Wealdstone 0-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Make that five clean sheets in a row. 

Bromley have saved their defensive best until last this season and it’s truly remarkable. 

Andy Woodman has always hammered home the importance of defensive solidity. With seven league games to go, that defensive pragmatism has placed Bromley on the verge of history. 

Not only will they achieve their best-ever points haul in the National League but they look certain to achieve their best-ever position. Will it end with a play-off final?

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

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

The team vs Wealdstone

The Good

Football is a funny game. For all the talk of wanting your side to play entertaining, free-flowing football, the reality is that the final score is all that matters. 

Bromley have been in the National League for nine seasons now. In that time, the teams that have achieved promotion have largely been pragmatic sides that were super-efficient and knew how to win when not playing well.

You can bet your bottom dollar that fans of those promotion-winning sides didn’t complain about how that promotion was achieved.

Wednesday night’s game with Wealdstone was Bromley 101. They had one serious opportunity and took it.

When a side goes down to 10 men with over three-quarters of the game remaining, it is a tall order to ‘defend’ for a point, much less take your moment and claim all three. 

But when your side is built to be supremely fit and defensively resolute, perhaps it is no surprise that Bromley a) didn’t concede and b) knew that a moment would come. If that moment came to Michael Cheek then it would more than likely result in a goal.

Was it the performance of the season? For me, it was. It was a microcosm of everything that has made this Bromley’s best season in the modern era. 

I hesitate to single out a player in a backs-against-the-wall performance like this, but credit must go to young goalkeeper David Aziaya. Coming on for the dismissed Grant Smith to make his senior professional debut must have been nerve-wracking, but he grew into the game, pulled off at least two important saves, and was savvy enough to know when to kill the game. 

The trio of centre-backs in front of him included the experienced Byron Webster and Callum Reynolds, and returning youngster Deji Elerewe. All three were all exemplary. 

Notably, in the second half, Bromley went narrow and gambled on giving Wealdstone width to play with. This was a masterstroke as time and again Bromley comfortably dealt with the inevitable crosses. Then, as their frustration grew, the home side fell into a pattern of wasteful efforts from distance.

In his 70-minute re-debut, Deji showed why he walks into the side when he’s fully fit. It was almost as if he hadn’t been away. Comfortable in possession, excellent in one-on-one duels, and an aerial threat at both ends of the pitch. When Bromley have all eleven players on the pitch, he also adds an attacking component to their armoury. 

Further afield, Michael Cheek carried on doing Michael Cheek things. Away fans behind the goal knew that the only way a victory would happen was if Cheek got his chance. 

From 18 yards out, he drilled a low shot across the goalkeeper into the only spot that was a feasible option. It wasn’t an easy chance, but boy did he make it look like one.

That makes it 22 goals in all competitions for the frontman. It begs the question of how the football club will honour Cheek when he finally retires from the game (hopefully in a Bromley shirt).

Other players have gone on to ‘better things’ and higher levels, but has there been a more important player for Bromley in the modern era? Is it just hyperbole to ask that question?

The Bad

Why does the National League season finish so early? 

Should common sense be applied when a fixture backlog develops? Or should we just accept that the rules are the rules and every club knows the risks before the season starts?

Thanks to a combination of poor weather and a subpar pitch, Wealdstone have to fit eleven games into the final month of the season. 

Some might say it serves them right for not bringing their pitch up to the required standard. There might be some truth to that, but even so, surely there has to be a common sense approach?

The integrity of the division matters, and you can’t have teams playing games after the season has finished for the majority, but is there no such thing as a contingency plan?

What happens if the bad weather continues and more games are called off for teams in the run-in? Is it reasonable to ask teams to play Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday?

I’m certain that some readers will be able to tell me stories of seasons that were far worse and still finished on time. Even so, we have a far better understanding of player welfare these days.

Is eleven games in one month acceptable in the modern era?

The Ugly

I will freely admit that I looked away at the crucial moment when Grant Smith was alleged to have struck out at Jack Young.

What was immediately clear, irrespective of what Grant did or didn’t do, is that Young was not struck with the kind of force that warranted his reaction. 

As far as I could tell, the referee didn’t make the decision of his own volition. The red card only came out after he had discussed the clash with his assistant referee via the earpiece.

Did he get the decision right? If you weren’t at the game, you would have no chance of knowing as Bromley Football Club’s match highlights didn’t include the game’s key incident.

Why? Do Bromley not want to put incriminating evidence out there? Would it harm an appeal? Did they appeal?

I find sending-offs like this peculiar. If you set a precedent that the traditional goalmouth dance/tussle at set pieces warrants a red card, then there would be at least one per game.

When is a coming together just a coming together and when is it a bonafide red card?

A lot of questions in this match review. Do you have the answers?

Get at me in the comments below.

Match ratings

Grant Smith (6)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Deji Elerewe (8)

Byron Webster (9)

Callum Reynolds (9)

Idris Odutayo (8)

Ashley Charles (7)

Ben Krauhaus (8)

Corey Whitely (6)

Olufela Olomola (7)

Michael Cheek (8)

Subs:

Levi Amantchi for Michael Cheek 89’ (n/a)

Karmarl Grant for Deji Elerewe 77’ (7)

David Aziaya for Corey Whitely 19’ (7)

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