Bromley 4-0 Solihull Moors

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Three cup finals down. Three wins. Six more to go.

My mantra all season has been that the final play-off places would go down to the last few games of the season, and all roads seem to lead to that conclusion. 

Bromley have kept themselves in the conversation, even when some people wanted to write them off. And let’s be honest, if fans were offered this position at the beginning of the season, I suspect most would’ve gladly taken it.

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 4-0 home win over Solihull Moors.

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

The Line-up vs Solihull Moors

The Good

There were so many good performances across the pitch that it seems nigh on impossible to pick out one individual above all others.

That said, I do want to give special mention to a few players.

Following on from Tuesday’s perfect dovetailing between Michael Cheek and Louis Dennis at Maidstone United, the double act were at it again on Saturday, with a special performance from Corey Whitely for extras.

Cheek led the line authoritatively on Tuesday night but didn’t get a goal for his efforts. However, an equally dominant performance against Solihull was rewarded by a double penalty strike. The difference on Saturday was that he had Dennis and Whitely playing behind and beyond him at different times. 

Solihull never got to grips with any of the front three and that made their performance a joy to behold from an attacking perspective.

Another clear difference to Tuesday night was that Corey was playing in the hole behind the front two, and he had an excellent game, but this actually relates to some of my previous points.

Corey’s ability has never been in question, and his position at the apex of the midfield three suits him better than anyone else in the squad, but we haven't seen him at his best consistently. Saturday merely showed what he can do when everything is clicking.

Just briefly on Michael Cheek: That is now 10 goals in his last 18 starts, and 12 goals for the season. After the Wrexham game, I challenged Cheek to get 5 in his final 9 games. He now needs 3 in his last 6 to end the season with 15.

After a slow start this season, our premier marksman has repaid our unwavering faith in him. 

My actual Man of the Match, however, was Besart Topalloj. Because Bes has so few bad games, it can be easy to take what he does for granted. What sums Bes up is that it’s impossible to say what his best position is. He can be used as a left-sided centre-back (in a three), a left-back in a four, or, as he was on Saturday, a left wing-back.

His defensive play needs no long introspection. Strong in the challenge and game for a battle, he has added much-needed balance to the side. However, what is often overlooked is his attacking prowess. 

Bes is exceptionally comfortable on the ball, and his driving runs are an unheralded part of his game. The best of this was on show against Solihull and led to assists for the first two goals.

His run to the byline was impeded for the penalty that gave Bromley the go-ahead goal, and his quick thinking to play in Corey Whitely for the second capped an excellent first-half performance. That he didn’t put a foot wrong in the second half, and continued to dovetail nicely with Deji Elerewe, was the icing on the cake.

It’s easy to forget that Bes is only 21 years old and is a Bromley player outright. He joined too late in the season to win the Player of the Season award, but arguably replacing 30-year-old Chris Bush with 21-year-old Bes was an exceptional piece of business. Make no mistake, Mr Topalloj will play in the Football League with or without Bromley.

There were other stand-out performances, too. I offer special mentions to Ryan Stirk and the three centre-halves, who were exceptional throughout, but I don’t want to spend all of The Good doing a player-by-player breakdown.

Off the pitch, I thought the Bromley fans in the home end were brilliant. I know a few of the lads behind the goal are fully focused on trying to create a genuine atmosphere devoid of focusing on away supporters and they did that and then some on Saturday.

The noise started before the team even kicked off, and it increased in volume throughout the match, particularly when the majority of fans amassed behind the goal for the second half. 

It may have helped that Solihull only brought 60-odd fans, but that shouldn’t detract from what was a fairly raucous home support by Bromley’s standards. 

If you believe in the notion of the 12^th person playing a role in getting a team over the line then the home fans will be doubly important come Easter Monday for Bromley’s play-off six-pointer against Boreham Wood.

If ever there was a time to pack the Lane and make some noise on the terraces, this is the game.

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 Bad

There was nothing bad about the Bromley performance, but someone who did have a questionable game was the man in the middle.

I try not to be overly critical of referees in my articles, but this performance was bizarre. 

Within the first 20 minutes of the game, Scott Simpson had shown four yellow cards. At the time, I tweeted the following:

Machel St Patrick Hewitt @MashStPaddy

Latest 20' Bromley 0-0 Solihull Moors Four yellow cards in the opening 20 and it isnt a dirty game. The referee has created a rod for his own back here...

When a referee tries to stamp their authority on the game early doors, by doing their best Demon Headmaster impression, it generally only ends one way. And so it proved when Junior Tiensia was shown his second yellow and sent off in the 55^th minute.

That’s not to say some of the yellow cards weren’t deserved, but no way was this a match that deserved nine yellow cards and one red.

As I often say, a National League team knows that the standard of officiating is sub-par, so your only hope is that you aren’t the side that is short-changed as a result. 

I would love to know more about the process that goes into National League officiating. Can anyone name five good ones they’ve seen this season?

Sunny Gill is one of the better ones I’ve seen at this level, and it’s probably no coincidence that he earned a promotion to the EFL. But surely there should be more than one ref that stands out?

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.

The Ugly

Andy Woodman and Robin Stanton-Gleaves won't love me pointing this out but Omar Sowunmi’s contract continues to wind down ahead of the summer window opening.

I’ve written about it before, and I know it is easier said than done, but the club really needs to do whatever they can to get this sorted out.

When was the last time Omar had a bad game? Has he had a bad game? And, given he has taken the Captain’s armband in Byron Webster’s injury absence, is Omar the face of the club going forward?

There’s no doubt that Omar’s agent will have received enquiries from other clubs, and who could begrudge Omar playing the market? A man must know his worth and maximise his coin if possible.

I remind the club that while Omar clearly loves being here, he will be highly sought after. If the only way to keep him is to break the club's wage structure, so be it.

Perhaps I sound like a broken record, but while Andy Woodman has played the loan and transfer market like a pro so far, can he really be expected to replace a goal-scoring centre-back and leader with another talented but inexperienced young pro? 

Given Bromley’s budget restrictions, there is no scenario I can envisage where 27-year-old Omar Sowunmi leaves and gets replaced by a better player. 

Having said that, the club also can't stand in his way if a bigger club, particularly one in the EFL, comes knocking. In that instance, you could understand if he packed up his belongings and left. 

He would leave Bromley with an FA Trophy winner’s medal and potentially a play-off season to boot. And I think we can all agree he has given this club everything and then some.

Over to you Mr Stanton-Gleaves…

Get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Reice Charles-Cook (8)

Kellen Fisher (7)

Callum Reynolds (8)

Omar Sowunmi (8)

Deji Elerewe (8)

Besart Topalloj (9)

Ryan Stirk (9)

James Vennings (8)

Corey Whitely (9)

Michael Cheek (9)

Louis Dennis (8)

Subs:

Billy Bingham for Ryan Stirk 62’ (7)

Harry Forster for Kellen Fisher 76’ (8)

Byron Webster for Omar Sowunmi 71’ (7) 

For those who are interested, I have also included a brief snippet of the interview with Solihull Moors manager Neil Ardley - always worth seeing how the opposition viewed a match as well

---

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

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.