Bromley 2-4 Notts County

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Four league games without a win may look like a crisis, but it just feels like growing pains to me.

Once again, Bromley started a game really well; taking a two-nil lead against league-leaders Notts County within the opening six minutes. But when the Pies got into their stride, there was only ever going to be one winner. 

It felt like a statement performance from the division’s standout side, who won at Hayes Lane for the first time in their history. For Andy Woodman, meanwhile, this defeat is likely to send him back to the drawing board.  

Join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-4 home defeat to Notts County. 

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

The team vs Notts County

The Good

After six games, Bromley are the league’s joint third-highest scorers. At a time when many will focus on the negatives, the Ravens have shown that scoring goals is unlikely to be a problem in 24/25. This is the main reason I feel they will do fine. 

Michael Cheek has already notched four and, should he stay fit, he will be the spearhead that guarantees Bromley are never in real trouble this season. 

Even in a game that Bromley deserved to lose, they might have found a way to draw 3-3 but for Jodi Jones’ late breakaway goal.

Of course, Bromley shouldn’t have to score three goals to avoid defeat in a game, but that’s an argument for another section.

If you speak to fans of the teams that Bromley have played so far in League Two, they unanimously agree that the Ravens have enough about them to gain a foothold at this level of football. I would sooner trust them than Bromley fans who have never seen us play at this level (myself included).

In fact, when I spoke to Notts County’s manager Stuart Maynard after the game, he had no doubt about that matter. Listen to the clip below.

One sign that you have evolved as a football fan is the ability to doff your cap and accept when the better side has beaten you. No equivocations. No bitter recriminations. No sour grapes.

Notts County are top and unbeaten for a reason. In my match preview, I wrote about the fact that Notts made the most passes in League Two last season. Some might say their style of football doesn’t belong at this level but I’ve never subscribed to that. On top form, they’re a brilliant football team to watch and have multiple ways of playing through you.

Bromley have a DNA that was successful in gaining promotion from the National League. Notts have their own DNA that reaped the same reward. There is more than one way to skin the cat.

Also in that preview, I warned of the threat Jodi Jones and Dan Crowley would pose. They did that and then some.

Both players are playing at least one league below their capabilities, and you might as well add County’s half-time substitute Alassana Jatta to that equation as well. The rangy striker joined the Magpies from Viborg of the Danish Premier League last season for a reputed sum of £150k. That’s no small fee, and based on his performance on Saturday, you can see why they paid it.

Idris Odutayo has been fantastic since joining Bromley, but he has not faced the level of examination he got from Jodi Jones. In fact, anyone who went near Jones got taken to school in this game. At times, Bromley were having to triple-team him, and even then it wasn’t even enough. 

In the second 45, County took complete control of the midfield battle. That’s when Crowley stepped into his own. He was almost always the spare man in the middle of the park and Bromley simply couldn’t get near him. In truth, he orchestrated everything, with Jones and Jatta adding the final touches. 

There is no shame in losing to a team as polished as County. I think in the cold light of day, with some balanced reflection, most would acknowledge that we simply got out-thought and out-manoeuvred by a better side with deeper resources. 

Sometimes it is really that simple, subpar defending or not.

The Bad

So, unto the defending. Andy Woodman wasn’t happy with it and you can see why. The second and third goals that Bromley conceded were just bad.

Yes, Notts moved the ball well and at speed, but Woodman will feel they got in too easily in the first 15 minutes of the second half. All of Bromley’s good work in the first half, closing angles, setting traps, hustling off the ball, was undone in no time at all.

For the second goal, Bromley had been given a lifeline when first Grant Smith then Idris Odutayo (off the line) prevented Crowley and Jatta. That the ball was then recycled so quickly and lines not cleared was unforgivable. You simply cannot give players of that quality another bite of the cherry. Bromley were duly punished.

I think the third goal was worse. Jatta ran across the line and in between Webster and Reynolds. No one followed him.

Watch the goal back. Strikers may tell me that Jatta’s run was brilliant, but shouldn’t someone have tracked it? It felt like we were caught flat-footed and ball-watching. Maybe I’m being harsh?

That said, and it was something Woodman alluded to, there were too many occasions in the second half where a Notts midfielder was free. Whether Palmer, Crowley, or Abbott, almost inevitably one of them was not being picked up. 

It’s one thing to drop off and cede possession, but unless you are pressing at the right time, or pressing constantly (very hard to do), the quality gap will eventually tell. Dan Crowley is brilliant and too good for this level. The last thing you want to do is give him space and time to dictate terms. 

Want to know why Bromley fell behind the eight ball? Watch how many times Crowley got on the ball in the second 45. Like a master puppeteer, he pulled the strings to perfection.

Andy and his coaches will go away and reassess, and the team will undoubtedly learn from the experience and improve, but part of me feels like it’s too easy to say that Bromley should have done this or that.

Notts have superior resources and are brilliantly coached, and Saturday was the first time this season that I looked at our squad and felt we couldn’t really keep pace with the opposition. Again, there is no real shame in that.

Before I forget, Andy Woodman said that Jodi Jones dived for the penalty. I’ve watched it back and I think Andy is right. I can see why the referee gave it, but it was the wrong call.

Would the result have been different without the penalty? 

The Ugly

Here I go. This goes out to all the Bromley fans who have been spoiled by success.

Newsflash: We are going to experience more games like this in League Two. 

I know social media encourages football fans to treat every defeat like a crisis, but Bromley fans would do well to pause and take a reality check.

What did you expect from this season? What was your realistic aim? 

My expectation: Stay in the division, ideally somewhere in the middle to lower-middle of the pack, and learn what is needed for next season. 

After six games, we have some people reacting as if the season is lurching toward disaster and panicking about what comes next.

Six games into a forty-six-game season, no less.

I always felt this might happen. Success breeds success, but it also heightens expectation. There is a significant element of the 2024 Bromley fanbase who don’t know what a subpar Bromley season looks like. Believe me, this is nothing. 

This season will be a true test of what kind of fanbase we actually have. We aren’t going to be top three all season, or in and around the play-offs from start to finish. 

For that reason, when I see Bromley lose a match they were winning 2-0, or drop points in a game where they took an early lead, I am very chilled about it.

Yes it’s frustrating, but I accepted before this season began that it would have more downs than we are used to, with a lot of harsh reality checks and lessons learnt along the way.

Strap in for the journey because this is just the beginning. 

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

Match ratings

Grant Smith (6)

Kamarl Grant (6)

Byron Webster (6)

Callum Reynolds (6)

Danny Imray (7)

Ashley Charles (6)

Ben Thompson (7)

Idris Odutayo (6) 

Corey Whitely (5)

Cameron Congreve (7)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Lewis Leigh for Ashley Charles 65’ (6)

Marcus Dinanga for Corey Whitely 58’ (6)

Josh Thomas for Cameron Congreve 83’ (6)

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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 Twitter here

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