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.
They lost 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 result ended The Ravens run of 13 matches unbeaten this season and 15 in total, their previous defeat coming on Good Friday 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 and Redbridge live on BT Sport. Reeco Hackett-Fairchild scored 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 has been the key to the run, the centre back pairing of Chris Bush & Marc Anthony Okoye so solid that Club Captain Jack Holland has had to wait patiently for his opportunity to get back in the side. Up front Michael Cheek continues 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 allows Hackett and Coulson the freedom to join the attack when The Ravens are going forward with Frankie Raymond and Billy Bingham playing the holding role.
With George Porter & Jordan Higgs unavailable Smith has once again 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 have 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 now has a week to bring in a replacement keeper ahead of the home game with Barrow which kicks off October and he also has the headache of suspensions starting to kick in with Joe Kizzi picking up five bookings. The challenge now for The Gaffer is to keep performances up at the same high level while having to shuffle things around to cover absentees.
After Barrow, The Ravens face a tough schedule with Barnet & Solihull away, plus home games against Halifax Town & Stockport County over October, as well as playing their first game in the FA Cup on 19th. However things shape up in the coming month, to be going into October top of the table is a massive achievement for Bromley and has given them a solid base to build from with a quarter of the league season gone.