Bromley 4 Boreham Wood 0 : Woof. Woking up next.

Well, this certainly wasn’t the start I was expecting….

I arrived in Bromley South just after 6pm on Monday night, eagerly awaiting Wood’s first away fixture of the season. After meeting Thom, we headed for the local Lloyd’s bar where we were joined by his sister and his dad, to give the evening a true family feel. Dinner was quickly consumed (mixed grill and a pint for £6.50, VALUE) and we headed off to catch the short bus up to Hayes Lane, home of Bromley FC.

The first thought that came into my head was that the long driveway up to the ground made it look like you were going to a driving range, not a Blue Square South game. That aside I was very impressed with the facilities on hand. Whilst I am still trying to get to grips with paying £12 for tier 6 football, the ground itself was quite the delight. As soon as you enter through the main turnstiles you are met with a burger van, an ice cream van and a programme shed. Having just inhaled a mixed grill I was quite alright for snacks, but was sad to see that all the programmes had sold out. Maybe Wood are a bigger draw than I thought (Not that it was reflected in the travelling support, who were about 30 at most).

Despite my disappointment at the lack of programmes, I was delighted with Bromley’s selection of bars. The first bar we visited was ‘The Sports Bar’, and sat just inside the halfway line. With it’s designated area outside for drinking, it was refreshing to have a pint whilst watching the game, something which strangely was not allowed at Meadow Park on Saturday. Turns out I should have asked for something a lot stronger than a Strongbow, as Wood were run absolutely ragged for 90% of the game.

With Saturday’s Man Of The Match Luke Wilkinson joining Luke Garrard, Mario Noto and Simeon Akinola on the treatment table, Wood were left without the core spine of their team and it showed. A bright start saw Darren Currie round the Bromley keeper and cut back from a tight angle, but Ali Chaaban was not quick enough to react and the chance went begging. Chaaban spent a lot of the first half looking threatening but without any penetration, and often found himself running into blind alleys and losing possession, much to the annoyance of his team mates, who had made their feelings more than clear against Havant in regards to his dilly dallying on the ball. Wood’s only other good chance of the half fell to David Bryant following good work from Daryl McMahon, but his effort was blocked by the legs of Dean Santangelo (great name).

After Wood’s good start, Bromley took the lead against the run of play and never looked back. The opener came in the twenty second minute when poor defending from Charlie O Loughlin allowed a long clearance to fall into the path of Hakeem Araba, who finished with aplomb. It was all uphill for Wood afterwards, but they somehow managed to weather the storm and go in at half time only one down. Surely some harsh words at half time would do the trick?

At half time we took the opportunity to sample the delights of Bromley’s other bar, which gave us both a nice pint and a view of the pitch, albeit behind some thick glass rendering any atmosphere outside impotent to those upstairs. A projector screen was showing the Arsenal vs Udinese game, and whilst both of my teams were struggling, at least Arsenal were 1-0 up. Hoping for a change in fortunes we headed back pitchside for the second half.

Having not learned my lesson from the first half , I should have ordered a pint of Gin to help alleviate what was to follow. Bromley shot out of the blocks and Wood were second best in every department. Their second came eight minutes into the second half, and sadly Elvis Putnins (whom the family with me had a vested interest in being ardent QPR supporters), was at fault, letting a very comfortable effort from Danny Hockton somehow get past him. A real ‘Chocolate Wrists’ moment for the Latvian Under 21 international who otherwise was the standout performer for Wood, and in fact made one of the best saves I have ever seen live (only behind this), tipping a goalbound Bromley header onto the bar from all of 3 yards out. He was exposed time and time again by a poor Wood backline missing any real leadership but repelled at least six clear goal scoring chances, and whilst his distribution was better, his lack of communication with his defence could have been punished further. Maybe I am being overly critical, but certainly food for thought.

Following the second goal, Wood reverted to a disastrous 3-4-3 formation, with dire consequences. Following an exceptional block from Daniel Brathwaite which saved a certain third, Orlando Smith (another great name) danced through the Wood defenced and fired an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. Game, set and match, and even I had to applaud the goal, even if the Robbie Keane-esque forward roll was unnecessary in celebration. By this point Inih Effiong had replaced the largely ineffective Ollie Palmer, with Pelly Ruddock coming into the fray, replacing Darren Currie. Neither offered any hope of even a brief comeback, and Bromley went on to complete the rout with what was described as a ‘David Beckham style’ goal from Gareth Williams from a local fan. I had unfortunately missed the final nail in the coffin as I was in the toilet.

Wood lined up as follows:

Putnins, Sankofa, Brathwaite, Yala (Sub – Lawal 64 mins.), O’Loughlin, Hunter, Bryant, Chaaban, Palmer (Sub – Effiong 62 mins.), McMahon, Currie (Sub – Ruddock 62 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Jordan, Walker.

All in all, pretty terrible stuff. Bromley were as good as Wood were poor, although in their defence Wood were missing 3 key players in Garrard, Noto and Wilkinson, and I believe with their experience and leadership they would have made a big difference. Man of The Match was undoubtedly Elvis Putnins, who kept the scoreline from become a cricket one with a series of fine stops. Again, up front Ali Chaaban continued to frustrate, and in midfield Daryl McMahon has not shown his true class yet in a competitive match, whilst Charlie Hunter, despite being very good in possession and surprisingly in the tackle, just doesn’t have the physical presence yet to make a real difference in the centre of the park. I feel for him as he hasn’t received too much protection in there, so hopefully Luke Garrard’s absence is not too long so he can slot back into his position in the middle of the park. Creatively, Noto was missed again, especially in set piece delivery, and whilst Darren Currie looked good again it is unreasonable to expect a 36 year old to complete 180 minutes in the space of a few days. Official match report and reaction can be found here.

Bromley Ratings:

Ground: 7/10 - Nice and friendly, covered, good pitch

Bars: 8/10 - Choice of two, big screens, views of pitch, outside drinking allowed

Location: 6/10 - Short bus ride from Bromley South station, which is 20 minutes from Victoria.

Main Gripe - Programmes sold out!

Things are going to get harder for Wood before they get easier, with a trip to title favourites Woking on Saturday. Christ almighty. Woking have got off to a 100% start, with a 5-0 demolition of Sutton United on the opening day followed by a 2-1 on Monday evening against Hampton and Richmond. Playing flowing, attractive football, Woking possess a number of dangerous players in their ranks, including former Fulham and Leicester striker Elvis Hammond, former Pompey man Paris Cowen-Hall and tricky winger Dale Binns, of whom I have heard a lot about from various Hendon and Lewes fans. It’s a big ask for Wood to travel there and come away with a result, but stranger things have happened and hopefully we’ll have a number of key players back and can at the very least give a decent account of ourselves.

Sadly I will not be at the game, as I am moving house this weekend. Booooo. This could turn out to be a positive for Wood, as I have been a jinx so far this season. That being said, I expect to be moved by 1pm on Saturday, and I am only two stops on the tube from Waterloo. Hmmmmmmmmm……

As always, thank you for reading and please continue to share amongst friends and fans alike. Over the next few weeks I will hopefully have some exciting pieces coming up, but I’ll keep those under wrap for the time being as I do not want to jinx myself. Comments, feedback are welcome, and I can be found on twitter @wearethewood. Thanks for the continued support from all of you out there.

Until next time….

WE ARE THE WOOD!