Gracious Bromley boss Andy Woodman admits contest could have gone either way

Chanka Zimba battles for the ball against Bromley. Photo: Darren Woolley

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Bromley boss Andy Woodman was surprisingly chipper for a man who’d just seen his side’s title hopes deflated by a goalless draw with Maidenhead United at York Road.

He isn’t the first – and won’t be the last – manager to see their heavily fancied side slip up on the sloping pitch at York Road, but Woodman was more poised and gracious than most after seeing the Ravens drop crucial points.

He admitted afterwards the result could have gone either way, with the visitors striking the post in the second half before seeing Josh Passley’s headed chance heroically cleared off the goal line by Alan Massey.

Sam Woods also swept wide from a long throw-in in the final knockings of a compelling game which also saw Maidenhead carve out their fair share of decent openings.

In the context of both side’s seasons, it’s probably a more encouraging point for Maidenhead than it is for Bromley, who really needed to win to narrow the gap to league leaders Chesterfield.

They’re now six points adrift of the Spireites having played three more matches. Should Chesterfield win the majority of their games in hand, the focus for Woodman and Bromley may turn to holding off the likes of Barnet and Solihull Moors for second place in the play-offs.

United meanwhile are 13th in the table, nine points off the play-offs but now only five ahead of fourth-from-bottom Ebbsfleet United who beat Wealdstone 2-0 at the weekend.

Speaking afterwards, Woodman said: “It’s not an easy place to come. They’ve been on a good run of late. We couldn’t get our passing going and they don’t give you a moment’s rest.

“Fair play to them. Alan Devonshire is a wily manager, and he knows how to set up his side to stop you doing what you want to do. It could have gone either way.

“We could never get flow into what we were trying to do, and they’re not going to let you get flow into your game, let’s be honest. And equally, they’ve got some dangermen who can cause you problems.

“I think the key here was not to get beat. It’s one of those hard grounds to come to. I don’t think I’ve ever picked up a point here, so this is a point gained for me.”

He added: “I can’t criticise the linesman there (Passley’s header). We haven’t got the beauty of VAR. I like to see the back of the net move to be certain, and it was good defending by them. As nil-nils I thought it was quite an exciting game and it could have gone either way. Right at the end we had a chance to slot the ball in the corner (through Woods) and it’s just gone wide. I thought it would have been harsh for either team to lose.”

No team outside the top nine in the National League have lost fewer games than Maidenhead, and only one team in the division has conceded fewer goals at home so Saturday’s result is probably less surprising than it appears on paper. The Magpies also held leaders Chesterfield to a 1-1 draw at York Road back in September and have been equally miserly with most of Bromley’s promotion rivals on home soil.