As we move into April with the National League season suspended indefinitely amid the COVID 19 pandemic crisis, KSN football writer Colin Head takes a three part look back on what has been a very eventful campaign for Bromley FC.
In their fifth season in the National League the Ravens saw some incredible highs and some periods when nothing seemed to go right for Neil Smith and his team, all of which sees them sitting in thirteenth place with football on hold for the foreseeable future.
August 2019
With the new Glyn Beverly Stand open for business and improvements around the ground there as an optimistic buzz around Hayes Lane as 2019/20 kicked off, Neil Smith assembled a very decent squad, with competition for places in most areas and new signings that added something extra to the team. Not only that, but they now had more than one way of playing. When teams were there to be got at, Bromley attacked and looked to exploit their weaknesses, but in the case of Boreham Wood at home they executed the old boxing style of ‘rope a dope’, letting Luke Garrard’s side have around 80% of the possession, but keeping them out of the box and then taking their chance when it came, with Michael Cheek netting the only goal of the match in first half injury time.
The improvement had also been seen when they came from behind in the win at Maidenhead United, where they scored two late goals to win 2-1 and also at Aldershot where we held out under pressure to win 1-0.
As Smith has said these are games that Bromley would have dropped points in last season. All of the league wins to that point, with the exception of the 3-1 win over Ebbsfleet, were by one goal, giving testament to the strength of character of the new look Ravens side.
Of the new recruits Billy Bingham put in several commanding displays in midfield, young forward Reeco Hackett-Fairchild impressed playing out wide or behind Michael Cheek, a proven striker at this level, in a 4-4-1-1 formation. Keeper Mark Cousins was very solid and the new defensive additions Joe Kizzi and Chris Bush added more steel to the back line.
September
Bromley went one game short of extending their unbeaten run to the whole of September, before they came up against some bad luck and a team in form losing 3-1 at Yeovil Town. After losing keeper Mark Cousins to injury in the opening minutes of the game and having to put centre back Chris Bush in as an emergency custodian the Ravens succumbed to defeat.
The result ended The Ravens run of 13 matches unbeaten and 15 in total, their previous defeat coming on Good Friday 2019 at home to Solihull Moors towards the end of the last National League campaign.
September started as August finished with Bromley grabbing a draw, this time at Dagenham, & Redbridge live on BT Sport, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild scoring an injury time equaliser to secure a point and keep his side’s unbeaten run going.
Three home wins by a single goal margin (Chesterfield 2-1, Notts County 2-1 & Woking 1-0) and a 1-1 draw at Eastleigh were enough to put Manager Neil Smith’s side top of the table, four points clear ahead of the trip to Yeovil.
The win over Notts County was particularly momentous, playing a famous old league club, watched by over 3,000 fans and putting on a great display in all departments to seal the victory. To the fans the game felt like a cup tie, but importantly the players went about it like a regular league game and were not fazed by playing a team that was still playing in the top flight of English Football back in 1992.
A settled line up and formation, with good options on the bench was the key to the run, the centre-back pairing of Chris Bush & Marc Anthony Okoye proving so solid that Club Captain Jack Holland had to wait patiently for his opportunity to get back in the side.
Up front Michael Cheek continued to show he is the real deal when it comes to scoring goals at this level as the focal point of a 4-2-3-1 shape that allowed Hackett and Coulson the freedom to join the attack when the Ravens were going forward with Frankie Raymond and Billy Bingham playing the holding role.
With George Porter & Jordan Higgs unavailable due to off field issues Smith proved to be a shrewd user of the loan market, bringing in Michael Klass from Southend, Alfie Doughty from Charlton and Shawn McCoulsky from Forest Green. All of whom made vital contributions to the team since joining. Doughty & McCoulsky scoring the goals against Notts County.
With Cousins facing a spell out with ligament damage to his shoulder, Smith brought in a replacement keeper in Ryan Huddart from Boreham Wood ahead of the home game with Barrow which kicked off October and he also had the headache of suspensions starting to kick in with Joe Kizzi and Chris Bush picking up five bookings.
Smith now faced the challenge of keeping performances up at the same high level while having to shuffle things around to cover absentees.
October
Three months and nineteen games into the 2019/20 National League season and Bromley still found themselves top of the table, a point clear of AFC Halifax Town and two in front of Yeovil Town. Despite injuries and suspensions catching up with his squad, Neil Smith’s side had another good month progressing in the FA Cup and maintaining their place at the top of the league.
On the personnel front, loan signings Shawn McCoulsky (Forest Green) and Alfie Doughty (Charlton) returned to their parent clubs, while Rarmani Edmonds-Green joined on loan from Huddersfield Town to cover Marc-Anthony Okoye who was out injured and Michael Klass extended his stay from Southend. Smith saw several players ruled out as the busy early schedule of 20 competitive games in three months caught up with players.
Billy Bingham and Jordan Higgs missed matches, while Mark Cousins & Jake Goodman were long term absentees. Joe Kizzi, Chris Bush and Frankie Raymond all missed matches having picked up five bookings.
The month started with Bromley’s second defeat of the season losing 2-1 at home to an impressive Barrow team whose front two of Dior Angus and Scott Quigley were a real handful. The Ravens came back with the perfect response though on the following Tuesday winning 2-1 at Barnet with Kizzi and Bush scoring on their return to the side, both defenders having missed the previous game through suspension.
A 2-1 loss at Solihull Moors followed before Bromley’s involvement in the FA Cup began with a 4-3 Fourth Qualifying Round win at home to Aldershot Town, setting up a trip to Bristol Rovers in the first round.
The top of the table clash with AFC Halifax Town on the 26th saw the Ravens blow the leaders away in the second half winning 5-0 and regain top spot. This position was consolidated with their final game of October. Another home game at Hayes Lane against former Football League opposition resulted in a 2-2 draw with Stockport County watched by over 2,000 fans on a Tuesday night.
In Part 2, Colin looks at how the Ravens fortunes saw them drift from shock title chasers to playoff contenders over the Christmas and into the New Year