Four years after losing the final of the FA Trophy, Bromley’s supporters can now forget that day thanks to an excellent team performance that enabled them to defeat Wrexham and that day left manager Andy Woodman delighted.

When taking his place in the Wembley Conference room afterwards, Woodman was smiling from ear to ear. He said: “What does mean for me? It means that the people of Bromley are proud of their team. I’ve got an owner that’s put everything into this football club, everything, and I’m chuffed for him.”

“He should get a lot of credit for what he has done behind the scenes, not only what he’s put into the club, but the people he’s put into the club behind the scenes, so I’m chuffed for him and the town of Bromley because they’ve got a team to be proud of.”

“These fans have had a day that they are never going to forget. That means everything to me. The Trophy is nice but seeing those people have a day out like that, that’s what gets to me. It sounds a bit cliched and a bit mushy but that’s what I really wanted. I didn’t want it for me, I wanted it for everyone else.”

Preparation to the finest detail was vital when playing a team with the resources of Wrexham. Woodman knew that the strikers were a big threat and said: “I think they’ve got seventy-one goals, those three players up top, but my boys did well. We knew we had to keep them away from goal, we knew we had to keep a high line, we knew we had to cut down on set pieces we give them, so we had a game plan.”

“We knew how we had to stop them, but we also knew it was about us as well. I thought personally, other than the last five minutes when we were clinging on a little bit when everyone in my team had cramp, I thought we were by far the better team on the day. I though that we had the better chances until the last five minutes.”

“The game plan originally was to stop their three centre halves from coming out with the ball from the back but it was such a hot day that we did it for the first five or ten minutes and I could just see the boys blowing up so we had to let them have it a little bit, and set a few traps which we knew that we could do and not allow them to get their feathers up a little bit. We knew that we had to change the plan at some point.”

“That said, we had a little spell where we were trying to keep it to one pass every time and I said to the guys ‘look if we’re going to play at this tempo for ninety minutes, we’re going to have to have an extra pass in there, maybe control the game a little bit more.’ which I thought we did.”

“We had periods where we controlled the game really well. It was like a chip pan out there. It was so hot and draining. I have to be honest. I thought if they score, and (it goes to) extra time, we’re beaten because I’d made the subs and we had three players who were dead in the water and we were never going to make it after that, so I was chuffed that our game plan worked.”

There were also plans for playing against Wrexham’s three strong central defenders. Woodman said “We’ve worked all week on putting the ball across on the floor because if you’re going to cross in the air, you’ve got no chance against that back three, so our game-plan was if we get wide in those areas, to slide it across the ground. The guys have been on it. We’ve worked tirelessly to get this result.” 

As part of his plans to keep the squad fresh for the final, Woodman has rotated the squad and rested players. That included the striker who scored the only goal of the Trophy final, Michael Cheek. Woodman said with a smile “I told him last week that he needs a rest, and he couldn’t get his head round it. I said to him ‘you’ll score the winner at Wembley.’ I just reminded him of that. He’s been brilliant for this football club and if anyone deserves to get the winner at Wembley, it was certainly him.”

Rotating the squad meant that every player would have hoped to be involved in the final meaning that there were difficult talks with players that were not selected, either for the starting eleven, or on the bench. “That’s something that I’ll never enjoy.” admitted Woodman “That’s something that the boys will never forgive me for, I get that. Even worse if we’d lost because if I was them, I would be saying ‘I should have played.’ I get that. 

“I have to make tough decisions and I’ve been on the receiving end of these tough decisions as a player. I’ve got a son that is in the football business as well, and he’s been on the receiving end and I think that if you do it with integrity and honesty, they still won’t agree with your decision but at least they know that it’s honest. It’s not easy.”

“We have rotated the squad and I’ve done it for a reason to make sure that I had everyone fit to choose from today and then you’ve got to choose eleven. That was a moment today that I really didn’t enjoy but the boys were professional about it.”

The inclusion of Omar Sowunmi also meant another player missing out, but he went down with a dislocated shoulder just before half time and had to be replaced. “I wanted to get Omar back because he’s been out for a long time with another injury,” said Woodman. “I had a really awkward conversation with a really model professional, Joe Partington, yesterday.”

“He was devastated that he wasn’t playing but he didn’t sulk, he still prepared properly and sometimes in a weird scenario, things happen. Joe came on and I thought that Joe was excellent and that’s what we need to have, strength in depth and a group of players that if they’re not playing, they don’t sulk and they want to come in and be a part of something special.”

“I’m really lucky that I inherited a captain that leads my dressing room so he’s their go to man if they’re upset. You have to remember they’re young boys and he’s been immense, Byron Webster, and I have to say, to a man he deserved to lift the cup probably more than anyone out there today.” 

Woodman has more difficult conversations ahead, after which he will take a short break. He said “I’ve got a busy week this week talking to players about their futures which, again, isn’t a part of the job I like but I have to be honest with people and then I’m going to give my family some time.”

Pictures supplied by Dave Budden.