Match Report: Chesterfield 3-2 Bromley (AET)

A touch of brilliance from Player of the Season Liam Mandeville broke Bromley hearts and sent Chesterfield to Wembley where they will meet old foes Notts County in the National League play-off final. 

 

Adam Marriott have Bromley the lead in first half stoppage time but an own goal from teenager Deji Elewere, who would later be sent off, and DJ Oldaker free-kick looked to have won the game in normal time, until Michael Cheek stepped up to have his say.  

 

But Bromley, who produced a mammoth display on Wednesday evening in Woking, couldn’t muster a final moment and were left in despair as Mandeville fired home the winner in extra-time.  

 

Paul Cook has been open about not knowing how best to balance his team so he did what he’s done all season here and stuck with a winning formula. That meant Andrew Dallas leading the line again with a supporting cast of Mandeville, Armando Dobra and Ryan Colclough, a wet dream on paper.  

 

Bromley were without just one player from their midweek victory, Louis Dennis unable to recover in time giving Marriott the opportunity to start. George Alexander stepped onto the bench having spent the latter part of the season with Slough Town.  

 

This was a game that took a while to get going, the hosts starting bright before the game settled and neither side could open one another up.  

 

Bailey Clements’ rampaging run ended with a blocked shot and the resulting corner gave Dobra the chance to curl narrowly wide of the target. A quick break ended with Jeff King hitting the side netting and the full-back got the better of Ryan Stirk to set Dobra away. He teed up Mandeville whose low effort was saved.  

 

That was about that for half hour, a couple of nearly moments but nothing sustained by either side. There were lengthly stoppages due to an incident in the crowd and also treatment for Corey Whitely, Cheek and Omar Sowumni.  

 

Marriott headed narrowly wide after a wicked delivery from the left. Colclough couldn’t connect cleanly and Jude Arthurs saw his shot blocked. There was also controversy involving right-back King who was rightly booked and then made a cynical attempt to win a penalty a couple of minutes later. The referee decided to award nothing.  

 

In the ninth minute of first half stoppage, the breakthrough came. Reynolds made the most of a loose ball to find Cheek in space on the right. He stepped forward and his low delivery wasn’t dealt with by Palmer or Fitzsimons, giving Marriott a tap-in.  

 

Chesterfield were on the front foot again second half as they attempted a comeback. Kellen Fisher was caught trying to be clever and was fortunate Mandeville miskicked Colclough’s cutback. Marriott headed over a near post corner before King had a potshot at the other end.  

 

Paul Cook's side responded before the hour. They recycled a corner and left Colclough one v one with Fisher. He cut inside then out and delivered a teasing that Elewere met first at the near post, but unfortunately turned past his own goalkeeper.  

 

The game stayed open. Colclough’s effort was tame after Dobra beat two to find him and the winger beat Fisher again but found the sidenetting. Fisher himself had an opportunity but his strike but batted clear from goal before opposite right-sider King sent a free-kick over the bar.  

 

Ash Palmer headed wide a corner almost immediately before the game’s major turning point. Deji Elewere lost control of the ball as The Ravens played out of defence and desperate to atone, he flew into a challenge on Mandeville. It was reckless and the red card shown.  

 

To make matters worse, it took just four minutes for the Spireites to make their advantage count. A cross from the right was cleared to Mike Jones and his effort was handled by Billy Bingham. DJ Oldaker stepped up and whipped his free-kick beyond Reice Charles-Cook via a deflection of Andrew Dallas. We’ll let them decide whose goal it is.  

 

Both sides made changes but the visitors were struggling to do anything. That is, until the 99th minute of the game. A crossfield pass was launched forward to giant centre-back Sowumni who nodded down and found Cheek free alone in the box for a chance he was never going to pass up. 

 

The crowd were left stunned and the Ravens had given themselves a chance.  

 

To extra-time. The visitors had ten and we’re just hoping to get themselves up the pitch via the fresher legs of Harry Forster down the right. The hosts were popping the ball around but without the menace and verve they had earlier on. It was set for a set-piece, a mistake or moment of brilliance to seal the tie and it turned out that all three of them led to the winner. 

 

A right-wing corner was cleared to Mitchell Bergkamp but his touch was heavy and gifted Mandeville the opportunity to steal it back. He knocked the ball with his right, then his left to beat the son of Dennis, took a touch to settle himself then thrashed the ball beyond Charles-Cook. A moment to saviour.  

 

The second half brought little in the way of action. Joe Quigley nearly opened up the Bromley back line with some tidy footwork. The visitors’ race was run, in truth. They put a huge effort into defeating Woking on Wednesday night and couldn’t find the energy to fightback again with ten here.  

 

The whistle blew, the fans ran on and joy was etched on the faces of those associated with Chesterfield as they moved within one game of a long-awaited return to the EFL.  

