Cheltenham Town 1-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Nov 10, 2024

An away point is always a good point, but when you play with ten men for over an hour, it has to count as a very good point.

Bromley’s trip to the Cotswolds saw the Ravens battle back from losing Carl Jenkinson in the 24^th minute and going a goal down in the 51^st, to claim a well-deserved equaliser thanks to Omar Sowunmi.

As Machel wasn’t at the game, I thought I’d offer my Good, Bad and Ugly from Bromley’s 1-1 draw away at Cheltenham Town.

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

The team vs Cheltenham Town

The Good

Some people are a little tired of hearing about ‘the Bromley DNA’. I haven’t listened to Andy’s post-match comments yet, but if he doesn’t mention ‘DNA’ or ‘the Bromley way’, I’ll eat one of his Bromley-branded baseball caps.

However, underpinning Bromley’s never-give-up attitude is a bedrock of belief. When Carl Jenkinson received a second (fairly soft) yellow, Bromley once again found themselves in a hole. But there wasn’t any sense of panic from the Bromley bench or the boys in gold, and they reached half-time fairly comfortably.

Andy’s decision to avoid sacrificing a striker and revert to a trusty back four was brave but it was a very good call. To make it work, centre-back Kamarl Grant slotted in at right-back and performed very effectively overall.

Conceding early in the second half may have broken lesser-spirited teams, but Bromley rolled up their metaphorical sleeves and really had a go. What struck me was not that they didn’t give up, of course they chased the game, but a feeling that they all genuinely believed they would get something from it.

That belief is Bromley’s X-factor.

We’ve seen it elsewhere: Fergie-time and Klopp-time are prime examples. Those teams didn’t just keep trying, they genuinely looked like they would find a way, no matter what.

Kudos to Andy and his coaching team, as that sense of belief no doubt stems from the work they do at Hayes Lane, Monday to Friday. Another important factor was Andy’s decision to keep the core of last year’s group. The never-say-die culture that won promotion last season lives on in the class of 24/25.

Gaining a positive result against the odds won’t always happen, but Bromley will have to escape the occasional deep hole in order to survive this season. The sense of belief in the squad will play a key part in that.

The Bad

I might be tactically naïve, but I’d be surprised if opposing analysts don’t spot two common threads in many of the goals Bromley have conceded this season.

The first soft spot is attacking runs between the left centre-back and left wing-back. The second is when opponents get a little too much time to set themselves just outside of Bromley’s penalty area, as happened against Cheltenham.

Attacking midfielder Ethon Archer, who impressed in red and white, simply had too long to look up and set himself in a dangerous position for Cheltenham’s goal. Yes, Bromley were down to ten men, but they’ve conceded to this kind of standoffish defending many times before (my usual position on Hayes Lane’s western terrace possibly intensifies this sense).

Should the centre-backs come out? Should the centre-mids close the space faster? Much as we value Grant Smith in the middle of our goal, scenarios like this reduce his odds, particularly with the improved quality of shooting in League Two.

Answers on a postcard to Mr A Woodman, c/o The Office at Hayes Lane.

The Ugly

This week’s ugly comes from the perspective of Bromley’s opponents.

In what seems like a triumph of common sense over data-driven squad-building analytics, the Bromley team that finished this fixture had a glut of giants.

Idris Odutayo, Kamarl Grant, and Michael Cheek are all over 6 foot tall, and Cheeky has Ronaldo-like leaping ability (in a League Two kind of way). On top of that, at set pieces, Cheltenham had to deal with Levi Amantchi (6’4”), Byron Webster (6’3”), and Omar Sowunmi (6’6”).

Height isn’t everything, but when these hulks go up for a corner, they must look pretty ugly to opposing defences. More importantly, no game plan can be watertight against such an intimidating collection of set-piece threats.

In a post-match interview, Cheltenham’s manager called Bromley ‘Land of the Giants’.

These giants will visit towns up and down the country this season to test their defences, and only the strongest will survive. For that reason, I’m fairly confident that Bromley’s set-piece goal tally will match even Cheeky’s haul this season.

What did you make of this one? Get involved in the comments section below.

Match ratings:

Grant Smith (6)

Carl Jenkinson (4)

Omar Sowunmi (7)

Byron Webster (8)

Kamarl Grant (7)

Jude Arthurs (6)

Ben Thompson (7)

Cameron Congreve (6)

Louis Dennis (7)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Olufela Olomola for Cameron Congreve 59’ (7)

Levi Amantchi for Louis Dennis 63’ (6)

Lewis Leigh for Jude Arthurs 73’ (6)

From Bromley with love

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