Woking 0-1 Bromley

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

One defeat in seventeen games.

After the win over Oxford City, Andy Woodman said he didn’t want to talk about Bromley’s FA Cup game with Blackpool until Bromley had completed their mission of taking maximum points from Dorking Wanderers and Woking.

Mission accomplished. 

Amidst a second-half downpour at the Kingfield Stadium, Bromley got their set-piece go-ahead goal then produced a tremendous rearguard performance to secure three points.

As ever, I reflect on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 1-0 win at Woking.

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

The Good

I might as well repeat my refrain from the previous write-up… Good sides win when they’re not at their best. 

Backs-against-the-wall performances can be analysed from many angles, but I choose to take the view that Bromley earned their victory through sheer strength of will. From the moment they got their goal, they seemed determined to accept nothing other than three points.

Did Grant Smith have to be at his very best in the last quarter of the game? Yes. 

Were Deji Elerewe, Byron Webster, and Chin Okoli heroic in defence? 100%.

On the balance of the play, Woking might think they deserved a share of the spoils. But the balance of play doesn’t win you games. Scoring goals and keeping clean sheets is how you get points, and that’s precisely what Bromley have excelled at in the last seventeen games.

The best teams play moments well. The Ravens were non-existent from an attacking perspective in the first half, but if opposition scouts know one thing, it’s that this Bromley side loves a set-piece. 

Almost predictably, Bromley’s goal came from a corner. A little bit of head tennis teed up Deji Elerewe to head home, haunting Woking with another one of his headed finishes. 

From that point on, Woking were going to need something special to get back in the game. But, much as they probed, Grant Smith and the defence in front of him were superb in closing it out. 

Andy Woodman remarked to me a month ago that he wants his side to never get bored of winning. They appear to have taken that call to heart. Dare I say that we, as a fanbase, should join them?

A bad run will likely come at some point. But it’s worth remembering that in the last four games, Bromley have secured four wins without ever hitting top gear. 

Does that mean our luck is in? Or are Bromley simply that good a side now?

The Bad

Maybe I’m looking for confirmation bias to support a point raised in my previous match summary, but...

Was it me, or did we look devoid of attacking impetus in midfield?

Jude Arthurs, for all of his graft, is a different kind of player from Ben Krauhaus. We can accept that. More worryingly, Lewis Leigh seemed off the pace. And I maintain that Corey Whitely could do with a rest. 

Arguably, the midfield only improved once Sam Woods replaced Lewis Leigh. And they certainly found another gear once Bromley had a goal to protect. 

Ben Krauhaus will be back for the Blackpool game and will have probably benefited from his suspension-enforced break. But, in my view, Andy Woodman should wrap Corey Whitely in cotton wool between now and Saturday. 

Lewis Leigh was cup-tied in the previous round and likely will be again, so Sam Woods will come in and add more defensive solidity and an aerial presence. But it begs the question: Against a League One midfield, is the Woods-Whitely-Krauhaus combination our best bet? Or should Andy Woodman be more pragmatic?

What would you do?

The Ugly

Right at the end of the game, there was a big melee following Jude Arthurs’ sliding tackle. From my vantage point, it looked like Jude won the ball cleanly, but the challenge was very robust. 

Cue a 22-man shoving contest followed by a yellow card for Jude. I found that yellow card a most peculiar decision. At no point before the melee had the referee blown for a foul. If anything, the Woking players who surrounded Jude and roughed him up were far more deserving. 

In the wider context of the game, this incident had little bearing and will soon be forgotten. So why do I bring it up? 

It speaks to a side of Jude’s game that I personally love. However, I acknowledge that he skirts the borderline of acceptable behaviour.

Jude is a pest; a maddening combination of tackle-terrier, foul-seller, and wind-up merchant. In other words, he’s the kind of player you’re glad is in your team and not the opposition’s. 

That said, there are times when I worry that Jude might trip over the line and become a liability. This is not to say he has ever let Bromley down with a red card, and I would never seek to take this quality out of his game, but I would like Jude to be a bit more selective.

Maybe that challenge was there to be made, and maybe the ensuing melee helped Woking lose their heads in the dying embers, but it was a risky call. It could have gone another way.

Right decisions. Right moments. Fine lines.

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

Match ratings

Grant Smith (9)

Josh Passley (7)

Chin Okoli (8)

Byron Webster (8)

Deji Elerewe (8)

Besart Topalloj (7)

Lewis Leigh (6)

Corey Whitely (6)

Jude Arthurs (7)

Olufela Olomola (6)

Michael Cheek (6)

Subs:

Louis Dennis for Olufela Olomola for 69’ (6)

Sam Woods for Lewis Leigh 54’ (7)

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