MATCH PREVIEW | BROMLEY FC
Dorking Wanderers vs Bromley
Vanarama National League Premier
November 19th 2022
Wanderers Back At Home For Bromley
Dorking return home after a couple of weeks on the road as Bromley are the visitors to Meadowbank on Saturday afternoon in National League action.
With just one win in their last seven games, Wanderers are heading into the weekend looking to return to the winning habit after what has been a disjointed calendar month so far. It was ten days on from the disappointing home defeat to Aldershot at the end of October that Wanderers returned to action after a gap in fixtures due to the FA Cup and the Halifax Town game being postponed because of a waterlogged pitch. The eventual return to action was a long midweek trip down to Torquay United. On a night of tough weather conditions due to a sodden pitch and high winds, Wanderers got themselves 1-3 in front early in the second half after a superb strike from Nicky Wheeler and good team goals were finished off by James McShane and Jimmy Muitt. Marc White's side were pegged back to a draw late on though as The Gulls rallied; ultimately another away game where points were dropped following the defeat to Scunthorpe and draw against Woking earlier in the campaign. Last weekend Wanderers travelled to Essex to face an in-form Southend United side who went on to extend their unbeaten run to 11 matches courtesy of first half goals from Jack Bridge and Shaun Hobson. A tough afternoon for Wanderers who did come close to halving the deficit late in the opening forty-five as Jack Jebb's strike cannoned back off the inside of the post.
In tandem with the disjointed run of games, Marc White has had to contend with multiple absentees and integration of new personnel in recent weeks, adjusting formation in the last couple of games accordingly as the likes of Seb Bowerman, Josh Taylor, James McShane and Harry Ottaway have been ruled out. The manager was able to welcome back Barry Fuller and Isaac Philpot last weekend after both recovered from recent injury, and the last two fixtures have seen recently recruited defenders Joe Cook and Archie Procter both make their Wanderers debuts, with Cook playing the full ninety in both matches.
Over the past week two further loan signing's have been made to further bolster the squad, with both player's set to be included in the 16 on Saturday afternoon. On Tuesday the club announced the signing of winger Jasper Pattenden from Wycombe Wanderers on loan until January 3rd, and just yesterday afternoon the signing of goalkeeper Joe Walsh from Queens Park Rangers was confirmed until January 8th.
Team News
Marc White has confirmed that aside from Jordan Cheadle (hamstring) and Adam Mekki (back injury) availability across the rest of the squad is looking good for Saturday. The manager has noted that with a few players returning from injury, minutes will be managed carefully, also taking into consideration the quick turnaround for the game with Halifax on Tuesday night. In addition to the new signing's, the likes of Seb Bowerman, Nicky Wheeler, Josh Taylor and James McShane will all be pushing for a place in the starting line up having missed out last Saturday at Southend.
Opposition Focus: The Ravens
After a generally positive start to the campaign, including 3 wins from 4 in the month of September, Bromley head into today's fixture in not dissimilar form to Wanderers, having not won in the last seven league matches. The Ravens last victory was a 0-2 defeat of Boreham Wood on the road in early October, but despite drawing 1-1 away at league leaders Notts County a couple of weeks ago, home defeats to Barnet and Woking have fallen either side of that result, with a 1-1 draw at home to Halifax Town the result last weekend as Michael Cheek's opener for Bromley just past the hour was quickly cancelled out within two minutes by Jamie Cook. Cheek has been the clubs top scorer for the last few seasons, but it's fellow striker Adam Marriott, prolific in his previous spells with Cambridge United, Royston Town and Kings Lynn, who leads the way with 7 league goals so far after signing from Barnet in the summer. At the back, the defence was shored up in the close season with the signing of centre back Callum Reynolds from Dagenham & Redbridge, plus the loan signings of youngsters Tom Smith (goalkeeper from Arsenal) and defenders Reece Hannam (Crystal Palace) and Charles Clayden (Charlton Athletic). Led by captain Byron Webster, he, midfielder Billy Bingham and forward Michael Cheek have all played a key role for the club in recent years, with emerging young attacking players Harry Forster and George Alexander worth keeping an eye out for. Since promotion to the National League for the first time in 2015/16, Bromley have competed consistently well in the top half of the league. Former goalkeeping coach at the likes of Newcastle United and Arsenal, and previously the manager at Whitehawk, Andy Woodman took over from Neil Smith in 2021, and continued the good work of the previous regime by leading the club to the play-offs at the end of that season. Finishing 7th, The Ravens were defeated at the eliminator stage by eventual winners Hartlepool United. Bromley again competed towards the top end of the division last term, ultimately missing out on the play offs and finishing in 10th spot. However, it would go on to be a memorable campaign for Kent based side as they reached the FA Trophy final for the first time, defeating Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels, Aldershot Town, Solihull Moors and York City on route to beating favourites Wrexham in the final at Wembley 1-0, Michael Cheek scoring the winning goal.
Have We Met Before?
The sides were drawn against each other in the first round of the FA Trophy back in December of the 2019/20 season. Despite Bromley being near the top of the National League Prem at the time and Wanderers playing their first season in the National League South, Marc White's men produced one of their best performances of the campaign with a 3-0 victory, setting up a tie with Stockport County in the next round. A Jack Barham header put Wanderers a goal to the good at half-time, before strikes from Tom Richards and Jason Prior in the second half added emphasis to the much deserved win.
Key Info
TICKETS:
BUY ONLINE TO SAVE TIME AT THE TURNSTILES! https://dorkingwanderersfc.ktckts.com/event/dor2223h10/bromley
PRICES: Adults £16 / Concessions £13 / U18s £8 / U8s £4
FAMILY OFFER! A family of 4 (2 adults, 2 U12s) can watch the Wanderers against Bromley for only £35!
GET YOUR FOOTBALL FIX!
During the World Cup, watch the Wanderers against Bromley, York City and Maidenhead United with a reduced price trio ticket!
https://dorkingwanderersfc.ktckts.com/package/dor2223ff01/get-your-football-fix
Matchday Programme: £3 (physical copies only, available at ground)
Why not join us for a drink in the FanZone? Open to supporters from 1pm!
Not attending Saturday's match?
Gary Pascoe will be providing matchday commentary, stay tuned to our social media channels for more information.
We will be providing action and score updates throughout the afternoon via Twitter (@DorkingWDRS)
VISITING FANS INFORMATION: Getting to Meadowbank, where to grab a pre-match drink beforehand and more...