As the drama presented within the fifth tier of England continues to ramp up year on year, this campaign has thrown us several thrills already as we approach the halfway mark of the season.
With Chesterfield running into League Two as it stands, the all-out war that wages for the solitary remaining promotion spot is always one you cannot avert your gaze from, and we’re highlighting two sides who face off with each other on Saturday afternoon in a contest with huge implications upon the promotion race.
Few could have predicted the style and finesse that Bromley have brought to the table this season.
A mainstay in the National League since 2015, they have always been there or thereabouts in regards to promotion, having finished in the top half in all eight of their fifth-tier campaigns and reaching the playoffs in two of them, including last season.
Only four teams in the league have managed to achieve victory over Andy Woodman’s electric side, one of them being the ever-plucky Aldershot, who secured a win in the 103rd minute against ten-man Bromley in their face-off.
Whilst they may sit a hefty eight points adrift of the runaway train of Chesterfield, their hunt for the playoffs, and pressure on the frontrunners, has been stronger than ever this season, leaving them more hopeful than ever of a first Football League season since their inception.
For Altrincham, a rather more surprising story presents itself in regards to their fortunes so far compared to ones past.
Returning to the National League proper in 2020, Alty have been the opposite side of Bromley’s historical fortunes, having never finished inside the top-half since reaching the fifth tier for the first time since 2015.
This season, however, has been but a revelation for them, as they currently sit in, albeit a slim, fourth position in the table. However, the closeness in competition can be viewed easily in their position, as they sit 18 points back off the top of the tree, the same amount of points that separates them from the relegation zone. Ouch.
Altrincham have ticked all the boxes this season, however. Where in seasons gone past the frustration in football has been apparent, it all seemed necessary in building up to the final formula that has presented itself this time around.
Fluid on the ball and tough to break down off of it, only four teams in the league have conceded fewer goals than Alty this season, and only three have found the net more than they have as well.
A frantically explosive footballing package that many would be forgiven for not expecting to see, Altrincham have turned around their previous fifth tier missions in a big way, and will be hoping for something special, either in monetary value or elevation, to celebrate off the back of it.
Bromley have been sniffing in and around the playoffs ever since they got to this level, and Altrincham have been clinging on in the lower half of the table since their return as well, two sets of eventualities that presented themselves last season.
With Bromley finishing seventh in the table last season, a quarter-final success in the playoffs was brought screeching to a halt by eventual runners-up to Notts County, Chesterfield, who bested them with two goals in 17 minutes to overcome a 1-0 deficit to condemn them to another plan to promote.
Chesterfield too would eventually join them after shootout misery at Wembley, but both sides have used that heartache to devastating effect, rising to the top of the tree and setting serious foundations as the two teams to breach the Football League next season.
As for Altrincham, their fortunes last season offered next to no glimpses at the optimism their performances this season have brought their way.
Ending one of the most entertaining National League seasons of all time in a humble 17th, eight points clear of the drop zone, Alty of the season gone by are a far cry from the footballing package they have presented themselves out as this time around.
This time last season, they had only found the net a measly 22 times from 22 games. Roll around to this season, and they have almost doubled that tally at 42, conceding 13 less goals in that time as well.
Leading the charge for Bromley this season is Michael Cheek, who leads the scoring charts at the club with 11 strikes to his name.
With four goals in his last four games, the forward is in a rich vein of form that will leave a sturdy Altrincham defence in question.
That defence, however, is one that features Lewis Baines, one of the quietly standout stars of National League defences this season.
Comfortable on the ball as he is smashing frail forwards off of it, Baines will be a key component to Alty’s gameplan on Saturday afternoon.
2-1 Bromley
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