As the dust settles on Bromley’s historic promotion to League One, here is a look at seven matches which shaped their season.
A memorable fairytale campaign in just their second season within the EFL saw Bromley defy the odds and second-season syndrome predictions from critics and fans alike to secure automatic promotion to League One for the first time since they were formed in 1892.
There however were various bumps in the road from tricky fixtures to dodgy refereeing decisions and injuries but Bromley’s unity and defiance saw them smash expectations, so here is a look at seven matches which shaped their promotion-winning season, albeit with two games left to secure the title.
Bromley 2-1 MK Dons
Having gone unbeaten in their opening seven league matches of the season, Bromley hit a rut with just five points and one win from their following six matches until they hosted MK Dons on 25 October sat 13th in the table, whilst the Dons were second on goal difference from Grimsby.
That match could of easily got away from Woodman’s Ravens after Rushian Hepburn-Murphy fired the visitors into a fifth-minute lead, yet they dug in and grinded out a late comeback through Deji Elerewe and Omar Sowunmi’s goals which sparked a four-match winning run up to third in the table.
Bromley 3-1 Crawley
After their four-match winning run was ended in a 3-1 at Walsall, few predicted that 9 December would be a season-defining day for Bromley with a gutsy comeback performance to kick-start what turned out to be a historic club-record 21-match unbeaten run.
That match however didn’t start well as Ryan Loft headed Crawley into a ninth-minute lead before Sowunmi equalised with a header of his own to restore parity at half time.
Bromley however proceeded to put on an electric second-half display as Idris Odutayo and Michael Cheek sealed their comeback win to climb up to fourth in the table.
Crawley 1-3 Bromley
If fans thought that the home clash against Crawley was season-defining then the away trip on Monday 29 December proved memorable, albeit with a helping hand from elsewhere.
Cheek saw a 14th-minute header cancelled out by Charlie Barker’s header in a competitive first half, yet last season’s Golden Boot winner produced his quality with a second-half brace to seal a first EFL hat-trick and a league double over the Red Devils.
Bromley though found themselves top of the table after that final match of 2025 after Oldham snatched a 2-1 victory at Walsall, which knocked the Saddlers off the summit and left Woodman’s Ravens staring at an unexpected automatic promotion tilt.
Bromley 2-1 Newport County
Sat top of the table for the first time as an EFL club as the chimes of 2026 rang in, Bromley found themselves in unchartered territory of dealing with the pressures of sitting top of the fourth-tier for the first time in their history.
Whilst some would of wobbled under that pressure especially at home to a relegation-battling team, Bromley just dug in and snatched a deserved home win through Courtney Baker-Richardson’s own-goal and Nicke Kabamba’s strike to calmly stay top, even though Nathaniel Opoku denied them a clean sheet.
They then proceeded to build a six-point lead over their promotion rivals by the end of January which underlined their unlikely but serious bid for automatic promotion.
Bromley 2-1 Accrington Stanley
Woodman’s Ravens suffered a stutter with six points dropped in their first four matches of February despite staying unbeaten, which left their lead from the summit down to fourth-placed Swindon reduced to four points ahead of their home game against Accrington Stanley.
A brace of penalties from Cheek however saw Bromley overcome a potentially tricky test against in-form opposition despite an equaliser from Dave Abimbola, although the visitors were reduced to ten men in the 14th minute following a red card for ex Sunderland defender – Donald Love.
Bromley though were the only team in the top five that afternoon to win which allowed them to pull a six-point gap back on fourth-placed Swindon, who had drawn alongside MK Dons, Cambridge and Notts County on the afternoon of 28 February.
Barnet 2-2 Bromley
Bromley’s unbeaten run came to a shock end on 28 March as they suffered a shock 2-1 loss at relegation-battling Barrow in gusty conditions, at which point they had built a comfortable seven-point gap over fourth-placed Cambridge so had room for further stumbles.
It therefore wasn’t surprising that critics were questioning if this would be the start of a late-season collapse after a stutter in performance quality, especially heading into a London derby at an in-form Barnet who had beaten MK Dons and Cambridge in their two matches beforehand.
Any doubts were initially put to bed as Kabamba fired the Ravens into a 12th-minute lead only for Phillip Chinedu’s equaliser and Kabongo Tshimanga’s penalty to put Barnet in front, albeit after Danny Collinge had been red carded for an elbow on Sowunmi.
Bromley consequently stared consecutive league defeats in the face for the first time since March 2025 until George Evans was sent on as a 100th-minute substitute, which paid off barely a minute later as he flicked in a crucial equaliser to snatch a vital point and silence the doubters.
Bromley 0-0 Cambridge
A win at home to Shrewsbury set up a chance to secure automatic promotion away to MK Dons, yet they blew that opportunity with a disastrous first-half performance in an eventual 2-1 defeat after Marcus Ifill netted a consolatory screamer.
Woodman’s Ravens consequently had a chance to wrap up promotion at home to Cambridge but instead were forced to settle for an entertaining goalless draw, in which they saw several second-half chances denied by Cambridge’s resilient defensive display.
That point proved crucial as Notts County suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Barnet less than 48 hours later to mathematically secure Bromley’s automatic promotion to the third tier for the first time in their 134-year history.
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