Bromley 2-2 Solihull Moors: 4-3 penalties

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Bromley are a Football League club for the very first time in their history. Let that sink in. Let it marinate and afford yourself a smile. 

Andy Woodman and Robin Stanton-Gleaves have been forthright over the last three seasons that the Football League was the mission and the prize.

Every year has seen incremental progress, and Sunday’s win over Solihull Moors was the culmination of the plan. 

You can’t say it wasn’t fully deserved based on the meticulous preparation that has gone into getting the club to this stage. Promotion to the Football League was no accident.

For the final time this season, join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s most recent fixture. This time around, it’s their penalty shoot-out victory over Solihull Moors in the National League play-off final at Wembley. 

It felt good to write that. I hope it felt good to read.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The team vs Solihull Moors

The Good

There was a very nervy period in the game from roughly the 70^th to 80^th minute where Solihull had a lot of the ball. They were working threatening shapes and patterns, testing and teasing to try and unlock the Ravens’ defence.

The tension was palpable in the stands as Bromley were unmistakably under the cosh. For those ten minutes, if any side looked like they were going to win the game in normal time it was the Moors. 

Yet, for all of their forward momentum and pressure, Grant Smith didn’t actually have to make a meaningful save, nor did Solihull have a genuine shot on target.

So why start there? Because that passage of play summed up Bromley’s season. This is a team that has the grit and graft to stay in a game even when under the cosh.

It bears repeating that Bromley only lost 9 league games in a 46-game season. No National League side bested that record.

You can have the edge on Bromley over the 90 minutes, or even dominate them for significant phases of the game, but putting them away and winning the match has proved almost impossible for the majority of sides.

Andy Woodman admitted as much in his post-match interview with BBC London. To paraphrase: “We aren’t the best football team, but we are the hardest grafters.”

Between two sides as evenly matched as Bromley and Solihull, with two similar managers (I hope they don’t mind me saying that), it was always going to come down to who was the fittest mentally and physically.

I think even the most ardent Solihull fan would admit that Bromley were ahead on that front.

Take a look back (at extra-time in particular) and you’ll see Solihull slowly wilting as the game ticked on. In normal circumstances, the Moors wouldn’t have taken Jamey Osborne and Joe Sbarra off, but they just couldn’t continue. Several Solihull players pulled up with cramp in the latter stages, too. 

Can you remember Bromley having such issues? The Ravens didn’t even use their full quota of substitutes. This isn’t meant as a boast. It was just a very visible indication of the fine margins that proved critical on the day.

Similarly, the penalties Solihull missed, Tyrese Shade’s in particular, were tired penalties. 

That was no accident.

All season long, Andy Woodman has insisted that his side are the fittest in the league. Given how the final panned out, it’s impossible to argue with him.

Now, what more can be said about Michael Cheek?

I can't find new superlatives to explain his importance to this football club. Once again, on the most important stage, he came up clutch.

Everyone at the club deserves this promotion, but does anyone deserve it more than Cheeky? 

From Braintree to Dagenham & Redbridge, and Ebbsfleet to Bromley, the man has scored goals galore. His name is firmly etched at the top of the National League’s all-time scoring chart and he has earned every plaudit available at this level.

It is actually unfathomable that he hasn’t achieved his Football League chance until now. Cheek will be 33 years old by the time the League Two season starts, but age is just a number when you are a proven goalscorer. Who would put it past him to score 15+?

Cheek had two chances in the final and took them both. And he scored in the penalty shoot-out. That’s what the best strikers do. Whether you are heavily involved or on the periphery of the game, it’s all about your goals-to-chances ratio. That is where Cheek is worth his weight in gold.

Off the pitch, I want to take a moment to credit Robin Stanton-Gleaves. The ambitious and occasionally braggadocious chairman has a winners/no excuses mentality that permeates through the club. He hasn’t shied from making difficult and sometimes controversial decisions.

When Robin took over majority ownership of the club, he made it clear that his mission was to get Bromley out of the National League. Year on year, he has placed new expectations and demands at Andy Woodman’s door, and Andy, to his credit, has essentially met them.

