Bromley's FA Cup journey began; last Saturday as they beat fellow National League side Wealdstone 3-2 at Hayes Lane and advanced to the 1st round proper of the FA Cup for the 11th time in the last 18 seasons and on Sunday, were drawn at home to League One side Blackpool, this is not the first time that Bromley has drawn EFL opposition but if they are going to reach the 2nd round it is going to be a hard task, but then again the FA Cup is magical and anything can happen.
The Raven's most recent first-round encounter was against Rotherham United in 2021, which saw the Millers come away 3-0 winners at the New York Stadium; the result did not represent the effort as Bromley gave a good account of themselves despite an extremely tough opposition.
Prior to this encounter, their more impressive first-round encounter came against Bristol Rovers; this was also an away trip for Bromley, and for the majority of this game, they gave a good account of themselves, keeping the score 0-0 for 78 minutes until Luke Leahu put the Rovers in front, however, Bromley didn't give up hope and five minutes later Chris bush would score the equaliser and forcing the game to a replay at Hayes Lane.
The replay saw 4,558 people come down to Hayes Lane and gave the Ravens a much-needed home advantage; however, Jonson Clarke-Harris would have the only goal of the game coming in the 3rd minute, eliminating Bromley.
Colchester was another side that came down to Hayes Lane, beating Bromley 4-0 on the day; these three results are just an example of what is an unfortunate recurring theme for the football club; however, with their recent history, fans, players and staff all believe this could change.
This years Bromley squad looks strong not only in the quality of players available but the depth as well as this has often been a problem in recent seasons despite the success, however with the players that have been brought in this season as the likes of Alex Kirk who netted a goal on Saturday in his Bromley debut as well as the long standing Bromley players such as Micahel Cheek it seems that Andy Woodman has been able to fully implement his style of football and that this has been the strongest season so far that has allowed it to flourish with players old and new, this and the mindset and expectations that he instills in his players will be just as important as their roles on the pitch in a few weeks time.
Their next FA Cup opponents Blackpool are currently 7th in the table on 19 points and are on the edge of the playoff positions on 5 wins, 4 draws and 3 loses, it is fair to say that they have had a mixed run of form so far this season, with their latest result being a 3-0 win over Stevenage, two players that have been key to Blackpool's season so far is Jordan Rhodes who has netted 7 goals so far this season and Kylian Kouassi who has scored 5 goals, they are both a threat that Bromley's defenders will need keep an eye on if they are to nullify any chances that Blackpool try and create.
On the other hand Bromley have definitely had a stronger start to their respective league season and are currently 5th in the National League with 26 points and had a fantastic unbeaten run that was only stopped by top of the table Chesterfield, and have bounced back since that result so Bromley will bring a lot of confidence to Hayes Lane on that day, this and what will most likely be a packed Hayes Lane will create a memorable atmosphere and potentially set the scene for a FA Cup upset and for Bromley to add another chapter to their history book as with years gone by other teams like Lincoln City and Borehamwood have had their storybook FA Cup runs so why shouldn't people keep an eye out for Bromley to go an have a run in the FA Cup, but really no one knows as the FA Cup is an amazing competition and truly anything could happen.