Aldershot Town v Bromley Match Preview – Tuesday 13th August 2019
Following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Solihull Moors, in which Ethan Chislett scored his first Shots goal late on, Danny Searle’s Aldershot Town return to the EBB Stadium on Tuesday evening to take on Bromley FC. BBC Surrey’s Rob Worrall previews the game…
Shots Squad:
Manager Danny Searle will be without Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong due to a slight hamstring injury picked up in the first half at Solihull. Meanwhile defender Kodi Lyons-Foster is close to a return following his ankle injury. Ollie O’Dwyer is also a doubt with a hip related problem.
Opposition:
Name: Bromley FC
Founded: 1892
Nickname: The Ravens
Manager: Neil Smith
Stadium: Hayes Lane
2018/19 National League South position: 12th
Brief History:
Bromley Football Club was founded in 1892, switching between the Kent, London, Spartan, Athenian and Isthmian League before settling in the latter in 1952. They’ve won three FA Amateur Cups and were Isthmian League winners on four occasions, whilst their promotion via the Play-Offs in 2007 started a run of eight seasons in Conference South. On six consecutive occasions, they ended the season between 11th and 17th before a third-place finish in 2013-14 (losing to Ebbsfleet United in the Play-Off semi-final) and the National League South title twelve months later. The Ravens finished 14th with sixty points in their first campaign at a national level, one place and four points above Aldershot Town and they improved further to finish 10th the following season. Last term, they once again finished in upper mid-table (12th).
The Gaffer:
Former professional footballer Neil Smith played more than 350 games in the English Football League, for Gillingham, Fulham and Reading. He then switched to non-league football, making 142 appearances for Woking, in addition to brief spells at Welling, Bromley and Maidstone.
He was appointed joint Interim Manager of Woking in March 2007 and helped steer the Surrey side to safety, only for Frank Gray to ultimately get the permanent role. Smith then took the reins of Welling United for just six months, before being sacked in January 2008 and returning, briefly, as a player to Bromley. After coaching spells at Grays Athletic, Croydon and Lewes, he took the job as Assistant Manager at Bromley. In February 2016, following the departure of manager Mark Goldberg, Smith took over as interim Manager and after a successful run of results, was given the job on a permanent basis. In the 2014-15 season, Smith led Bromley to the Conference South title and promotion to the National League. In all three seasons in Non-League’s top flight, they have finished in the top half and Smith also took them to Wembley in May 2018, for the FA Trophy Final where they finished Runners-Up.
Squad:
Some familiar names departed Hayes Lane in the summer including; Roger Johnson (retired), David Gregory (Borehamwood), Frankie Sutherland (unattached) and Joe Quigley (Dagenham & Redbridge). They have also lost the services of last season’s top goalscorer JJ Hooper, who left his parent club, Grimsby Town to sign for Wrexham.
Ten players stayed, including defenders Marc-Anthony Okoye and Jack Holland, midfielders Frankie Raymond, Luke Coulson and former Shots Adam Mekki, plus forward George Porter.
Smith has recruited well and his key additions include; Goalkeeper Mark Cousins (Barnet), Right Back Joe Kizzi (Billericay Town), Midfielder Billy Bingham (Gillingham), plus prolific strikers Michael Cheek (Ebbsfleet United) and Adrian Clifton (Maidenhead United).
Referee:
Tuesday night’s match will be refereed by Richard Hulme. He refereed four Shots matches last season which included both games against Havant & Waterlooville, our away defeat to Gateshead and our 0-0 draw with Wrexham just before Christmas, he also refereed the Shots 1-0 win over Maidenhead United the season previous. He has refereed one game this season, issuing six yellow cards in Wrexham’s 2-1 opening day win over Barrow.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sports Rob Worrall and Shots FM19 editor Stuart Griffiths, will be covering the game live on Tuesday evening. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 7:35pm for full match commentary. To interact, tweet @RobShot66.
Sponsors:
Tuesday night’s match sponsor is Binfield Insurance and ball sponor is Marshel’s Painting.
