MK Dons 0-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

As sure as day follows night, a dodgy Bromley run will be followed by a classic Andy Woodman DNA performance to reset things.

The Ravens travelled to Milton Keynes on the back of six league games without a win and proceeded to Bromley MK Dons, returning to South East London with all three points in tow.

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

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

The team vs MK Dons

The Good

Let's get one thing clear, I wasn’t at the game and had to make do with NORD VPN once more.

I haven’t travelled to an away game since the 4-1 humbling at Crewe Alexandra on Jan 5^th, but I’ve set my sights on AFC Norbiton for my return to away day travel. See you there.

Back to the game. From about the 15^th minute mark, it became clear that MK Dons had nothing special to offer. Andy Woodman often mentions that he’s not flustered by sides that keep possession for possession’s sake and play in front of the Bromley defence.

True to form, Bromley were excellent at maintaining their shape while out of possession. Other than a flurry of late chances when the Dons began to chase the game, I don’t remember Grant Smith having to make a save of consequence.

It just goes to show that having 70% possession (as MK Dons did) means sweet FA if you can only produce two shots on target.

This wasn’t a jammy one-nil win for the Ravens, this was a fully deserved victory. In fact, if we’re being hyper-critical, they really should have won by more than one goal.

For all of Bromley’s slack defending in the second half at Salford, I thought the backline of Jenkinson, Webster, Elerewe, and Mayor were brilliant at MK Dons. It again highlighted the importance of Carl Jenkinson’s experience. If Bromley can get him on the pitch for a lengthy period of time then it is likely to pay dividends.

Further up the field, Danny Imray collected his fifth league assist of the season and Cameron Congreve added another strong performance to his post-Newcastle collection. MK Dons’ commentary team thought Cameron was the star turn on the day.

The young Welshman is turning in confident displays that suggest he is fully in tune with where his game is right now. His claim for a starting place is a strong one.

Perhaps most surprising has been the decision to play Ben Thompson in the #10 role, with Arthurs and Charles screening behind him.

While I wouldn’t be keen to see that shape at home, Thompson grabbed the only goal of the game by ghosting into the box to tap home Imray’s cross, as an excellent #10 should.

I maintain that putting Thompson in an advanced role is more about defensive solidity than what he brings to Bromley’s attack, but kudos to the management team for some shrewd manoeuvring. Bromley have picked up four points from six on this week’s travels, which is no mean feat.

As I mentioned earlier, I thought MK Dons were poor. Their fans clearly agreed as they vociferously booed their players off at full-time.

Across the 90 minutes, their play lacked urgency and was overtly slow and methodical.

The only MK Dons player who stood out to me was goalkeeper Conal Trueman, who, on his MK debut, produced several important saves to ensure the scoreline only ended 0-1.

Given the quality of the additions MK made during the transfer window, I still believe that Scott Lindsey will get a tune out of his side, but whether it comes in time to make a run at the postseason remains to be seen.

The Bad

Bromley spent a lot of money to get Nicke Kabamba through the door, yet the striker has only started one game since his arrival. For the most part, Nicke has had to content himself with sub cameos, usually around the 70^th-75^th minute.

Not only has this prevented him from building up a head of steam, it is starting to raise questions about how and when Bromley will incorporate him in the starting XI.

Will they switch to playing with two up front to accommodate him, or does Bromley’s style of play really just suit one up top?

There is a sense that horses for courses is the way to go this season, and where there is a benefit to playing two strikers, I think Andy Woodman will do so. But the outlay on Kabamba will continue to raise eyebrows if the seasoned striker isn’t featuring prominently.

Do Bromley get better results when they deploy a single striker? Perhaps. But the flux of football means this might not always be the case, especially as Harry McKirdy recently arrived at the club.

My gut instinct tells me that Andy is still seeking a strike partner for Michael Cheek and the mercurial ability of McKirdy might just be the answer.

The Ugly

I preface what I’m about to say with the caveat that I wasn’t there, so I will only present the most basic facts.

Apparently, a group of Bromley fans got into an altercation with some of the MK Dons stewards.

I’ve read accounts that imply the stewarding was overzealous, resulting in at least one fan being expelled from the ground and another being put in a headlock or chokehold.

On the other hand, I’ve read accounts that imply some of this group f***ed about and found out.

One way or the other, the confrontation was regrettable and probably avoidable.

Whatever happened to going to the football, supporting the team, coming up with some humorous chants, and keeping it moving?

Are incidents like this just part of the ebb and flow of away days, or are Bromley now attracting attention for the wrong reasons?

In the age of social media, all eyes are on you and you have to be careful that you don’t end up playing yourself.

Are we or aren’t we?

Get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (8)

Carl Jenkinson (8)

Deji Elerewe (8)

Byron Webster (8)

Adam Mayor (8)

Ashley Charles (7)

Jude Arthurs (7)

Danny Imray (8)

Ben Thompson (8)

Cameron Congreve (8)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Kamarl Grant for Ben Thompson 92’ (n/a)

Corey Whitely for Cameron Congreve 72’ (6)

Nicke Kabamba for Michael Cheek 89’ (n/a)

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