Without such a driven character as chairman, would Bromley have achieved promotion in this timeframe? I’m not running interference for RSG here, this is merely a frank recognition of what has been achieved under his chairmanship.

Progress comes at a cost to those who experience it and those who seek it, but achieving it requires someone to stick their neck out and back themselves to make a difference, even if it means taking some pelters in the process.

Robin won't get the plaudits because he wasn’t on the pitch doing the dirty work, but Mr Stanton-Gleaves deserves his flowers for the completion of an ambitious mission.

Lastly, a word for the National League’s Goalkeeper of the Season. I don’t know how many fans voted for Grant Smith as Bromley’s Player of the Season but he has quietly gone about his business since he arrived at Hayes Lane, making big saves and proving to be a rock between the sticks.

Without his two big moments in the penalty shoot-out, would Bromley have gone on to win?  Perhaps it was the most fitting way for him to end his season; showcasing his game-saving/winning ability on the biggest stage.

The Bad

On a day when Bromley created history, how do you find anything bad to say? It was a dramatic final that had twists and turns and a heart-stopping penalty shoot-out to boot.

Could Bromley have defended the two goals better? 100%. If the Ravens had gone on to lose, there would have been a post-mortem centring on how easily those goals were conceded.

For the first, Tahvon Campbell was given the opportunity to do what he thrives on; twist and turn to get a shot off. Then, Joe Sbarra anticipated Grant Smith’s parry faster than any Bromley defender, which left him scot-free to slot home the rebound.

For the second, Moors’ midfielder Jamey Osborne was allowed (and I say ‘allowed’ because no one fouled him) to glide through the middle of Bromley’s half before angling a perfect shot beyond Smith. 

These were uncharacteristic goals for Bromley to concede because they usually make teams work much harder to score.

That said, Bromley went on to win, so does anyone really care in the grand scheme of things?

The Ugly

Solihull Moors won the toss for the penalty shootout and understandably chose to shoot away from the 16,000+ Bromley fans. 

Upon the decision, the Solihull Moors fans broke through Wembley’s tarpaulin covers to station themselves behind the goal and ensure there was a significant distracting/supportive presence.

I found it most odd as I assumed they couldn’t venture into an undesignated area, but they caught the stewards napping and there seemed to be little will to stop them or send them back.

Was it an unfair advantage? 

Ultimately, it didn’t affect the resilience of the Bromley players as they went on to win the shoot-out. But if Bromley had lost, I’m sure there would have been some words said about it. 

The whole scenario did highlight that penalties are more of a test of will and resilience than the simple impact of the fanbase behind the goal. When Bromley’s players stepped up to the spot, Solihull fans were waving phone lights and all sorts to try and put them off, but Bromley only missed one penalty in five.

We might be basking in the Wembley after-glow now, but it is only a matter of time until our eyes turn towards EFL preparations.

Football League rules mean that the 4G pitch at Hayes Lane has to be removed. That is not a small job, so work will have to start almost immediately. Once removed, a new grass pitch has to be installed and nurtured in time for pre-season. With the clock ticking, there is no room for error.

Off the pitch, new turnstiles will be installed in some areas, and the away section will likely move to a different part of the ground as building work is due to commence on the East Terrace. This is before we talk about a much-needed upgrade to the toilet facilities. 

And what about the fans themselves? I think we better get used to having designated tickets for designated areas of the ground, which also raises questions about Broomfields and Bear Island as match-day entities.

Promotion to the EFL is brilliant, but make no mistake, we are about to enter a completely new era for Bromley Football Club.

Progress, as ever, comes at a cost. 

For one last time this season, let me know what you think about the above by getting at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Myles Weston (7)

Kamarl Grant (7) 

Byron Webster (7)

Callum Reynolds (7) 

Idris Odutayo (8)

Ashley Charles (7)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Louis Dennis (7)

Corey Whitely (7)

Michael Cheek (8)

Subs:

Alex Kirk for Myles Weston 60’ (8)

Olufela Olomola for Louis Dennis 82’ (7)

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