The Good Side of Inconsistent

By: Andrew Doherty
Date: 01/02/2025

MY mate Jerry, who wavers between Bromley and Charlton as his favourite club and is invariably disappointed with both, tells me that the key local attraction is Chislehurst Caves. Wasn't that the subject of a song by Suzi Quatro?

My 195 mile trip was for football so a visit to this unknown Wonder of the World was going to have to wait.

Up to a couple of years ago, Bromley's Hayes Lane ground was called the Westminster Waste Stadium. So down the tube goes the golden opportunity to describe it as rubbish. The stadium is small and compact, befitting a lower division club, with signs of recent developments. It's typical of the many London area clubs with low attendances, seeking to avoid overextending themselves to remain in budget. It's also why we were limited to 515, 10 per cent of capacity. On the footballing side, Bromley have picked up after a slow start after adjusting to the Football League but are now respectably placed. They're known for being good at set pieces, which is ominous news. For Town it's been a bit wobbly of late. A dismal defeat at Barrow was followed by a precarious draw at home to Gillingham. Somehow Town's Head Coach and Chief Spin Doctor David Artell, whose hype seems to know no bounds, managed to conclude that we should have won 3 -1, and we won on stats, which is true, except that stats don't win football matches. He did concede, as if it were an incidental thing, that we weren't good at keeping possession. Hence we barely spent any time in the opposition half for the second period. It was his comment on Tharme's own goal which left me gasping with amusement and incredulity. Apparently getting his feet in the right place and therefore not slicing the ball into his own net is part of Tharme's Individual Development Plan (IDP to those in the know). Isn't being able to kick a ball in a straight line and not slice it into your own net a core requirement for a professional footballer? I accept that technique comes into it but this seems very basic. I should say that I really like Doug Tharme as a player and whilst I'm sure he himself would agree that he needs to be more careful, saw this as an unfortunate accident. Still, as someone else observed, Tharme's strike should put him in line for Gillingham's goal of the season.

Town, wearing yellow and red on this cloudy winter's day lined up: Wright - Rodgers, Tharme, McJannet - Svanthorsson, Thompson, Green, Khouri, Hume - Rose, Obikwu. With a change of formation to give us reinforcement at the back against the physical threat and a dual strike force, maybe there would be an upturn in performance? Let's hope so. There's no razzamatazz in EFL League 2, especially on a cold afternoon in February, so it's about time we had a bit of rebranding. The teams came out: Bromley Cavedwellers v Grimsby Continuous Improvers (GCI). 3,857 were in the ground to watch the spectacle. Showtime.

After a brief initial spell where Town put together a couple of attacks, a training ground style corner failed when possession was lost and compounded when Thompson committed a foul, injuring himself and earning a yellow card in the process. Bromley took over. Green first cleared a cross and Hume then put in a good tackle to stop attacks by the home side. 17 minutes had passed. Not much was happening. Town were using long balls without effect. Tharme cut out a cross by Whitely. As the half went on, it was clear that Bromley were prepared to move forward in numbers. supplying the ball to the wide players to cross the ball into dangerous positions. On 20 minutes Town were slow when clearing the ball. Khouri played a poor pass into the path of Cheek who only failed to score thanks to Wright's alertness. From the ensuing corner the giraffe-like Eleruwe should have scored but at the second attempt scooped the ball over from 5 yards. Another nice Bromley move followed with crowd-pleasing trickery from Eleruwe. Cheek found Dennis who shot over. Bromley we're by far the more purposeful of the two sides. Another Bromley corner followed with Svanthorsson helping out in defence. On 30 minutes a Bromley attack saw Whitely outside the box. The Bromley player saw a better option and threaded his pass to Dennis whose shot was tipped over. McJannet headed clear. Rose then tripped Bromley's Thompson outside the box. Town fumbled the ball clear and conceded a corner. On 40 minutes Grant earned another corner for Bromley. There was a scramble. In amongst the mass of bodies Wright looked to pull at Dennis's leg but the referee didn't see it and a goal kick was the result. Just before halftime Imray made a lovely pullback, allowing him to shoot from the edge of the box. McJannet was in position to deflect the shot. Another corner for Bromley. Svanthorsson tackled Mayor but Dennis took the ball away as if Svanthorsson wasn't there. Obikwu and McJannet got in a mess while attempting to clear, and Bromley had yet another corner, which Tharme did well to cut out following a cross by Grant. At half time it was 0 - 0. Bromley were well on top, and were winning on corners by 9 to 1. Town were defending resolutely but looked devoid of ideas going forward with no shots on target so far.

