Carlisle United 2-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

In Machel’s absence, Andy Hammond shares The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bromley’s 1-2 defeat away at Carlisle United.

Have a read and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Well, that was a long way to go for not very much.

Everyone said I was mad to travel all the way to Carlisle when the game was on TV. Were they right?

Read on to get a feel for a trip that was longer than that St James’ Park jaunt in January.

The team vs Carlisle United

The Good

Scraps. That’s all I and Bromley could take away from a sunny afternoon in Cumbria.

Will Harry McKirdy forever be described as mercurial? He had his moments: two lobbed goals in two games, as nippy as you like, and plenty of self-belief.

Danny Imray returned, looking as much a terror for opposition defences as ever, and Grant Smith put in another performance to back up Andy’s claim that he’s the best keeper in League Two.

The only positive that lasted the full 98 minutes was that over 200 away fans made it just eight miles short of Scotland (and hopefully all made it back).

The Bad

There were ample problems on display: missing out on second balls, back heels around our penalty area, ineffective clearances, and good chances spurned. Behind all of those issues were poor instincts and decisions.

From Jude’s snatched shot to Cheeky’s decision to lay the ball off to Nicke Kabamba rather than shoot, decisions that sat on the border between instinct and split-second deliberation seemed to go wrong.

If I knew how to fix that problem, I’d contact TNT Sports to pitch my idea for the latest reality TV show based around Bromley FC, but I don’t. I suspect Andy Woodman knows the solution, so over to him, and I sense these issues were what got him worked up in his very honest post-match interview.

Looking at yesterday’s team, only two loanees featured, so there’s a decent chance that Andy will be dealing with similar personnel next season. If he can drum poor decision-making out of the group, Bromley will have more success against struggling opponents in future.

There are no easy games in League Two, but this squad is good enough to see off the threat posed by relegation-threatened sides.

The Ugly

I certainly didn’t pick up on handbags in the tunnel after the game as it was too far from the away section, and with a long journey ahead, most of us had turned and begun to plod home.

There was no doubt that our mercurial signing’s presence had riled Carlisle’s fans, not that the Cumbrians’ players and coaches seemed bothered.

The passion and commitment we expect from those in Bromley shirts will bring most players close to the edge of losing control. For a few months now, none of them have ‘lost it’, but this game seemed to be cutting it fine for Harry McKirdy. Fair play to Andy for taking Harry off just before the hour mark. Having picked up a yellow for overzealously celebrating his goal, I was concerned he might not make it through 90 minutes. That said, the decision to replace him would have been a bit easier given Andy had Danny Imray to turn to.

One of the key factors in the Doncaster miracle at the Hayes Lane Alamo earlier this month was probably referee Bobby Madley. He’s a quality ref who performed well on the night. If you want proof, you won’t find many complaints from Donny fans about his performance. They seemed to blame fate instead.

However, the decisions of the referee in this game confused both sets of fans, although he wasn’t helped by his gym-obsessed assistant. Between them, it looked like they were either guessing, ignoring, or just making it up as they went along. Don’t get me wrong, this didn’t directly affect the result, but it was one of those refereeing performances that left spectators baffled time and again.

But who was this hopeless referee? Bobby Madley. There’s a common theme here: good days and bad days for refs, Bromley, and Carlisle.

Successful first seasons require teams to have more good days than bad, and at this point of the season, Bromley have comfortably achieved that. We should probably rejoice. Before the season started, if I’d told you we would reach March without having mentioned relegation for a couple of months, would you have believed me?

There’s plenty to be grateful for, even on a bad day.

Player Ratings

Grant Smith 8

Corey Whitely 5

Byron Webster 6

Deji Elerewe 6

Adam Mayor 6

Ashley Charles 6

Jude Arthurs 5

Harry McKirdy 7

Brooklyn Ilunga 6

Ben Thompson 6

Michael Cheek 6

Substitutes

Danny Imray 7

Nicke Kabamba 6

Marcus Ifill 6

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