Ebbsfleet United 2-3 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

After Saturday’s frustrating 2-2 draw with Altrincham, Andy Woodman said it could be seen as a useful point if Bromley followed it up with better results in the remainder of the festive schedule. 

A hard-earned 3-2 win away at Ebbsfleet United completed part one of that plan.

As ever, I reflected on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from the game.

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

The team vs Ebbsfleet United

The Good

It was interesting to hear Andy Woodman say post-match that he felt his side was 20% off it in the first half. I agree with him. The relentless nature of the Christmas/New Year schedule was evident in the legginess of the performance. 

Given the context, it is understandable that players would struggle to meet their usual work-rate standards. Still, two performances stood out to me.

Corey Whitley and Ben Krauhaus have been ever-present this season and I’ve often expressed concerns about their ability to keep going. Particularly, given the work-rate demands placed on them. 

Andy has complete faith in them from a defensive and offensive perspective which makes them critical to Bromley’s shape in transition. And, crucially, both are ball-carriers from deep. 

Against Ebbsfleet, even while not at their best, the pair were instrumental. 

In a game of heavy legs, their input lightened the load at crucial times. Corey Whitely’s cross picked out former Fleet man Michael Cheek for the opening goal, while Ben Krauhaus scored the second to regain the lead when Bromley were under the cosh.

I call upon the stat wizards to confirm the number of assists Corey and Ben have chalked up this season, but what I do know is that they’ve shared 9 goals between them in league and cup games. 

I talk about targets in almost every G/B/U article, but I think Corey and Ben should aim for a combined 16 goals at the very least. If they can meet this sensible target while maintaining their assist rate, Bromley will go a long way toward achieving promotion to League Two. 

I spoke about Olufela Olomola in the last G/B/U, so it seems silly to repeat everything I said. Instead, let me rephrase it for anyone who didn’t read that article.

Fela has been an inspired signing for Bromley. The livewire striker now has 8 goals in 12 games (8 starts), and he’s been laying on assists, too. Stat wizards?

Did I mention that Michael Cheek scored in this game? Where once Bromley would have desperately relied on him to repeat the trick, the team now have goal-threats all over the pitch. This meant that his goal was a contribution to the victory rather than the be-all and end-all. 

That might be the best Christmas present you could give a battle-worn striker.

Lastly, if you watch the Ebbsfleet game back one thing that was synonymous with all three goals was the ability of the side to set traps and press Ebbsfleet into self-enforced errors. This wouldnt have been a fluke and almost certainly by design.

Kudos.

The Bad

At 1-1, when Bromley were under the cosh, I remarked that they would ride out the storm and be the team to score the next goal. I was right, but there was a moment when I looked at the bench and questioned if Bromley had the players required to swing things in their favour.

When the Ravens needed to regain control in the middle of the park, deep-sitting Sam Woods was the obvious option to sure things up. But I was concerned that it would demand even more creative spark from the tiring Krauhaus and Whitely. 

Ben Krauhaus went on to score the go-ahead goal, which shut me up, but I will say this: When Lewis Leigh goes back to Preston North End on 1^st January, do we have another midfielder who can match what he, Ben Krauhaus, and Corey Whitely offer? 

James Vennings is slowly coming back from injury and Jude Arthurs has to see out his suspension, but do we have another ball carrier in the squad? Will this be one of the reinforcements Andy Woodman is targeting?

I’ve been wondering whether it’s worth trying Kido Taylor-Hart in the middle of the park, but does he have the defensive attributes to justify such a move?

Then again, Bromley are second in the league. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

Andy Woodman spoke about needing to manage his players during the festive period. It will be very interesting to see how that correlates to managing the midfield.

The Ugly

Some would say that Bromley conceding two goals against a team ensconced in the relegation zone, and defending for their lives at times, is a bad sign. 

On one hand I get it, Ebbsfleet have struggled to translate their title-winning National League South form to the higher level this season. However, before jumping to criticise, I ask you to make two considerations.

1. In the two games prior to this match, Ebbsfleet had the morale-boosting effect of rescuing late points against both Barnet and, thanks to former Bromley keeper Mark Cousins’ first career goal, York City. This meant they came into the game with momentum.

2. It was a Kent derby. People can quibble all they want about whether Bromley is in Kent, but this is the closest thing to a derby we can expect in the current National League line-up. When the atmosphere is buzzing and the faces are familiar, league position gets thrown out of the window. Add in the hectic festive schedule and you can’t really expect service as usual.

The goals Bromley conceded were soft relative to their defensive quality, but in the grand scheme of things, and given the Christmas flux, a win is a win. Does it matter how you arrive there?

And for those not paying attention, while Bromley ground out a win over Ebbsfleet on Boxing Day, Chesterfield suffered a loss at Solihull Moors.

Christmas, eh?!

Anywho, let me know what you think about the above by getting at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (7)

Josh Passley (6)

Alex Kirk (7)

Byron Webster (7)

Callum Reynolds (7)

Besart Topalloj (7)

Lewis Leigh (7)

Ben Krauhaus (7)

Corey Whitely (7)

Olufela Olomola (8)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Sam Woods for Lewis Leigh 69’ (7)

Myles Weston for Josh Passley 46’ (7)

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