Bromley (THTS) The Thin Lilywhite Duke Match Thread

[let_it_bee]

I thought Freeman played better than I'd expected and was disappointed to see him go off (although still looks to be lacking a bit of fitness, so understandable subbing him I guess).

[rudebwoyben]

Funny how our ratings can differ so much sometimes! I agree with most of them, especially RHJ, but I actually thought that Freeman had a decent game for us and offered something different.

[jonbonbaby]

Player ratings

Keeley 8/10 - great saves was played into trouble a few times by defenders

Cropper 6/10 - was steady that’s about it

Okimo 6/10 - hands full but did ok

Collinge 6/10 - some odd passes playing people into trouble but on the whole ok

Kanu 6.5/10 clearly not match fit yet ,a few glimpse's. Of pre injury Kanu

Freeman 6/10 - better than he has been some really good moments but often followed by some really bad ones still not fit

Pritchard 5/10 - clearly not fit , and strange decision to start him at cb

Gorman 4/10 - meh

Hartigan 6/10 - some odd passes controlled it as much as he could which wasn’t a lot

Stead 7.5/10 - never stops

Kabamba 6/10 -tried his best but was man handled pretty much everytime the ball came towards him , think he got maybe 2 fouls when it could of been 15

Subs:

RHJ 1/10 - has something happened that we don’t know about , must be his evil twin!

Coker N/A

[LeftSideRun]

We did well to get in front. Then, Kanu got injured, RHJ (who looks completely off form and not sharp) came on at LWB initially but we became a back 5 (dropping both wing backs in line with the back 3) and invited pressure. Eventually Coker came on, we switched to 433, with RHJ playing as the right side of a front 3 (should've subbed the sub, O'Donkor might've been effective running at Reynolds) and we looked competitive again. Brennan should've brought Coker on for Kanu and changed formation at that point. Brunt for Freeman at the same time would've made sense as Freeman looked so tired.

In the 1st half, the ball round the corner from Kanu to Freeman was sublime but he smashed it over, with 2 Barnet forwards in the area. I expect better selection from a player of his calibre.

Good saves and reliable kicking under pressure (in open play, his kicks from his hands go way too high) from Keeley, who performed better than I've seen him do before.

[Si1970]

From this perspective, Freeman looked the best passer of the ball. Granted, he is not fully fit, but he was able to use his balance and eye for a pass effectively.

[hoofer2]

A good contest between well matched sides.

I thought Freeman had a great first half and Kanu did a lot of running and showed how we have missed him. "Crying wolf" going to ground too many times contributed to penalty being waived away.

Back 3 looked very leggy, I thought Okimo did very well to shackle a striker who was always going to beat him for pace. Pritchard took one for the team but never looked comfortable, and Collinge has not reached early season form yet. Definitely missed Thompson.

Keeley had perhaps his best game for Barnet, and most assertive I have seen.

Stead's tenacity resulted in yet another goal from a seemingly lost cause. I was surprised that Kabamba was not asked to pressure their keeper more who looked shakey, especially in first half

Lack of height/defensive cover from bench was a concern, especially as most of team only seemed to have 60mins play in them. Bromley very fit and looked the fresher side as match progressed.

Let's hope Kanu has not had an injury setback and Pritchard has not overdone it playing the full 90 minutes.

[DSM]

The point and us remaining in control of our destiny with our 2 rivals still to play each other is key. Felt they edged it, 2 very matched sides. When they had injuries we comfortably beat them and vica versa in the trophy, yesterday was closer to what it would look like in the playoffs

Next key point is having a fully fit first eleven including one more quality CB and the pace of Idris. I hope/suspect DB is managing Thompsons minutes and that he’s not had a serious setback, judging by Kanu’s reaction and the fact that DB didn’t reference it I think he’ll be fine. Whilst DB references Ade coming back I can’t see how he’ll get sufficient game time in to allow him to be fully fit for the playoffs

Yesterday we were ok, not at our fluent best. We missed an additional CB, think cropper is a solid RWB option may not have the highs of RHJ but more consistent and if we have Kanu’s pace as LWB I’d opt to Cropper

Freeman was tidy and effective if not spectacular in the first half but clearly tired and agree with comments that both forwards played well

Keeley was brilliant and kept us in the game on a few occasions, shows a lot of character after Saturday

Need to get Thompson back and keep Kanu fit if we do that no-one scares me at the Hive. The only team which outplayed us here who will be in the playoffs are Gateshead but I’m comforted by their 5 games in 9 days.

Been building up for these playoffs and a top 3 finish for 6 months now…..it’s getting close now

[Bee_Forever]

A cagey game and one either side could have won.

Brennan clearly wanted to get minutes in the legs of Pritchard and Freeman but with third still up for grabs playing an unfit Pritchard at lcb was an unnecessary gamble in my view.

