Bromley 5-1 Ebbsfleet United

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A fruitful festive period culminated with a five-star show as Bromley dispatched Ebbsfleet with a scintillating performance.

At times, particularly in the second half, the game looked exactly like the table suggested: a second-place side chasing Chesterfield versus a side in serious relegation trouble.

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 5-1 home win over Ebbsfleet United.

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

The team vs Ebbsfleet United

The Good

There were several excellent performances on the day, but needless to say I want to spend some time talking up Ben Krauhaus.

If you’ve been reading From Bromley with Love for a while, you’ll know this isn’t a sudden attempt to jump on Ben’s hype train. In fact, at times, I’ve questioned if we’ve overplayed him. 

Andy Woodman has been unwavering in his support of Ben, playing him in 28 league and cup games to date. To his credit, the teenager shows no signs of tiring.

The two festive games showcased yet again why there’s so much hype around Ben. More than just a silky ball-carrier, young Krauhaus demonstrated his all-round game, both defensively and offensively. 

His three goals and one assist across the two games explains why there were more than ten Football League and Premier League scouts at the home game against Ebbsfleet. 

Ben wasn’t the only player they were watching, but he’s the only one who’s likely to have his minimum fee release clause triggered in the near future. Enjoy him while you can. 

This all feels very similar to Kellen Fisher last season, and we all know how that progressed.

Is Ben ready to play Championship football week in, week out next season? Who knows. But whoever lands him has enormous potential to work with. Let's hope he and his advisors pick the club that’s most likely to benefit his career rather than the club that’s offering the best payday. 

Off the pitch, the crowd was a stupendous 4,103, which more than justifies the club’s decision to move the game from New Year’s Day to Saturday.

We’ve been here before, but this game felt a bit different in regard to attracting neutrals to the club. Winning 5-1 helps a great deal where the feel-good factor is concerned, but the assuredness of the performance will have convinced floating fans that Bromley are the real deal. 

Following this performance, I’m expecting crowds to regularly hit 3k+ in the coming months. And rightly so. This team deserves the full support of the borough.

The Bad

The defending for Ebbsfleet’s goal was woeful. I watched it back once and it wasn’t immediately clear who lost Luke O’Neil, but it was baffling to see Bromley concede such an easy goal from a corner.

Rack your brain and you’d be hard-pressed to find an equivalent goal conceded in the last two seasons, let alone this season. 

Following that wake-up call, Bromley livened up quite significantly and robbed the momentum from their opponents. Other than Craig Tanner’s free-kick that crashed against the bar, and Dom Poleon’s shot when Ebbsfleet were already 4-1 down, Fleet didn’t really threaten again.

In fact, The Bad in this match was Ebbsfleet’s capitulation, especially in the second half. 

Of course, Bromley deserve huge plaudits for the way they played. Dare I say, Bromley are a better footballing side than people realise. But Ebbsfleet were so soft and wide open as a defensive unit that you can see why they haven't replicated their National League South title-winning form this season.

The simple reality in the National League is that you have to be defensively sound first and foremost. There’s no use playing pretty patterns and triangles if your backline can be so easily got at. 

Those who were initially down on Woodman and Dunne’s pragmatic style rather missed the point. You earn the right to play expansively, and Bromley have shown the rest of the league how to do that. 

Without meaning to condescend, Ebbsfleet would do well to copy Bromley’s template rather than attempting to win on their own terms.

If you watched my post-match interview with Andy Woodman, you’ll note that I asked him about the loans that will end in January 2024. Andy kept his cards close to his chest, as is his want. Suffice to say, we have a very interesting few weeks ahead of us.

If rumours are anything to go by, expect plenty of incomings and outgoings, and maybe even a loan renewal.

The Ugly

Anybody with their finger on the pulse knew that once Notts County and Wrexham were promoted last season, Chesterfield and Oldham would spend big to try and force their way out of the National League.

Both dutifully shelled out in the summer, but only one has profited from doing so. Splashing the cash has put Chesterfield head and shoulders above the rest of the league, and some are tipping them to continue the spending spree in the new transfer window.

Call it mind games if you like, but Andy Woodman has been very vocal vis-à-vis his belief that the National League title race is done and dusted. Based on the evidence, it’s hard to argue.

As great as Bromley have been this season, they remain four points behind the Spireites having played three games more. But league position isn’t the only consideration.

Chesterfield’s strength-in-depth is mind-blowing, easily rivalling Wrexham and Notts County’s squads in their record-setting seasons. 

For example, when Bromley lost at Chesterfield in October, their bench contained Liam Mandeville, Daren Oldaker, Will Grigg, Ryan Colclough, and Tyrone Williams. The first four are EFL players masquerading as National League talents. Tyrone Williams, meanwhile, played in a highly successful Solihull Moors side before moving to Chesterfield. 

Bromley can match Chesterfield in terms of heart, desire, and work rate. In fact, they may even outwork Chesterfield. But where squad quality is concerned, Chesterfield hold the cards.

It would take an unprecedented collapse to turn the tide in either Bromley or Barnet’s favour. And when you consider the Spireites have a fantastic manager in Paul Cook and are currently outperforming the pace Wrexham set last season, you can see why Woodman doesn’t believe they will falter. 

As he states in his post-match interview, the Ravens can’t affect Chesterfield’s performances until they visit Hayes Lane. All Bromley can do is look after their own performances and they’ve been doing a damn fine job of that.

As ever, 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)

Alex Kirk (8)

Callum Reynolds (8)

Besart Topalloj (8)

Myles Weston (7)

Lewis Leigh (7)

Ben Krauhaus (9)

Corey Whitely (8)

Olufela Olomola (8)

Michael Cheek (8)

Subs:

Ryan Jones for Corey Whitely 83’ (6)

Sam Woods for Lewis Leigh 76’ (7)

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