Tuesday evening’s visit of Boreham Wood to Hayes Lane will be the 29th occasion that they have travelled around the M25 to fulfil a fixture in one of the various competitions over the years.

Their first visit came on 10 April 1976 for a return Isthmian League fixture, when they completed the double over Bromley with a 2-1 victory – having won at Meadow Park earlier in the season by five goals to nil.

The first ever meeting between the two Clubs also came at Meadow Park on 8 December 1973 in the FA Amateur Cup, when the hosts were riding high in the Athenian League, and Bromley were in the lower reaches of the Isthmian League.

And it was the Hertfordshire Club who progressed, with a 3-1 victory in what turned out to be the last ever Amateur Cup, as at the end of that season the Football Association decided to replace the competition with the FA Vase and FA Trophy.  The Trophy having been introduced in 1970.

The match itself was in doubt right up until kick off time, due to melting snow, ice patches and slush, but the referee decided to go ahead as rearranged fixtures and replays were difficult to organise due to a nationwide floodlight ban at the time which made midweek games almost impossible.  As it was, the game kicked off at 1.45 pm so as to be completed before darkness.

Boreham Wood were elected to the Isthmian League for the 1975-76 season, and the two Clubs have met on and off ever since in that league, Conference South or our present league together with various cup competitions.

Prior to today, the Clubs have met on 55 occasions with Bromley recording 19 victories to Boreham Wood’s 18; the remaining 18 fixtures ending in draws.

Last season Bromley won their home fixture by a single goal, whilst the away fixture scheduled for 13 April was not played as the League was curtailed due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Preview by John Self