The second half had barely begun when Town moved the ball forward into the Bromley half. As Green ran towards the byline to cross, Rose, Bromley keeper Smith and a defender fell over after a collision. Green crossed low. With Rose on the ground and with his back to goal, Smith seemed to ease off but Rose flicked the ball with both feet over his head and into the net. There was initial stunned silence. No-one could believe what had happened. The goal stood, and Town had taken a 1 - 0 lead. Town took heart from this and continued to press forward. On 49 minutes a McJannet cross led to a corner. Hume crossed to the head of Green. A defender headed the ball out to Svanthorsson whose left-footed shot was wide. A few minutes later Svanthorsson breezed through the defence from the right but found himself outnumbered. Town were playing like a different team from the first half. Bromley won a corner on 61 minutes, but Town had the initiative. On 63 minutes Rose found Green, but with Obikwu homing in, Eleruwe was quick to cut out this goal-scoring opportunity. Bromley made a double substitution but Town continued to dominate play, breaking out on 66 minutes. Obikwu played the ball out to Rose whose shot was poorly controlled. McEachren came on for Thompson and was immediately in the action, being on the receiving end of a foul as he looked to break deep into the Bromley half. Khouri had a shot which went wide. Town were pinning Bromley back with their pressing, and winning possession. This was the case on 70 minutes, when having gained possession McEachren, Khouri and Hume patiently passed the ball in Bromley's right corner while looking for a gap. The gap was found and the ball was laid into the path of the advancing Obikwu who was in space and drilled his shot under Smith. Bromley 0, Town 2. Bromley had another token corner but on 75 minutes Svanthorsson found himself running clear but only managed to fire his shot at Smith. On 75 minutes Bromley won a corner. McEachren won the ball in midfield. Obikwu ran on and teamed up with Khouri whose shot from the left was high. McEachren won possession again and set up a run for Svanthorsson who overran the ball. Things were getting desperate for Bromley. Congreve, known for worldies and maybe fuelled by the hype, tried a shot from 35 yards and ballooned it over the stand and into the car park. With less than 10 minutes remaining, the intensity level dropped but Town kept their shape and defended solidly. On 85 minutes Vernam and Cass came on as replacements for Obikwu and Svanthorsson. Hume was booked for body-checking Congreve. Bromley then gave the ball away. Vernam took the ball upfield, but Khouri was shepherded out by Eleruwe. The game was petering out. Bromley weren't offering anything to suggest they would get back in the game. With 5 minutes added, Ainley replaced Khouri. Hume supplied a long ball to Vernam who had a great chance to run on and score a third for Town but he hesitated, allowing Eleruwe to take control. Ainley forced a save from Smith with a shot from a tight angle on the left before McEachren went closer with a shot which went whistling wide. As time was running out, Cass received a yellow card for a foul in Bromley's half. No sooner had he done this than he decided to kick the ball away in front of the referee, earning himself a second yellow and dismissal. It was completely unnecessary but as the final whistle was blown moments later, Town and the 500 fans could celebrate what ultimately was an impressive victory. Bromley 0, Grimsby Town 2 was the final score.

There'll be wailing in the recesses of Chislehurst Caves tonight. This was a game of two distinct halves. Bromley dominated the first period but were unable to capitalise. Town couldn't get going. Town's first goal was as unexpected as it was opportunistic. But the goal was the trigger for a solid and disciplined team performance, with Town running out as clear winners over a Bromley side, who were demoralised by Town's determination and eventual control of the game. Inconsistency should mean that we are good sometimes, and today in the second half we were. I overheard a Bromley fan commenting towards the end of the game that Town were too strong for the home side. I don't always agree with Mr Artell's conclusions but full credit is due to him and the players for putting their stamp on this game and demonstrating our capabilities today.

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