Swindon Town 0-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Apr 26, 2025

When a Bromley team wins 1-0 away from home yet again, there comes a point where you have to accept that it’s by design and no luck was involved.

The Ravens have the seventh-best away record in the league and Swindon found out why.

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

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

The team vs Swindon Town

The Good

That’s 15 League Two clean sheets for Grant Smith this season and another five-star performance from the Bromley goalkeeper.

I counted four huge saves (including the penalty) that saw Grant more than play his role in securing Bromley’s victory.

Again, I must say that if Michael Cheek wasn’t leading the way with 22 goals then Grant would have such a good shot at Bromley’s Player of the Season vote. As Andy says, how many bad games or mistakes can you remember? The fact you’re having to rack your brain tells you all you need to know.

The greatest thing about watching this Bromley side under Andy Woodman is knowing they are always up for a scrap. It’s why the 5-0 defeat at Port Vale a few weeks ago was so surprising. Bromley fans are spoiled in a sense because even when their team lose, they rarely do so without giving the opposition something to think about.

Ian Holloway may look back and wonder how Swindon didn’t score, but that would do a disservice to the fact that Bromley created plenty of opportunities.

Before his match-changing assist, Danny Imray had three good chances that saw Connor Ripley deny him on each occasion. In addition, Omar Sowunmi headed against the crossbar and Michael Cheek had a goalbound effort blocked just in front of the line.

While I wouldn’t go as far as to say Bromley deserved the win, they made their own luck by continuing to knock on the door and refusing to be passive and hold on for a draw.

Interestingly, Andy went back to a 3-5-2 for this match, which allowed us to see a Cheek/Kabamba partnership from the start for only the second time this season.

Nicke rushed or hesitated on a few occasions when he could have been more decisive, but overall I was pleased to see a duel threat up top. Both Cheek and Kabamba are robust strikers who make life difficult for their opposition, and it felt like a great tactical move to occupy Swindon’s three centre-backs.

I will always believe in horses for courses where formations and personnel are concerned. Maybe we got an inkling as to what we can expect next season when Andy sees an opportunity to destabilise the opposition.

Danny Imray got the critical assist and was of course Bromley’s best player on the day. At no point in the game did Swindon get to grips with the threat that he posed.

We only have two more games to enjoy Danny in a Bromley shirt, but what a delight he has been to watch. It will be very interesting to see how Palace utilise him when he returns to his parent club.

They are already blessed with right wing-backs, and unless they feel he can be an asset as a winger, given the heavy interest he received in the January transfer window, it’s possible they will look to cash in.

Personally, I would be shocked if Danny isn’t with a Championship club in time for the new season, whether on loan or permanently. That said, where do you see his level right now? League One? Championship? Premier League?

Swindon were good, to be fair. Yes, Bromley won, but you can see why Swindon have had such a run of good form under Ian Holloway.

They move the ball well and can work opportunities through the middle and the flanks. On another day, Swindon score the penalty and go on to win the match, just like they won their previous four games.

They certainly create plenty of chances, but if they are to mount a serious charge next season, they will need to target more clean sheets. Swindon have 7 clean sheets in Holloway’s first 30 games but I sense that will be the area they target for marginal gains. Defences win you promotions and all that.

Ian Holloway has consolidated them really well this season and seems to have cultivated a feel-good factor at the club. I’ll be keeping a keen eye on their summer recruitment as they could well be the team to watch next season.

The Bad

I keep thinking about the makeup of Bromley’s midfield next season. I know I have written about this before, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth repeating.

I have so much time for the work Ashley Charles, Jude Arthurs, and Ben Thompson do in the middle of the park. They are critical to the way Bromley play when they’re out of possession but also when it comes to processing quick turnovers in attacking transitions.

However, as Bromley evolve in League Two next year, is this where the evolution needs to happen?

It’s odd because nothing in this performance suggested Bromley were lacking in that area, and they are likely to end this season in the top half, which represents an astounding return in their inaugural season. Yet, can we really say that Bromley are able to dictate games in the middle of the park at the moment?

They love a scrap, which is a crucial building block of the Bromley DNA, but how far does that take you in League Two? Do they need to find some new DNA strands in order to kick-on? And if so, what kind of midfielder are they missing?

Adam Mayor had a subpar day at the office. Idris Odutayo kept his spot in the side but was moved to the left-hand side of a back three to allow Mayor to return at left wing-back.

Mayor got a booking for his troubles, gave away the penalty, and was replaced at half-time.

For the record, I get why Adam is used at wing-back as I assume Andy likes the fact he is a natural winger who can offer a good delivery alongside Congreve, who often plays in front of him.

However, in recent times, he has had a few difficult days defensively. It’s all part of the learning process for the 21-year-old, and I’m certain that, like Cameron and Danny and others, he will return to his parent club a better player for the experience at Bromley.

I would, however, like to see Adam get one little cameo at left wing. I will always wonder if we missed a trick there.

The Ugly

One of the reasons I decided to go to Swindon on Easter Monday was because of the simplicity of the journey. A leisurely 59 minutes on the train from London Paddington is a no-brainer in a league that demands a lot of much more northerly excursions.

Add a 1-0 win and I was having a beaut of a day. That was until I got to Swindon train station to go home.

All of the trains were cancelled or delayed due to a signalling failure. You couldn’t make it up.

I took an expensive Uber to Oxford with some compadres and caught a Chiltern Railways train to London Marylebone. When I finally got home, it was 10:45 pm.

I LOVE THIS GAME!

On a serious note though, if you were caught up in that madness, make sure you go to GWR and claim your refund. I got my entire ticket refunded, so we move.

Winner winner, chicken Dinner.

What did you make of this one? Get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (10)

Danny Imray (9)

Omar Sowunmi (7)

Byron Webster (8)

Idris Odutayo (7)

Adam Mayor (5)

Ashley Charles (7)

Jude Arthurs (7)

Corey Whitely (7)

Nicke Kabamba (7)

Michael Cheek (7)

Subs:

Ben Thompson for Jude Arthurs 63’ (7)

Cameron Congreve for Adam Mayor 46’ (7)

Harry McKirdy for Nicke Kabamba 63’ (7)

Marcus Ifill for Corey Whitely 83’ (n/a)

Kamarl Grant for Danny Imray 90+2’ (n/a)

From Bromley with love

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