2023-24 National League Play-Off Final Preview

Bromley meet Solihull Moors at Wembley Stadium in the 2023-24 National League Play-Off Final.

Victory would see Bromley or Solihull Moors claim the second promotion spot and graduate to League Two for the first time in their history.

 

Team News

Ben Krauhaus is a doubt for Bromley after he was substituted in the first half of their comeback play-off semi-final win over Altrincham, having struggled with a knock suffered early in the game.

Solihull Moors could be without Jay Benn after he was substituted at half time in their play-off semi-final win over Barnet due to injury.

 

When is Kick-Off?

Bromley face Solihull Moors at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 5 May at 3pm BST, live on TNT Sports 2 in the UK.

 

Road to Play-Off Final

Bromley finished third in the league table on 81 points to earn a bye to the play-off semi-final, where they came from behind to beat Altrincham 3-1 at Hayes Lane with three goals in the space of nine second-half minutes.

Solihull Moors finished the regular season in fifth with 76 points and survived a scare to see off Halifax in the Play-Off Quarter-Finals, before they dispatched top play-off seed – Barnet 4-0 at The Hive in their play-off semi-final.

 

Stat Attack

• Bromley have lost one of their last nine meetings against Solihull Moors in the National League (W5, D3, L1).
• Solihull Moors have won one of their last five National League clashes against Bromley when played as the away team (W1, D1, L4).
• On each of the last three occasions that the third-placed team reached the play-off final, they’ve failed to go on to win promotion.
• Bromley have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven matches in all competitions (W3, D2, L2).
• Jack Stevens has scored in each of Solihull Moors’ last three matches (W3).

 

Prediction

Having fallen short at each of the initial two play-off hurdles respectively in the last two seasons, there is certainly a sense that this could be Bromley’s time if they can produce a performance as clinical as their second-half comeback over Altrincham.

Bromley’s Achilles heel though is that they can get frustrated and allow their creativity to drop especially after conceding as seen in some recent games, but they have already won at Wembley under Andy Woodman (FA Trophy in 2022) so confidence should be high.

Solihull Moors meanwhile have hit form at the right time and absolutely sucker-punched Barnet last weekend, so I do expect them to be an issue on the counter-attack but credit to them getting this far in their first season under Andy Whing.

My only concern for Moors is that this is Whing’s first proper taste of a showpiece match at Wembley unlike Woodman, which could well be an interesting point from a managerial psychology angle if the game is too close to call as the match wears on.

Throw in the prospect of making club history with a maiden graduation up to League Two at stake and this play-off final will certainly be a tense affair, but I fancy Bromley to edge it in extra-time due to their better defensive quality.

Prediction: Bromley 2-1 (AET) Solihull Moors

Result: Bromley 2-2 Solihull Moors (Bromley win 4-3 on penalties)