Life at the top for Bromley Football Club

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As we move into the second half of the season, Jack Ball assesses Bromley Football Club’s campaign so far and weighs up their chances of promotion.

Life for Bromley Football Club, as they push for promotion, is unquestionably the best it has ever been. Their recent win over neighbouring Ebbsfleet United put them top of the Vanarama Conference South with two games in hand. The south-east London outfit’s leap to the top of the division will undoubtedly have pleased their fans but the fact they got there by beating their local rivals is sure to make the taste of success that little bit sweeter. After all, nobody at the club will have forgotten about last season’s disappointment of losing to the Fleet in the league’s play-off semi-final after finishing third – their highest ever finish. The recent meeting was the first of the season for the two clubs and Bromley made no mistake this time in getting the job done.

As is so often the case, the heartache of last season appears to have fuelled former Crystal Palace chairman Mark Goldberg’s side with the desire to go all the way this time around, with their performances this season rightfully making them the front runners to win the championship and gain automatic promotion. With twelve games left of the season, Bromley are without a doubt in the driving seat to determine their fate.

Despite Bromley’s home being the Fortress Stadium, rather ironically, they have picked up the majority of their points this season on the road – 33 of their 56, to be exact, after an equal amount of home and away games. Five of their six league defeats have been at Hayes Lane and if taking only their home games into account, Bromley would be 10th in the league. Yet, as we all know, leagues are not won or lost by just a side’s home form. In fact, more often that not it is away form that determines whether or not a team finish up in the business end of the table or whether they finish in a respectable mid-table position – a point any Bromley fan would be quick to agree with, probably after a classic and equally chirpy reference to hindsight being a wonderful thing.

Going forward, if Bromley can put in some solid home performances and live up to their stadium’s name, there is no reason why they can’t end the season by lifting the Conference South trophy. Furthermore, if they can finish the season in similar fashion to how they finished the year of 2014 then an open-top bus ride, celebrating the silverware, around the London borough will without a doubt be a certainty. A ten-game unbeaten run saw Bromley finish the year on a high and they will be looking to emulate that form during the home stretch of this season.

The start of 2015, despite a positive transfer period, followed a slightly different script. A dip in form saw them lose four games in a row, though only two of them were league matches. One of the defeats, however, came in the FA Trophy, losing 4–0 at Conference Premier side Torquay United – a match in which Goldberg would have hoped his side could have given a better account of themselves, considering their aspirations to go and ‘mix it with the big boys’ next season. Yet his side did perform well in the FA Cup by a Conference South side’s standards, as they reached the first round proper of the competition – eventually bowing out to Dartford in a close fought match in which they lost 4-3. The FA Cup remains such an important objective for any side as far down the football league structure as Bromley; and the first round proper is by no means alien territory for the south-east London club. In fact, since reaching the same stage of the competition for the first time in ten years during the 2006/07 season, they have got there another four times.

This season’s January transfer window was a busy one for Bromley with the signings of four new players. Experienced goalkeeper Alan Julian came in from Sutton United as well as two players from, believe it or not, Ebbsfleet United. Anthony Cook was Ebbsfleet’s player of the season last campaign and rightfully so after a number of impressive performances, especially against Bromley – the rival clubs met no fewer than five times last year. Prior to his spell with the Fleet, Cook had success at Chelmsford City, scoring 30 goals in 118 appearances. The 25 year-old tricky winger signed along with centre forward Ben May, younger brother of former Bromley striker Jay May who is now playing at Maidstone United. Having scored goals at each of his previous clubs, the 30-year-old will be looking to waste no time in smashing his older brother’s goal tally of nine from last season.

Goldberg’s most satisfying bit of business will have been the loan deal of his son and fans’ favourite Bradley Goldberg from Dagenham and Redbridge until the end of the season. With Bromley being his place of birth and having subsequently come through the club’s youth system, this is Bradley’s second spell with the first team. The striker will be delighted with the move after making just six appearances – and scoring no goals – whilst on loan at Bristol Rovers during the first half of the season. Last season, however, was a different story altogether for the 21 year-old local lad. His 23 goals for the season made him the top scorer for not only the club but also the entire league. As a result, he was named the league’s Player of the Season and was in the division’s Team of the Year along with midfielder Pierre Joseph-Dubois who has eight goals from 14 appearances this season.

It didn’t take long for Goldberg to settle back into the club where he is loved so dearly. In Bromley’s recent 6–0 thrashing of bottom of the league Staines Town, he bagged himself a hat-trick. The addition of Goldberg’s scoring potential puts the Ravens in a strong position to be the highest scoring team in the league come the end of April. Currently, only Borehamwood have scored more than them this season with 61 goals.

Bromley will be sure not get ahead of themselves as they attempt to settle into life at the top of the division. Their target will of course be to stay there as they see out their remaining league fixtures and last year’s disappointing end to the season is surely going to help everyone involved at the club to keep both their feet on the ground – for now.

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