Glen Harrington
12:49pm, Tue 2nd May 2023
Woking vs Bromley
Vanarama National League Play-Off Eliminator
Wednesday 3rd May 2023
Woking will begin their first ever National League play-off campaign on Wednesday evening when they host Bromley in a winner takes all eliminator game.
The Cards qualified by finishing fourth in this season’s fifth tier, their highest league finish since 1998, and their reward is a home game with seventh-place Bromley – with the victor taking on third-place Chesterfield on Sunday afternoon. The winner of that game takes on the winner of the other side of the bracket – Notts County vs Barnet or Boreham Wood – at Wembley on Saturday 13th May.
Darren Sarll’s side go into the game off the back of Saturday’s 1-0 win at Solihull Moors. Ricky Korboa scored the game’s only goal, neatly converting a rebound after Jim Kellermann had struck the woodwork, netting his first league goal of the season in the process. A sterling second-half performance may have elevated the wide-man into contention for a starting place on Wednesday evening, as the Woking boss mulls over who to pick as the extra man in midfield. The other point of contention will be at centre-back, where the Cards are awash with options, with Luke Wilkinson, Kacper Łopata and Joe McNerney all realistically vying to start alongside Scott Cuthbert.
Opposition Watch
Bromley have also enjoyed a strong season and have secured their joint-best National League finish, having also ended the year in seventh-place in 2020/21, when they were beaten at this stage of the play-offs by eventual winners Hartlepool United, who like Woking finished fourth.
The Lilywhites took 71 points from their 46 games, 11 points fewer than the Cards, who won both meetings between the two teams earlier this season: 2-0 away in November and 2-1 at home in February. Bromley’s home and away records are almost identical with nine wins each at Hayes Lane and on the road, although they have picked up three more draws when given home comforts.
Their recent form is good, finishing the regular season with a nine-game unbeaten run, with 19 points out of a possible 27 seeing them finish ahead of the likes of Southend and Eastleigh. In that streak they defeated Yeovil, Maidstone, Solihull, Gateshead and Chesterfield, whilst they also picked up credible draws with play-off rivals Barnet and Boreham Wood, along with Halifax and Oldham. Their last defeat was at home to Wrexham last month, whilst their last away defeat came at the Laithwaite.
They have two strikers in double figures for goals this season – the ever-dangerous Michael Cheek (15) and Adam Marriott (10), whilst Louis Dennis (9) and Omar Sowunmi (8) have also chipped in handsomely. There are no former Woking players in the Bromley squad, although fans with be familiar with goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook, brother of ex-Cards Anthony Cook and Regan Charles-Cook. Their manager is Andy Woodman, who helped the club lift the FA Trophy last season.
Recent Meetings
• Woking
2-1 Bromley – 21st February 2023, National League (Cuthbert, Kellermann)
• Bromley
0-2 Woking – 9th November 2022, National League (Grego-Cox, Browne)
• Bromley
1-0 Woking – 25th January 2022, National League
• Woking
0-2 Bromley – 2nd November 2021, National League
• Woking
3-4 Bromley – 13th April 2021, National League (Diarra, Cook, Dalby)
