio if you want to be romantic about it) so I feel qualified to throw my tuppence in.
In my two decades haunting that crumbling corner of the ground, the ebb and flow of youngsters sporting safety-barrier-bravado has been like the tides of the sea. But the tide is certainly edging a little too close to the seafront at the moment.
Is it just a matter of time until someone gets swept away? Well, over the years, I’ve watched “young twats” like these mature into smart, responsible Bromley fans; some of whom even work for the club now. I sense the current crop, often on loan from bigger London clubs, will follow suit in the long run.
Then again, last year, after a group of intoxicated young “fans” had spent the game fighting amongst themselves, I witnessed one of the group openly threatening to knife one of his peers on the club’s driveway. That was a first.
Ebb and flow?
Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.
Please note all photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here
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I'm afraid I don't see what others saw in Harry Forster for that game. I was watching from home though so had a different viewpoint. I saw a Harry Forster that drove forward with the ball and worried the defenders which I praise him for but that final ball was still lacking, his crosses didn't find anyone and perhaps he held on to the ball too long... but still an improvement from recent times just think it was an ok performance rather than a really good one.
What really frustrated me though and this can only come from the coaches is:
1. I saw Cheek playing on the defenders back line and pointing for the ball just in front of him so he could beat the offiside and be through on goal but time and time again he just wasn't found, the ball was either passed out wide and then passed back again across the box and again and again and again. This negates cheek's run and he ends up being a passenger unless he drops deep and demands the ball. It wasn't until late in the game that corey found him with a fantastic low cross and then Louis with a great pass that should've been a hattrick. Michael Cheek scores most of his goals in and around the 6yrd box, this is near on impossible if there is 10 men behind the ball with no space in behind. Overplaying the passing takes Cheek out of the game, I wouldn't begrudge anyway losing the ball by trying to play that forward pass through the line, much prefer that to overplaying it with no end product.
2. SHORT CORNERS!!! What is the obsession with it. You have a free cross into the box with all our defeneders in there looking to get on the end of it and you play short. Sowunmi comes on and we get a corner and again it was played short. But even we play it short don't then cross we do what I said in the first point and over play it infront of the box until we lose possession.
Louis and Whitely are starting to really hit some form so now if Cheek's runs can be found more often I see Bromley outscoring most of the teams going forward, but that's if the likes of Vennings, Arthurs, Bingham, Forster can replicate the passing.
Editor’s Footnote (ICYMI)
The term ‘flat-footed’ turns up twice in quick succession in this article (you just can’t get a good editor these days). It’s about to turn up a third time because flat-footed is an apt description of Bromley’s movement during attacking set pieces.
Our free kicks and corners (don’t get me started on the short corners) both fell victim to the Greek statue approach to attacking. Sure, there were a few last-second jolts for space, but the lack of players running from deep or wide spaces made our set pieces all too easy to defend.
Remember how Rob Swaine and Jack Holland used to bag goals at the back post? They weren’t exactly standing still. Didn’t we used to have a set piece expert on the staff?
And, in answer to Machel’s question about the likely lads behind the goal, I dwell in the shadows of the carpark end (Curva Parcheggio if you want to be romantic about it) so I feel qualified to throw my tuppence in.
In my two decades haunting that crumbling corner of the ground, the ebb and flow of youngsters sporting safety-barrier-bravado has been like the tides of the sea. But the tide is certainly edging a little too close to the seafront at the moment.
Is it just a matter of time until someone gets swept away? Well, over the years, I’ve watched “young twats” like these mature into smart, responsible Bromley fans; some of whom even work for the club now. I sense the current crop, often on loan from bigger London clubs, will follow suit in the long run.
Then again, last year, after a group of intoxicated young “fans” had spent the game fighting amongst themselves, I witnessed one of the group openly threatening to knife one of his peers on the club’s driveway. That was a first.
Ebb and flow?