Eastleigh 2-0 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Seven points from the last possible twenty-four. What looked like a minor slump in early 2024 has turned into a situation that deserves an inquest. 

As good as Bromley were in the first half of the season, the time has probably come to ask some incisive questions as we approach the final twelve games.

Is this just a blip or a sign of things to come?

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 2-0 defeat away at Eastleigh. 

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

The team vs Eastleigh

The Good

I genuinely have nothing positive to say about the performance. At no point did Bromley look like they would score. 

Eastleigh were defensively resolute, and when a rare mistake crept in, someone was always on hand to clear the danger. 

Two can play that game, but the problem for Bromley was that their two defensive lapses were punished both times. 

Off the pitch, the away support numbered 243. I remember the days when 150 people going to Eastleigh was something to be proud of. 

For all of the hand-wringing over the stuttering start to 2024, there can be no doubt that the fanbase has grown away from home.

It’s one of the reasons we should do away with the ’little old Bromley’ moniker and embrace who we are becoming.

However, let me be balanced. As good as it is to see a significant away following, particularly to one of the least inspiring away days in the league, I have been informed that yet again some of those ‘fans’ let themselves down with pseudo Green Street antics.

By now, the excuse that people don’t know who these trouble-makers are is wearing thin. Good fanbases self-police. Simple as that.

The Bad

One of the reasons Bromley looked so bad in the final third was the lack of midfield creativity. 

I’ve warned at length this season that Bromley will struggle when Corey Whitely and Ben Krauhaus are off the boil as there is no midfield Plan B. A lot of our attacking transition is about their ability to break at speed and move the ball quickly. 

The midfield three, along with Sam Woods, was possibly the most cumbersome I’ve seen them all season. Tired legs? Tired minds? Or is it deeper than that?

You can only play the way Bromley do if the midfield are ready to take advantage of ball turnovers with clear speed of thought. It requires a consistent level of intensity and physicality that Bromley currently lack.

If I dive a bit deeper, there is a conversation that needs to be had around Ben Krauhaus. Set aside the distraction of a big-money move to Brentford, the reality is his form has dipped massively in 2024.

I praised him for his goal assist cameos on Tuesday night against Dagenham & Redbridge, but this was another match where he failed to affect the game. 

I’m not expecting Ben to run the midfield alone by any stretch of the imagination, but the dynamism and threat he posed early in the season just isn’t there at the moment. For me, he's showing the understandable signs of a teenager who has been ever-present in the team and now needs a rest. 

Arguably, no player in the squad resembles Krauhaus, so what is Bromley’s Plan B? Ashley Charles, James Vennings, Jude Arthurs, or Mitchell Bergkamp? Injuries notwithstanding, there has to be a configuration that can move Bromley forward without Ben in the starting XI. 

We should be grateful that the team has twelve league games to rediscover their form and find a new best XI.

On the whole, scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for Bromley, but I would be remiss to ignore the fact that Olufela Olomola hasn’t scored in his last eight games. Some will jump to tell me that he’s come off the bench in a few of those games, but that doesn’t cut it for me. 

Fela has received a significant amount of minutes and, like all strikers, his ultimate metric is goals. It’s probably no coincidence that since his goals dried up, so have Bromley’s points.

None of the above is intended to dig out individuals and lay the blame at their door. This is meant as constructive criticism. Some fans, on the other hand, have been far from constructive in their finger pointing. I’ll cover that in The Ugly.

The Ugly

Pre-match, I tweeted that I expected strikers Paul McCallum and Scott Quigley to bully our inexperienced centre-backs when it mattered most.

Those two are super-experienced at this level and unplayable on their day. But neither had to be unplayable to settle the match for Eastleigh, they just had to trust that their teammates would eventually get the service right. I hate to say ‘I told you so.’

https://twitter.com/bromleywithlove/status/1761392225722802268

This game was a learning curve for young CBs Alex Kirk and Kamarl Grant. In the long run, they will be better players for the experience. But the question is whether Bromley, during this spell of poor form, have time for youngsters to learn on the job.

It may sound harsh, but once Deji Elerewe is fit, he will surely walk into the starting XI. This isn’t because he’s head-and-shoulders better than other players, but because he knows Bromley’s system inside out. Those intangibles make a huge difference.

Defensively, Andy Woodman has spoken about the need to return to keeping clean sheets. The worry, if there is one, is that Bromley have conceded nine goals in their last four league games and no configuration of the defence has looked like solving that problem.

Some, rightly or wrongly, might scapegoat Byron Webster, but the art of defending is bigger than one player. You defend as a team. 

Defensive frailty was never going to be solved by replacing an individual, and the proof has been in the pudding. 

For me, Webster should have played against Eastleigh. With their two giant strikers, the Spitfires are set up to be a strong-arm, direct side. That’s Webster’s wheelhouse. 

Speaking of scapegoating, it seems Kido Taylor-Hart is the latest Raven to take a seat on the ducking stool. 

In the last Good/Bad/Ugly, I dropped a line about Kido’s stop/start season, but I was perplexed to see some fans gunning for him with both barrels after the Eastleigh game.

He came on in the 74th minute of a game where Bromley had been far below par. Not one player covered themselves in glory. Yet, post-match, some had more to say about Kido than players who played the entire 90 minutes.

Make it make sense. 

A defeat is always bigger than an individual, so it’s churlish to focus on Kido alone. Yes, his cameo was uninspiring, but there were bigger issues at play.

Some fans have questioned why Bromley have sent players out on loan at a time when they look low on bodies, arguing that those players are a better option than Kido.

Adam Marriott, Cole Kpekawa, and Todd Miller have all packed up their boot bags in recent weeks.

While all three are capable of making an impact at their host clubs, it is worth noting that Cole Kpekawa and Todd Miller didn’t feature for relegation-threatened Kidderminster Harriers at the weekend, and Adam Marriott came off the bench in the 69^th minute for NLN side Boston United. 

Make of that what you will.

Ultimately, Bromley are in a slump of sorts. The question fans need to consider is this: Bromley have always ended the season well under Andy Woodman, so should we cut the team some slack and trust the process?

I know I will. Will you?

Let me know what you think about the above by getting at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (6)

Josh Passley (6)

Alex Kirk (6)

Callum Reynolds (6)

Kamarl Grant (6)

Besart Topalloj (6)

Sam Woods (5)

Ben Krauhaus (5)

Corey Whitely (5)

Louis Dennis (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

Subs:

Ashley Charles for Ben Krauhaus 74’ (6)

Olufela Olomola for Louis Dennis 55’ (6)

Kido Taylor-Hart for Khamarl Grant 74’ (6)

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Thanks for taking the time to read the match synopsis above.

Please note all photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Twitter here

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