I really dislike the 3331 formation as it leaves us exposed in midfield with just Hartigan and I think you lose some of his effectiveness with it. Especially against strong opposition.

Right back continues to be an issue with Cropper being defensively solid but muggletonesque going forward. RHJ has been dire for weeks. Kanu could end up there at this rate which is a worry as he is a bit Boris Johnson.

Finally where the hell are Stevens and Wynter. We needed Centre Back cover and they were nowhere to be seen. If Thompson's legs go again we will need something better than an out of position Cropper or Pritchard or a half fit Ayres Rock.

I'd rather we switched to 4-3-3 if Thompson is out again and we have no specialist CB cover. Feels like a hole we should have plugged in the transfer market.

Oh and the ref. Awful. The number of clear fouls he did not give was embarrassing

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[John Hunt]

Two games left and second.

Only two teams can overtake us. Bromley and Gateshead.

Eleven days left of the regular season.

We don't know yet if and where we will play on Saturday.

It has been an interesting season.

COYB

[john dockers shorts]

Fair result , 2 evenly matched sides. I would of hooked Freeman halftime just looks unfit. He did improve second half.

We didn't lose most importantly

[WillesdenBee]

Good point, annoying not to win but more important we didn’t lose. I don’t think any of our back 5 played that well but we still got a point, shows the character of the team. The two games against Solihull and Bromley show we are more than a match against other play off sides, just all about what happens on the day. Think we’re pretty safe in 2nd now as Gateshead won’t win all their games and I can see solihull getting something against Bromley Saturday.

Player ratings

Keeley 8/10 - great saves and his kicking top quality given conditions

Cropper 5/10 - was okay but his lack of pace against tricky wingers really hurts us

Okimo 3/10 - Bullied by Cheek

Collinge 4/10 - Poor game in my opinion, not clean in possession and looked shaky when defending.

Kanu 6/10 - Not as effective as some other games but obviously takes time to get fit. Pushed up a rating as he scored.

Freeman 7/10 - Was our best outfield player. Passing was quality and finds spaces that no one else in the league finds. Still not fully fit but there were signs we have a player on our hands if he does get fit.

Pritchard 3/10 - struggled at centre back and struggled in midfield. Just an off day.

Gorman 5/10 - bit non existent, think he should score when he hits the post really.

Hartigan 6/10 - Always looks quality in everything he does. Not his most effective game but didn’t do much wrong.

Stead 6.5/10 - actually thought he had a poor game apart from his incredible run for the goal. He never stops which is a great asset to have.

Kabamba 7/10 - Webster didn’t want to deal with him. Great hold up play and zPlayed some lovely passes as well including one to Stead in the first half which he should’ve done better with.

Subs:
RHJ 1/10 - He’s getting on my nerves. At fault for the goal having just come on. Completely let his man get goal side of him and just didn’t track him whatsoever. Tentative when he got the ball as well.

Coker N/A

[ETBee]

Last night Bromley showed what a good team they are. Physically strong, very well organised, excellent passers, well drilled routines and quick attackers. They also played without Olomola who is a real handful. They started with long balls to their front line but were able to adapt in the second half to a full team pressing style which inevitably led to their goal. It was our hard work and determination kept them down to one goal.

Our approach is to put together lots of passes which looks good but often makes us look slow and indecisive. And why do we take so long to cross the ball? There were many occasions when we kept passing within the corner area rather than getting an early cross when our attack have forward momentum and their defence is not yet organised. Quick crosses are more likely to end up with goals.

I sometimes think that we pass the ball around and run about a lot vaguely in the direction of the opposition's goal in the hope that an opportunity will occur to get the ball in the net. We play in a very inefficient way which allows the opposition to get and stay organised. The best teams appear to have planned and practised strategies which are focused on scoring. Difficult to explain what I mean but if I watch a game as shapes or patterns rather than individuals it seems this way. Sorry to sound pretentious but.....

[rudebwoyben]

You’re not the only one to notice this.
As other people have said, our style of play works against the weaker sides as we usually end up creating enough chances to win a match but not so well against the stronger sides.

[WhetstoneBee]

Sorry but as I’ve been saying for weeks, it’s absolutely insane that we have only one, 35-year-old LCB at the club and so end up having to play attacking midfielders or right-backs there whenever people get injured. Potter was the cover and wasn’t replaced when he left. A total failure of transfer policy - let’s hope it doesn’t cost us in the play-offs.

[JWTBee]

I think that last night Keeley has finally put the goalkeeper position debate to bed! His shot stopping was brilliant,coming for crosses excellent,distribution good & footwork,given some of the very dodgy back passes that he had to deal with,superb!

Hopefully some of our fan base will finally get behind him & give him the credit he deserves! But I doubt it!

He was definitely MOTM!