BROMLEY HAVE THE CHEEK TO KEEP WINNING
It was slim pickings when choosing this week’s match report, with a grand total of six games going ahead across England’s top four tiers due to FA Cup action and storm Goretti wreaking havoc on pitches up and down the country. Luckily for me, however, Bromley stepped up with another statement win to extend their lead at the top of the table and carry on a remarkable run of form that is more than worth talking about. If you don’t know, get to know. Bromley mean business.
Bromley’s rise from non-league obscurity to the brink of League One has been nothing short of astonishing. After two failed attempts at the play-offs, they finally earned a maiden Football League appearance last season, finishing just four points behind the League 2 play-off places in their first year at this level. Now, 25 games into their second season, they sit five points clear of Swindon in second and just fifteen points shy of their entire total from last season. As soon as they got promoted they never planned on returning. Plenty of people deserve an enormous amount of credit for getting Bromley to this position, all of the back room staff working tirelessly and promotion-winning manager Andy Woodman will be legends of the club forever, no matter what happens in the coming years. The face of the operation, however, has been their number nine Michael Cheek.
The 34 year-old has been the club’s top scorer in each of his first six seasons as a Bromley player, and is well on course to repeat that feat for a seventh time in a row. He was last year’s League 2 golden boot winner and leads the charts again at this stage with 14 goals in 25 appearances already this term. Goal number 13 came in just the second minute of this game to give Bromley the early lead.
While Cheek will take all the plaudits, and perhaps rightly so, it would be remiss of me not to mention the performances of Mitchell Pinnock down the left flank. Signed on a free after four years at Northampton in the summer, Pinnock has hit the ground running in his Bromley career and already notched 9 assists this campaign from that left-hand side. Nobody has assisted more goals in the division thus far, and he also leads the league in chance creation by a considerable distance. When you’ve got a centre forward like Michael Cheek to aim at, there’s always a good chance of a cross being turned in if you can swing one into the danger zone.
The goal came from some unforgivable defending from a Tranmere perspective as the ball was turned over in midfield and dropped to Pinnock on the left-hand side. Despite all the stats I’ve just mentioned about how dangerous he has been this season, the Tranmere players neglected to close the space between themselves and Pinnock, allowing him plenty of time to set himself and bend a peach of a cross into the area. Awaiting the ball was, of course, Michael Cheek. It was great centre-forward play as he timed his run to perfection and ghosted between the two centre-halves, rising well and directing his header into the bottom corner beyond the reach of Jack Barrett in the Tranmere goal. 1-0 to the visitors inside 2 minutes, and they were well on their way to a first-ever victory over Tranmere at the tenth time of asking.
Rovers almost got themselves back into the game 20 minutes later following a corner, but were denied by the woodwork. The set-piece routine itself was poor, but danger-man Charlie Whitaker picked up the rebound and floated an inviting ball to the back stick. Centre-half Nathan Smith was under it, and won the header, but could only hit the post from 2 yards out. A let-off for Bromley, who cleared their lines to keep themselves from any further danger.
Scoring goals hasn’t been the issue for Tranmere, only three sides have managed more so far in League 2, it’s been their work at the other end that’s kept them down in 17th. They have the 7th worst defence in the division, and have also been remarkably poor at Prenton Park. They’re the 7th best-performing side in the league on their travels, but have only the 19th best record at home. All of this has culminated in them having the most average record possible so far: 8 wins, 8 draws, 9 losses and a goal difference of 0. They’re 14 points clear of the relegation zone, so realistically that isn’t ever going to be an issue, but the Rovers fans want to see more from their side, particularly at home. If they can sort out their home form and sure up their defence with some shrewd January recruitment, the 8 point gap to the play-offs suddenly doesn’t look all that insurmountable.
As it stands, however, the reinforcements are yet to arrive. Of course, this meant Bromley were given plenty of chances to extend their lead. Another Pinnock cross, this time cleared, fell to Corey Whitely on the edge of the area. Instead of doing the boring thing and recycling possession, Whitely volleyed the ball straight back into the area towards an inexplicably unmarked Michael Cheek. Luckily for Tranmere, ‘keeper Barrett is the only defender switched on to the situation, managing to close down Cheek and get enough of a touch on his effort to deflect it onto the crossbar and out of play. A massive let off for Rovers, and Cheek will be kicking himself knowing that was a golden opportunity. The player that was supposed to be marking him was centre-forward Joe Ironside, he did well to make the initial clearance from the cross but got sucked towards the ball in classic non-defender doing some defending fashion. Cheek’s movement is second-to-none at this level, but some communication from the Tranmere backline could’ve prevented him getting such a gilt-edged opportunity in the first place, it’s no wonder they’ve faced the struggles they have this season if they’re defending like that. Half-time, 1-0 to the league leaders. A seventh consecutive victory, and a twelfth win in fourteen, looked like it was well on the way.
And victory was all-but confirmed twelve minutes after he restart. The ball again coming from the left, this time a cross from deep by midfielder Ashley Charles. Tranmere’s trouble dealing with balls into the area continued, defender Cameron Norman and ‘keeper Barrett both rose to try and beat Bromley’s Deji Elerewe to the ball but it sailed above all three, ricocheting off the face of an unwitting Joe Ironside. Three guesses as to who was lurking to pick up the loose ball on the edge of the six-yard box – that’s right, Cheek was there to bury his shot through a crowd of scrambling Rovers defenders to take his tally to 14 and seal another victory in Bromley’s imperious run.
Table-topping Bromley have garnered a lot of criticism from fans of other teams, funnily enough usually the ones they’ve just beaten, for their brand of football. Gorgeous, it is not, but it’s certainly effective. And let’s be real here, it’s League 2, if you can get out of a division that competitive it doesn’t matter how you do it. Questions remain as to if their form is sustainable and if they can occupy one of the three automatic promotion spots come May. If Michael Cheek has anything to say about it, they’ll be a League One team next season.
Little old Bromley could be facing up against Sheffield Wednesday in League One, a shock to the system for both of them ten years after Wednesday were 4th in the Championship and Bromley were 10th in the National League. Football, eh?
While Bromley look to sustain a promotion charge, Tranmere will still believe they can start one. They’re an outside shot, and recruitment is a must in January, but you simply never know with League 2. It’s never over until it’s over.
White Noise 