Bromley vs AFC Wimbledon (Carabao Cup) preview

Fresh from their opening day win at Harrogate Town, round one of the Carabao Cup presents Bromley with an early insight into the relentless nature of EFL football.

This is another first for the Ravens, who have never played in the competition before. They make their bow against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday night.

The two clubs are no strangers. Bromley fans of an older vintage enjoy wistful memories of the 2006/07 season, when the Ravens defeated AFC Wimbledon in the Ryman Premier League play-off semi-final.

Nic McDonnell proved the match-winner that day.

The last time the two teams played each other was in the Conference South in 2009. That was the day Ryan Hall lobbed Dons’ keeper Seb Brown from the halfway line to equalise in injury time.

It was a goal that sparked much controversy. 

In the build-up, Wimbledon kicked the ball out of play to allow one of their players to receive treatment. But as the Wombles were protecting a 2-1 lead at the time, with only minutes to go, Bromley players and fans alike suspected there was some time-wasting going on.

When the game restarted, the ball landed at the feet of talented midfielder Ryan Hall. Wimbledon were expecting him to play the ball back to them so they could pick up where they left off. What happened next has gone down in Bromley Football Club folklore.

Hall seemed to be following the script: He performed a few kick-ups before casually half-volleying the ball towards the Wimbledon goal. However, his shot soared over the stranded keeper, smacked the inside of the post, and landed in the net. 

Stunning in every sense of the word.

In the eyes of footballing law, it was a fair goal, but the ‘spirit of the game’ is another matter. Ryan Hall had half-volleyed his team into a grey area.

It was funny to witness from a Bromley point of view and it’s still humorous to watch it back.

When the ball hit the net, Ravens fans celebrated with an air of irony, half expecting the goal to be chalked off somehow. But Bromley’s bench had no sympathy and were adamant that the goal was fair game, perhaps owing to a suspicion that Wimbledon had been time-wasting.

Scuffles broke out at the final whistle, but the result stood: 2-2.

Much moralising ensued in the following weeks. Had the spirit of the game been broken?

Here’s the replay. You decide if Bromley should have let the Dons walk the ball into the net after the restart.

Both teams have been on an upward trajectory since that fateful day and now find themselves as London rivals in League Two.

Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson is entering his third season in charge of the Dons, and in Andy Woodman he encounters a familiar face from his time at Charlton. Jackson would probably argue that 23/24 represented the first time in his tenure that he had been able to field his squad.

That squad achieved the Dons’ best finish in quite some time; missing out on the play-offs by just five points and sealing 10th place. Had the Dons not sold former Bromley loanee Ali Al-Hamadi to Ipswich Town in January, it would be reasonable to argue that they would have made the play-offs.

Going into this season, they have been weakened by the loss of Jack Currie (Oxford Utd), Ronan Curtis (Port Vale), and Armani Little (Gillingham), but they have also recruited well.

Callum Maycock (Solihull Moors), Joe Piggott (Leyton Orient), and Marcus Hippolyte (Stockport) are all familiar faces from Bromley’s non-league days. In fact, midfielder Maycock played against Bromley in the National League play-off final.

But the Wombles’ standout signing is probably Matty Stevens. The former Forest Green Rovers striker joined the Dons following Forest Green’s relegation to the National League. He has been a free-scoring threat in the past, so there’s no reason to think he can’t repeat the trick.

Also within Wimbledon’s ranks are Josh Kelly (previously of Solihull Moors and Maidenhead United) and Omar Bugiel (formerly of Bromley and Sutton United).

Like Harrogate Town, AFC Wimbledon offer a model of sorts for Bromley, should they wish to progress into League One: Build slowly, invest wisely, strike when the time is right.

Having narrowly missed out last season, the Dons will be targeting a play-off place in 24/25.

On Saturday, they began their League Two campaign with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory against a well-fancied Colchester United side. The aforementioned Stevens and Bugiel got off the mark in that game and will be looking to build up a head of steam. 

But that won’t necessarily have a bearing on the outcome of this Carabao Cup encounter.

Noises coming out of the Wimbledon camp suggest they will use the cup game to look at their wider squad. I strongly suspect Bromley will do the same. 

Bromley, like Wimbledon, go into the match high on confidence having swatted Harrogate to one side on the opening day. 

With that game out of the way, Andy Woodman can now concentrate on helping his troops adjust to the cut and thrust of the Football League season. Squad rotation is likely to play a big part in that.

Despite the very strong start at Harrogate, at the end of the game, Andy Woodman appeared to suggest that he would be shuffling his pack for the midweek cup tie.

Looking at the players who didn’t feature on Saturday, I wonder if the likes of Sam Woods, Louis Dennis, Olufela Olomola, Deji Elerwe, Omar Sowunmi, Taylor Foran, Sam Long, and Besart Topalloj will get some game time.

It seems weird to say that the Carabao Cup isn’t a big priority, or that a manager might look at a London derby against AFC Wimbledon as an opportunity to rotate, but managers have to be smart at this level.

Once the season starts, opportunities to test your wider squad in competitive fixtures are scarce, so they need to be used wisely.

Nine substitutes can be named in the Carabao Cup, of which five can be used, so it seems sensible to utilise the squad and manage minutes. Especially as the two teams face each other again in the league on Saturday.

Possible Bromley XI

Long

Elerewe Foran Sowunmi

Imray Leigh Woods Topalloj

Dennis

Dinanga Amantchi

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