 

Chesterfield: Fitzsimons; King Palmer Grimes Clements (Maguire); Jones (Quigley) Oldaker; Mandeville Dobra (Banks) Colclough; Dallas (McCallum). Unused: Covolan.  

 

Bromley: Charles-Cook; Sowumni Reynolds Elewere; Fisher (Bergkamp) Arthurs Stirk (Bingham) Topalloj; Whitely (Webster); Marriott (Forster) Cheek. Unused: Alexander.  

 

Tactics 

 

Full disclosure. I was very ill on Sunday and having watched Notts County and Boreham Wood beforehand, I was using the last of my reserves to make notes and watch this one, so there’s possibly plenty that I’ve missed. My apologies.  

 

Both sides lined up in their usual formations, Chesterfield in a 4-2-3-1 and Bromley 3-4-1-2 nominally. 

 

Chesterfield were in classic Paul Cook mode. The centre of defence and midfield pivot stayed close together, doing the simple things in possession. The full-backs were tasked to get forward and make overlapping or underlapping runs with the attacking midfield trio supporting the striker. The requirement was for there to always be a man out wide when building possession to stretch the pitch and also enable them to move the ball quickly from one side to the other to open up Bromley.  

 

Generally, the aim was to step off Reynolds then press once the ball moved into midfield or to the wide centre-backs. Then in transition, they wanted to move it quick and have runners either side to stretch the Bromley backline. In general possession, the Spireites would look to build in triangles in wide positions then look for the overlap. The alternative was punting a ball into the channel to turn the Bromley defence and have Dallas chasing down to cause problems.  

 

For the visitors, it was all about transition. Cheek and Whitely continued what they did in the eliminator, pulling off into wide areas so they could look to exploit the space conceded by the full-back. It meant that they won possession, they had a quick out on either flank to attack quickly, as shown for the goal when Reynolds found Cheek. Otherwise, when building from a defensive base, Cheek and Marriott stayed fairly close together in attack to occupy the defence with Whitely floating in half spaces on the left waiting for Topalloj to join in.  

 

After the red card, Bromley moved to 4-4-1 for a period with Fisher and Topalloj at full-back and Whitely and Forster at wing-back. 

 

Bergkamp replaced Fisher and the Ravens moved to 3-4-2, blocking the centre of the pitch and forcing Chesterfield to try and deliver from out wide. Whitely and Forster were now the wing-backs with Topalloj left-centre-back and Bergkamp just off Cheek up top.  

 

 

Who impressed? 

 

This wasn’t a classic in regards to performance and as such, I don’t think there were many standout performances.  

 

I thought Chesterfield’s midfield two of DJ Oldaker and Mike Jones were outstanding, constantly showing for the ball, constantly in the right position and constantly finding a team-mate better placed to take them forward.  

 

Ryan Colclough was a threat over the 120 minutes, always looking to take on his man and make something happen.  

 

Omar Sowumni and Callum Reynolds were excellent, two experienced heads leading by example alongside and behind a talented group of young players.  

 

 

The Final Word

 

Heartbreak for Bromley.  

 

I quite liked that Andy Woodman was getting choked up post-match. It is seen as a weakness to show emotion but Woodman has spent his time as Bromley manager speaking from the heart and I don’t think there should be any shame in him showing his emotions post-match. If anything, it further showcases the bond he has with his players and the club.  

 

It’s understandable too. He has a group of proper experienced professionals mixed with an exciting crop of youngsters who are developing nicely under his stewardship and a goalkeeper he has spoken fondly of in terms of the growth of the person as much as the player.  

 

Even Woodman had to admit that his side were second best over the 120 minutes but it was a testament to the togetherness of the group that they were still able to find a way back to take the game to extra-time. Even in extra-time, his ten men continued to battle and they will reflect on 30 minutes in which their only mistake was punished in superb fashion by one of non-league's finest players. 

 

The Ravens endured tricky beginnings but Woodman appears to have developed a squad that he has a lot of trust in and there are certainly better times ahead for a club who continue to move in the right direction.  

 

Chesterfield make the final and it is somewhat appropriate that a side who sit second or third in most goal and chance creation categories meets the team that tops most of them in the final.  

 

It’s been a weird season for the Derbyshire club. Paul Cook decided to overhaul the majority of his squad last summer and further changes have occurred during the season. He has spoken of how he is struggling to strike a balance he feels comfortable with across the team and yet there is definitely a unity and spirit to a group that have fought back from some tough periods to reach this juncture.  

 

Whatever happens in the final, there should be some perspective. They built a near-entire new squad over the summer to play a very particular style of high-possession and attacking football and still finished third having accrued over 80 points, which isn’t too far off the tally Wrexham managed last year and Stockport County managed the year before having done the same. And they remain on course to go one better than those clubs having reached the play-off final. 

 

Opportunity knocks.