Andy Woodman’s side, who are enduring their worst run of form of the season, travel to Surrey as they look to cement their position at the top end of the play-off places – following Chesterfield officially taking the crown of league winners last weekend.

The Spireites wrapped up their fate, which had been a formality for quite some time, against Boreham Wood last Saturday, whilst Marc White’s men fell to their joint-heaviest defeat of the season at The Hive.

Incidentally, Wanderers’ last win in the league came against the Champions elect, the boys will be hoping to resemble that kind of performance this Friday against a tough opposition.

A fantastic season for The Ravens has hit a slight hurdle in recent weeks, winning just three of their last ten league fixtures. Woodman, speaking after his sides defeat to York City last weekend, stated his side were “second best all over the pitch”, before emphasising the need for a strong finish to the 23/24 campaign “we’ve got to make sure we don’t rip up a whole season’s worth of hard work”.

Following our 6-0 defeat to Barnet, an impassioned White called for the support and patience of the Wanderers faithful, knowing full well how much the landscape of the table can change in the space of six games.

Here’s how the bottom of the table looks as we enter the run-in:

Team News

This week we announced the recalls of Aaron Kuhl and Isaac Philpot from their respective loans. Kuhl has partaken in two training sessions this week, Philpot took part in one.

In his weekly update, the boss provided updates on George Francomb and Dan Pybus, stating both are suffering from tendonitis, making them doubtful for tomorrow.

Perhaps the only positive to take from our trip to Barnet was that we came away with no fresh injury concerns. Meaning it’s just Matt Briggs (hamstring), Dan Gallagher (hernia) and James McShane (ACL) who remain unavailable ahead of our Bank Holiday double header.

Opposition Focus – The Ravens

Woodman’s side, who currently boast one of the best defensive records in the division, look good for a play-off finish, thanks to a season of consistency and solidity – only Chesterfield have lost fewer games than Bromley this season.

After sneaking into the play-offs at the end last season, finishing in 7th place, Bromley have now asserted themselves as one of the divisions most dominant forces. Their 22/23 play-off journey was ended by The Spireites last campaign, who defeated them 3-2 in the semi-finals, but Woodman, like Paul Cook, has assertively managed his side to be able to go again, and improve on last seasons ventures.

Under Woodman, Bromley are notorious for having strong run-in’s, as evidenced both by last season and 2020/21, where they also finished 7th. After a testing few weeks, The Lilywhite’s will be hoping to restore some momentum in the last six games, ahead of the play-offs which they look set to be a strong contender in.

Michael Cheek is Bromley’s top scorer this campaign with 19 goals. Corey Whitely, the scorer of Bromley’s controversial late winner in our visit to Hayes Lane back in October, has recorded an impressive 11 goal contributions in the league this season.

Goalkeeper Lewis Thomas recently joined Bromley on loan until the end of the season from Bristol City. The 26-year-old, who has played in the EFL with Forest Green Rovers, made his Bromley debut in their defeat to York City last weekend.

Last Time We Met

Bromley’s last visit to Meadowbank came in November 2022, where a 10-man Ravens side held out for a 2-3 win.

Cheek opened the scoring late in the first half, before Whitely was dismissed for a second booking after 41 minutes. Harry Ottaway levelled for Wanderers in the 11 minutes of added timer at the end of the first half, only for Omar Sowunmi to nod the visitors back in front before the interval.

Harry Forster put the visitors 1-3 up early in the second half with an effort from range. A persistent Wanderers saw Jimmy Muitt hit the crossbar, as well as James McShane being denied with two great stops from Tom Smith in the Bromley net. Ryan Seager pulled one back with five minutes to play, but the visitors held strong for a first win in eight.

Tickets

Priced at Adults £18, Cons £16, U18s £9 & U8s £5, click here to secure your tickets online now!

Don’t forget our Family Ticket, where two adults and two children are able to watch the Wanderers take on The Ravens for just £45!

Match Updates

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