Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Nine games without a win played second in the league away from home.

What could possibly go right?

Andy Woodman and his team have form when it comes to turning a negative run on its head. This win slotted neatly into that category.

Was it pretty? No. Were dark arts needed? In abundance. But a backs-against-the-wall performance was exactly what was called for, particularly as Bromley were without talisman Michael Cheek.

Join me as I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 0-1 win away at Doncaster Rovers.

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

The team vs Doncaster Rovers

The Good

I’ve had more than a few comments to articles bemoaning the quality, or lack thereof, of Bromley’s set pieces.

This cannot be levelled at the team after this performance. This wasn’t just about the opening goal, which was clearly a training ground drill, but a reflection on every set piece. Each one had a specific plan and asked tough questions of Doncaster’s defence.

Maybe the added height and presence of Levi Amantchi, along with Omar Sownumui and Byron Webster, discombobulated Doncaster, but Bromley looked dangerous at set pieces. This isn’t something we have been able to say so far this season.

In the first half, Grant Smith reminded everyone why Andy Woodman rates him so highly. On at least five occasions, he produced important stops that kept Bromley in the game. This is before we talk about the difficult crosses he came to claim.

A word as well for the defensive line in general. Did it make a difference that Byron Webster was back to instruct and marshal it? It certainly felt like it did.

Doncaster had a lot of shots and Grant Smith had to make a lot of saves, but in front of him was a defence that made a lot of clearances and interceptions and generally forced Donny into crosses and shots from distance.

We’ve spoken at length about the need for Andy Woodman to find a defensive line that offers him the solidity he craves. He and his backroom staff would have been very pleased with a lot of what they saw on Tuesday night.

Andy has spoken ad infinitum about the need to keep clean sheets. As we discussed in our post-match interview, if his team keeps an elusive clean sheet, the number of chances they create will earn them a win more often than not.

Was the Doncaster performance the way forward? I wouldn’t say it’s that simplistic, but it definitely offers Bromley a way forward of sorts.

On the other side of the pitch, while I didn’t see a stand-out performer in their ranks, I thought Doncaster were one of the better footballing teams we’ve come across this season. You can see why they are in the play-off positions. 

Unfortunately for Donny, they just happened to catch Grant Smith in inspired form and left their shooting (and decision-making) boots in the dressing room. They will play like that again and beat plenty of teams. 

In my review of the Tranmere game on Saturday, I highlighted the shooting stats of the two teams. Bromley had the lion’s share of the chances in that game yet came away with nothing. Doncaster will probably feel the same about this encounter.

SHOTS: Doncaster: 22 (8 on target) - Bromley: 12 (3). 

POSSESSION: Doncaster 64% - Bromley 36%.

The possession stats alone show how much defensive work Bromley had to put in to get a result. Grant Smith might have been the star turn, but don’t get it twisted, Bromley really had to graft for these three points.

The Bad

There was no Michael Cheek for this game and my assessment is that, points or no points, Bromley were weaker for it.

Levi certainly showed some deft touches and stretched the back line at times, and Fela did what he does, which is make a nuisance of himself, but can you say either had the killer instinct? I don’t think so.

Of course, one can say ‘needs must’. Bromley were away from home against second in the league. In that situation, it’s about working hard as a team and doing whatever you can to get the points. 

I largely concur with that attitude, but let’s argue for a second that Cheek is out for a while or has another injury absence this season. How many games can Bromley just defend heroically, with Grant Smith coming up top trumps, and pray that someone scores?

It’s called constructive criticism. I want to see some killer instinct.

Further back, given the talent at their disposal, Doncaster were always likely to boss possession, so no one can say their ball dominance was a shock.

However, there were a few too many times where they found it easy to break the lines in the final third. It got me thinking about how well Bromley are set up out of possession. Nominally, Corey Whitely plays in the hole behind two strikers and Danny Imray is at RWB.

However, on several occasions, Bromley looked like they were 4-4-2 out of possession. Do Bromley need more bodies in the middle of the park out of possession, or do we have to be realistic and accept that some teams in this league simply have the technical quality to beat the press and shape?

How well can you mitigate that as a team? For the budding football managers and tacticians among us, could Bromley have set up better out of possession, or would that have significantly weakened their attempts to counter-attack?

The Ugly

I might be too old for this Bromley away stuff you know.

In order to make it to this game, I had to leave work at 15:05 on the dot and catch the 16:27 out of Kings Cross.

That train had to stop at Peterborough due to an engine problem before coming to a standstill once more, this time in the middle of nowhere, because the train ahead had hit an animal on the track.

I eventually rolled into Doncaster at 19:00.

On the way home, the 22:48 back to King Cross was delayed by 51 minutes and I eventually got back to London at 01:39. I used the long journey home to plan my lessons for the next day. 

Once I got back to London, a quick look at the Night Bus options told me I wouldn’t get home to New Cross until 03:00. At that point, I admitted defeat, tapped out and Uber’d it. I eventually turned the keys in my front door at 02:15.

At 06:00, I was awake again to go to work. 

For those who don’t know, I’m Vice Principal at a secondary school in Lewisham. Wednesday was painful; some might say ugly.

I always knew League Two wasn’t gonna be easy, but I didn’t factor in the toll it would take on my body. 

I see Walsall has been rescheduled for a Tuesday night on the 26^th of November. You already know what that means. 

We go again! 

What was your take on this one? Let me know in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (9)

Omar Sowunmi (8)

Byron Webster (8)

Kamarl Grant (7)

Danny Imray (8)

Lewis Leigh (7)

Ben Thompson (8)

Idris Odutayo (7) 

Corey Whitely (8)

Olufela Olomola (7)

Levi Amantchi (6)

Subs:

Carl Jenkinson for Danny Imray 78’ (7)

Jude Arthurs for Lewis Leigh 86’ (n/a)

Louis Dennis for Levi Amantchi 86’ (n/a)

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