In Review: Crawley Town 1 - 3 Bromley

Bromley are top of League Two. Let that sink in.

As half-seasons go, particularly in only your second ever campaign in the Football League, it doesn’t get much better. 

But what of Bromley’s bout with Crawley?

For the final time in 2025, join me as I dive into The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Bromley’s 3-1 win at Crawley Town.

Crawley Town 1 Barker 43'

Bromley 3 Cheek 14', 56', 61'

Formation: 4231

Grant Smith

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Marcus Ifill

Deji Elerewe

Omar Sowunmi

Idris Odutayo

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Ashley Charles

Jude Arthurs

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Corey Whitely (Brooklyn Ilunga 70')

Ben Krauhaus (Ben Thompson 75')

Mitchell Pinnock 

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Michael Cheek (Nicke Kabamba 74')

Is this a dream, or just the reality of the all-encompassing juggernaut that is Andy Woodman’s Bromley?

I mentioned recently, possibly in a post-match verdict, that the most dangerous thing about Bromley this season is that Michael Cheek is going about his business without fanfare. 

Contributions from all over the pitch mean Cheek is no longer the sole focus, which explains how, almost by stealth, he has amassed 12 goals and 3 assists at the halfway point. Trumpets that heralded his achievements last season are now just part of a much larger orchestra, but any side with a striker who is almost guaranteed to hit 20 is in one hell of a good position.

Be that as it may, I say Cheek deserves plaudits for his exploits, along with the keys to the town of Bromley when he finally hangs up his golden boots. His goals may have become a bonus rather than a necessity, but Bromley would still miss him a great deal if he weren’t there. Give the man his flowers.

Speaking of flowers, major credit must go to Andy Woodman for his steadfastness in the face of this fixture. The temptation to make more than one change after the awful 53 minutes at Bristol Rovers must have tugged hard.

Even so, Woodman stood by the majority of the starting XI that had put Bromley in the top two, and they rewarded him for his trust.

Whitely and Ifill were poor against Bristol Rovers, but they erased memories of that performance with aplomb. Similarly, Sowunmi and Elerewe were back to their imposing best, with Crawley getting zero change beside a set-piece goal against the run of play. And it was good to see Ben Krauhaus get back to his inventive best, particularly in the second half. 

Cheek will take all the plaudits for his first Football League hat-trick, and rightly so, but a word for Ashley Charles, as this was one of those games where it felt like he knitted the team together. 

Utterly calm and composed in possession, he has an unbelievable knack for being able to read when to intercept, lay off, and keep the ball ticking over.

Charles doesn’t do flashy, he does consistent. I sense he’s a footballer’s footballer, as it were.

Finally, before I put The Good to bed, have a read of these stats at the halfway stage of the season.

Michael Cheek 12 League goals (1st)

Mitchell Pinnock 8 League assists (1st)

Michael Cheek 15 Goals + Assists (1st)

Nicke Kabmaba 0.86 Goals per 90 mins (1st)

Mitchell Pinnock 12 Big chances created (2nd)

Mitchell Pinnock 61 Chances created (1st)

Brooklyn Ilunga 4.5 Successful dribbles per 90 (1st)

Bromley 1.7 Goals per match (2nd)

Bromley 8 Clean sheets (3rd)

Bromley 5.3 Accurate crosses per match (3rd)

Bromley 3.7 Final third possession won per match (3rd)

Bromley are top of League Two for a reason. This is no fluke.

As expected, Crawley were possession dominant in the early stages, and truth be told, I think it took Bromley about 10 minutes to get to grips with their fluid shape.

Crawley were the very definition of a side that plays in different shapes in and out of possession. This was no more evident than in the way Geraldo Bajrami and Josh Flint roamed the pitch. 

Bajrami nominally started as a centre back but often stepped into central midfield, while Josh Flint played at left-back out of possession but moved across to LCB when Bajrami stepped up. The intention was to create overloads in wide areas and pockets, but as pleasing as it appeared on the eye, much like at Hayes Lane, it felt dogmatic. 

If you don’t have the quality of player to impose your style on the opposition, surely you have to be more pragmatic and just make yourself hard to beat?   

For all of their attempts at fluid football, when Crawley got their goal, it was straight out of the Bromley playbook: A good corner delivery from Dion Pereira was headed home powerfully by Charlie Barker. Less is more.

That’s really where The Bad starts and stops, because frankly, what else did Crawley do to cause Bromley issues? Scott Lindsey admitted as much in his post-match interview. 

Once Cheek got his second, the confidence visibly drained from every Crawley player. It was another night to forget for them.

I thought Bromley were a bit too passive in the first half. After the opening goal from Cheek, it felt like they played with the handbrake on, preferring to control the game rather than going for the kill.

Crawley, after a bright start, looked bereft of confidence and unsure of themselves. I lost count of the number of long shanks to nowhere. 

But when you tighten up and try to restrict the game with just a one-goal advantage, you leave yourself open to a sucker punch, however undeserved. 

When the sucker-punch came on the stroke of half-time, it felt like the Ravens had unnecessarily caused themselves a headache.

The fact that Bromley came out for the second half and blew Crawley away with ease rather proves my point. It didn’t need to come to that. 

Speaking of Crawley, not to heap more misery on their relegation-haunted side, but several of their players looked like National League fare. 

You cannot tell me that all of those players are League Two quality. 

Ryan Loft, for all of his imposing physical stature, spent most of the game falling on the floor and looking bereft of confidence, with balls bouncing off his rangy legs. An abject performance. 

Defender Dion Conroy was ponderous in the second 45 and was roundly told to do one by his own fanbase behind the goal. Summer signing Reece Brown, who was without a club last season, was anonymous in midfield, along with quite a few others.

I said as much when Crawley lost at Bromley a few weeks ago, but I still cannot understand how a Neil Smith-influenced side is lacking grit and determination. 

Perhaps previous Crawley co-owner Preston Johnson was right when he criticised the summer recruitment. He remarked at the time that it went against the data-based, moneyball strategy his board had established, which had delivered success for the West Sussex side.

Their position at the mid-point of the season is proof of Preston’s pudding, and it leaves a bitter taste. With the January transfer window about to open, hopefully lessons have been learned. Crawley’s summer recruitment was not it.

Grant Smith (7)

Marcus Ifill (7)

Deji Elerewe (8)

Omar Sowunmi (8)

Idris Odutayo (8)

Ashley Charles (8)

Jude Arthurs (8)

Corey Whitely (7)

Ben Krauhaus (7)

Mitchell Pinnock (7)

Michael Cheek (10)

Subs: 

Nicke Kabamba for Michael Cheek 74’ (7)

Ben Thompson for Ben Krauhaus 75’ (6)

Brooklyn Ilunga for Corey Whitely 70’ (7)