Bromley 3-0 Solihull Moors

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Leave the house. Complete the mission. Get back in the house.

Bromley knew a victory over Solihull Moors would go a long way toward confirming a spot in the National League play-off semi-finals. They duly obliged with one of their most complete performances of the season.

Join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 3-0 home win over Solihull Moors.

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

The team vs Solihull Moors

The Good

Bromley simply carried on where they left off against Barnet; adopting a similar but not identical set-up to squeeze the life out of their opponents. 

Solihull like to ‘play’, and Jamey Osborne and Joe Sbarra are relied upon to dictate their attacks. Neither player had an impact on the game. 

For all of Solihull’s complaints about the first two goals, they simply didn’t do enough to get anything from the game. They weren’t allowed to do enough.

In my review of last week’s FA Trophy semi-final, I pointed out that the stats told a story. Well, they did in this game, too.

Shots on target: Bromley 7-1 Solihull Moors

Shots off target: Bromley 1-3 Solihull Moors

Corners: Bromley 5-1 Solihull Moors

In recent games, Bromley have adopted a policy of using Charles and Arthurs as energetic destroyers in the centre of the park. Although calling him an ‘energetic destroyer’ does Ashley Charles a disservice, he has been critical in nullifying ball-playing sides. 

A good friend of mine messaged me during the match and said: “Bromley are suffocating the life out of Solihull.” That seemed apt. 

Sides can't play through you if you make it virtually impossible to do so. But this wasn’t a case of pressing for the sake of pressing, it was all about choosing the right moments and executing the plan. 

Further afield, Ben Krauhaus put in another stellar performance and notched his ninth goal of the season. However, his performance was about more than just goals. 

I’ve said it before, but an understated part of Ben’s game is his defensive work rate. We know what he can do going forward, and I haven't even mentioned assists yet, but how often do you see Ben nip the ball off an attacker’s feet and spring an attack?

Andy believes Ben will go all the way to the top. In terms of raw materials to work with, I can see why he thinks that.

Ben got his second goal in three games on Saturday and it was a fitting way for him to cap what was a brilliant all-round performance.

In the last two games, he has essentially played in a #10 role behind Michael Cheek and has excelled at it. Neither Barnet nor Solihull Moors, two of the top four, knew how to deal with him, and that is a testament to his ability.

Like Kellen Fisher before him, we should be grateful we got to see Ben Krauhaus do it. 

He has come a long way from the spindly 17-year-old who scored his first goal for the club in January last season, and full credit to Andy Woodman for putting his faith and trust in Ben.

Barring a miracle run of results for Gateshead, and Bromley not picking up any points at Oxford on Tuesday, the Ravens have all but confirmed their direct spot in the National League play-off semi-finals.

Some of the fans who are loudly celebrating this achievement need to eat some humble pie. 

I’ve kept receipts throughout the season, giving me a mental map of those who defaulted to a) the side isn’t very good, b) Bromley are one-dimensional, c) ‘insert x player’ brings nothing, d) Woodman doesn’t know what he’s doing, e) Bromley’s run in 2024 is dreadful.

The table doesn’t lie and hasn’t lied for the majority of the season. Bromley are the third-best side in the National League on merit. 

Woodman has assembled a squad that has achieved the following this season:

Play-offs for the third time in the last four seasons. 

Highest National League points total.

Highest National League finish.

Second best defence in the league.

Lost the least number of games in the league.

So let me ask a simple question. 

Does Andy Woodman know what he is doing? 

The Bad

Now that Bromley have all but achieved their goal, no one has said it publicly, but internally the mission was surely to break into the top three.

After seeing Wrexham and Notts County get promoted last season, a lot of National League watchers could sense that Chesterfield would win the league in 23/24. 

The other thing they would have sensed was that the door to the top play-off spots would be wide open to any team that could show the requisite level of nous and consistency.

At the start of the season, Bromley would have targeted the top three knowing that the extra rest prior to the National League play-off semi-final is a significant advantage.

So why is that bad?

I mean, clearly it isn’t bad, but it dares fans to dream that promotion to League Two is a genuine possibility.

Am I late to the party in that regard? 

I’ve been happily enjoying this historic season without putting too much stock in where it might be leading. But now, with only three or perhaps four games left, the realisation has kicked in. Not only could Bromley get to Wembley again, but the most unbelievable of achievements could be riding on it.

With that comes a sense of trepidation of how deflating it would be if we don’t make it. 

I will of course keep a level-headed view. To me, whatever happens, this has been a season to celebrate. But I am aware that some of you will view achieving anything but promotion as a failure.

If only this league was three up three down! Will that ever happen?

The Ugly

Andy Whing, Solihull’s manager, was absolutely furious at full-time with both of Bromley’s first-half goals. Was it a case of sour grapes?

I had a look back at the footage and while I don’t agree with him on the first goal, I do think he has a point about the second.

You can tell a lot about the validity of a goal or decision based on how players react.

Every single Solihull player in the vicinity of the goal immediately put their hands up to indicate handball. It’s an instinctive thing on the football pitch when someone has committed a handball.

Kamarl Grant’s first reaction was to look back at the assistant referee to see if the decision was going to be given. Another telltale sign.

The only person who didn’t doubt the validity of the goal was Jude Arthurs, but with the greatest of respect to Jude, he would have celebrated even if it was obvious to the ref. 

If I was Andy Whing, I would have probably questioned the competence of the referee and his assistants. 

But…

Let’s be real. Last week in the FA Trophy semi-final, the referee and his assistant gave a goal against Bromley that neither of the officials could have been 100% certain about. It changed the game.

There’s no use griping about it now. This is the National League. We all know the standard of officiating is generally average to dog-shit. You just have to hope you aren’t on the end of a shocker.

It was Solihull’s turn. Swings and roundabouts. 

Let me know what you think about the above by getting at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Josh Passley (8)

Karmarl Grant (8) 

Byron Webster (8)

Callum Reynolds (8)

Idris Odutayo (8)

Ashley Charles (9)

Jude Arthurs (9)

Ben Krauhaus (9)

Corey Whitely (8)

Michael Cheek (8)

Subs:

Will Davies for Michael Cheek 80’ (6)

Alex Kirk for Josh Passley 75 (7)

Sam Woods for Ashley Charles 87’ (n/a)

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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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