Bromley manager, Andy Woodman believes that his team “didn’t create enough chances in their 1-0 defeat at Stockport County.
Kyle Wootton’s 19th-minute winner saw Stockport snatch victory at Edgeley Park to move up to second in League One, whilst Bromley slipped to 22nd after MK Dons moved out of the relegation zone with a win at home against Luton.
Woodman post-match admitted to BFC TV that he expected Stockport to be a difficult test and led him to deploy a containment game plan to limit them, which he believed worked aside from a little costly loss in focus.
“I know a good team. We knew that and they play, you know, with their wing-backs really high and their two eights, you know, very high. It’s hard, you know, you can’t come out and chase them all over the place because they’ll play you off the park.
“I thought the game plan was to contain them, and that sounds a bit defensive, but you have to come to places like this now. You have to be a little bit solid. And I felt for, you know, a large part of that first half, we’ve really got it right.
“We limit them to very little, and then we just switched off for a little moment and one little bit of quality dinked up to the big fella who does what he does.
“You just switch off that one moment and it punishes you, and that’s really what it was. It’s so difficult to, you know, come out of the blocks and open up the game and we just can’t do it because we were just not at that stage and at that level.
“We didn’t create enough chances, set pieces were a little bit disappointing. If you want my honest opinion, you know, the actual delivery of the set pieces. But again, we huff and huff and we kept trying and we kept going in, we just don’t get in the rub of the green or the breaks that I felt we deserve.
“And look, we have got to keep sort of grafting and sort of keep working hard and trying to get points on the ball. And that’s what we’ll keep doing.”
Bromley consequently only managed four shots but none on target and Woodman was rueing their lack of luck in the end product.
“Yeah the big moments and unfortunately we don’t get many of them at the moment. You know we’re quite aware of that. And you know, when you get those moments, you’ve got to take them out, you know, and we’re just not taking them at the moment.
“It’s just not quite going for us. And it’s frustrating because I’ve got a team that is really, you know, giving everything, you know, right across the week, right across the day. And we’re just not getting rewards at the moment.
“And we can’t start feeling sorry for ourselves because, you know, the games keep coming thick and fast and we’ve got to make sure that we keep pushing to get results for this football club.
“I think we just lacked that final bit of detail, you know, that final pass, that final weighted ball, that decision, that moment, and we just, we’re just lacking it. And that’s sometimes a sign of a team that maybe lacking a little bit of confidence, kind of just being too, too correct of everything.”
The 55-year-old though felt that his team are changing the tide in their attacking quality but credited Stockport for their performance.
“And we did a change now and we were working so hard to change it. We really are. And that’s what we’ve got to do. You know, and they’re a good side. Let’s not take it away from Stockport who were a really good team and anyone who was at the game and watched them there, they’re stat a number one and two for everything.
“So we can’t take a lot away from them, but we have to concentrate on ourselves. We have to try and grind the results.”
Grant Smith made his first appearance of the season after recovering from a stress fracture and saved five of their six shots on target, which left Woodman pleased as he admitted that Stockport were always going to dominate possession.
“Yeah, we knew they would have the ball. We knew, you know, we knew they’d try and pull us out of our shape to chase after it. And we stayed in our shape. They’ve not really hurt us in that respect. And of all that possession, I don’t think Grant made many saves.
“I can’t think of a save that’s really been brilliant, other than just ones just round him. So, you know, that’s that. We knew that. But we got to just make sure that when we get our moments and whether it’s a set piece, whether it’s a little side ball down a side, or it’s a cutback, whatever the moment is, we’ve got to execute a lot better.
“And that’s the difference for us at the moment for me.”
Smith’s return meant that Owen Mason dropped to the bench and Woodman explained that he is prioritising experienced fit players in order to try and get the club back to winning ways.
“The goalkeeper department has been brilliant, you know, with respect. Grant has been my number one goalie for three or four years. Really tough on Owen, you know.
“And you know I just felt this time, I need every bit of experience I can out on the pitch and that’s what I’m sort of leaning towards at the moment, trying to get as many experienced players that come up to fitness on the pitch.
Adam Jackson made his first league appearance since his move to the club and Woodman was pleased with his effort, but now wants to see more confidence up front.
“Yeah, he’s been, I mean, yeah, he’s been experienced Jackson, he’s played at this level, he’s done really well, he’s been promoted at this level. I’ve been interested to get him in and he’s now up to speed and he was great.
“You know, I thought defensively we looked ok. I mean we looked quite comfortable against the team that scores goals for fun. But we got to do it a bit more the other way. And that’s the bit that we’ve got to get right.”
Bromley now face Leicester and Peterborough at home in their next two matches on 20 and 24 October, and Woodman believes that those two games are key to getting points but also wants clean sheets too.
“Yeah but not easy, and we know no game is easier and we’ve really got to make sure that, you know, looking at a moment, these home games are important. We get points and I maintain, you know, we’ve got to start getting clean sheets.
“That is the key, get clean sheets and that builds confidence. And you know, the ethos when I first came here is set your team up to be solid in your correct chances and we’re trying to do that.
“We’re not getting many chances, but we’re trying to be solid and I can see progress, but it doesn’t feel like it’s progress, you know, the results, but it’s definitely progress.
On the challenge of facing Leicester, Woodman iterated that he is keen to try and make the game as difficult as he can for the Foxes.
“Yeah, absolutely. We’re certainly going to make sure we sort of try and make it as difficult as possible for any team that comes to Hayes Lane and make it that a bit of a fortress. That’s really what we’ve got to start doing, because that would be the key for us, making sure that we move up the table in this league.”
Woodman also called on the sold-out crowd for Tuesday evening to keep getting behind the team just like those who made the trip to Stockport had done.
“I hope so, you know, I mean the crowd here today, the people who come up today, you know, I think the supporters are not stupid. They know when a team is giving everything and they know when we’re up against it and I can see that the way they, you know, I’m gutted for them.
“But you know, that’s the joys of being a supporter. You know, you have the good days and the bad days. That’s why we follow our team up and down the country. I’m grateful for them.
“You know they’re really trying to push them on and be almost like 12 families, boys. And listen, they’re giving everything. I can’t argue that.”
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