Blue Square Bet South

 Boreham Wood    2    Farnborough    4

 by John Mead

The visitors arrived in scintillating form, having dropped just two points in their last eight games.    Their last defeat was against Wood and this win lifts them to just one point behind leaders Braintree Town, turning the title challenge into a two horse race.

Wood found themselves two goals down after eighteen minutes, both penalties, which did little to please boss Ian Allinson.    “We spoke about this at length before kick off.    Farnborough have scored inside the first ten minutes in their last three games and we were guilty of not sticking to the script.”

The first penalty Wood can have little complaint about.    Some explosive attacking down the left from the outstanding Craig Braham-Barrett and Dale Binns allowed Kezie Ibe to turn Luke Wilkinson inside the area.    “Luke got too tight and stuck out a leg” concluded Allinson, giving Paul Booth the opportunity to send Elvijs Putnins the wrong way for the lead.

The second penalty, just nine minutes later was a controversial call.    Osei Sankofa was right on the edge of the area and going nowhere when Gareth Risbridger challenged for possession.    Not a single Farnborough player appealed as Sankofa went to ground, with Referee Mr. Serrano, who was just yards from the incident seemingly overruling himself in favour of his Assistant’s flag.    Booth repeated his feat leaving Wood a mountain to climb.   

At this stage it was very much damage limitation for Wood with the visitors producing a high tempo performance of skill and a work rate that matched their desire for the title. “We knew it would be tough and the amount of work Farnborough put in has to be admired.” admitted Allinson.

Wood did stem the flow, although David Bryant and Elliott Godfrey were toiling against a robust defensive pairing of Steve Robinson and Jack King.    The main threat of a Wood breakthrough came from the darting runs of Greg Morgan and after 53 minutes he broke through the middle of the park.    He had two options with Bryant to his left and the slightly better placed Godfrey to his right, choosing Bryant who received the ball on his weaker foot, eventually being ruled out for offside.

Farnborough turned the screw even further after 53 minutes.    A route one attack caught out the Wood defence when a superb turn inside the box gave Kezie Ibe just enough space to slide the ball beyond Putnins.    Daryl McMahon hit a thirty yard screamer for the visitors which went just over before the introduction of Ola Sogbanmu, who once again had a massive influence on the game for Wood.

Jerome Maledon, who had a fine evening in only his third start, slipped a central ball towards Sogbanmu which created enough panic in the unfortunate Jamie Stevens to stretch out and send the ball beyond his own ‘keeper Michael Jordan, making it 1 – 3 after 77 minutes.    What followed did little to please the Wood boss.    “Having just scored we immediately gave away a soft fourth.”    Robinson sent a fifty yard clearance for the fresh legs of goal machine Bradley Bubb to chase.    He left the Wood defence standing and even though Putnins did well to narrow the angle the finish was decisive.

That left just five minutes for Wood to respond and Sogbanmu popped up again with a classy second for Wood.    Daniel Brathwaite, who produced another exceptional performance on the night, headed central. Sogbanmu turned magnificently and sped towards goal resisting the challenges of the defenders before hitting a low finish beyond Jordan.    It was a courageous showing from Wood whom, like the visitors, proved they have aspirations of their own this Season!

In summary Ian Allinson concluded, “The strange thing about this game was that aside from picking the ball out of the net four times, Elvijs barely had a save to make!    We stuck at it and had a go and need to pick ourselves up for the trip to Hampton & Richmond Borough on Saturday.    The other results tonight down the bottom did not really hurt us and that was the best side we have faced for some time.”

Team:    Putnins, Garrard, Brathwaite, Cestor, Wilkinson (Sub – Moran 38 mins.), Noto, Morgan (Sub –  Sogbanmu 68 mins.), Risbridger (Sub – Hurrell 72 mins.), Bryant, Godfrey, Maledon.

Subs (Not used):    Kamara, Inns.

Goals:    Boreham Wood:    Stevens 77 (O.G.), Sogbanmu 89.      Farnborough:    Booth 9 pen, 18 pen, Ibe 53, Bubb 85.

Man of the Match:    Daniel Brathwaite.

Pictures courtesy of Phil Wallace

Tweet

Blue Square Bet South

Dover Athletic    1    Boreham Wood    0

by John Mead

Adam Birchall’s 87^th minute winner left Wood feeling hard done by in a game that they should have got something out of.    It was Birchall’s 41^st goal of the Season and it needed a bit of magic from by far the most talented striker in the League to salvage the points.

Ian Allinson made a number of changes with Elvijs Putnins returning between the sticks after Wes Foderingham’s Loan spell ended.    Michael Kamara got the nod ahead of Luke Garrard, whilst Ola Sogbanmu and Sam Hurrell were included after the impact they made as Substitutes against Basingstoke Town a week earlier.

The first half was a patchy affair.    Putnins made a brilliant save to deny Birchall from eight yards out, with the Wood shot stopper in commanding form throughout.    Birchall again went close when running central he found space to fire a curling drive that was inches high.

As the half drew to a close on a cold and rainy afternoon Wood created their first chances.    Elliott Godfrey, playing on the right, released David Bryant who ran clear only to sky his shot.    Then a right sided corner delivered by Mario Noto caused confusion between ‘keeper Ross Flitney and Lewwis Spence, resulting in Flitney spilling the ball, which Bryant almost capitalised from.

At half time the players were told to “relax and not panic” by Ian Allinson and they duly went on to dominate the majority of the second half.    Daniel Brathwaite was in exemplary form against his former Club, part of a solid back four which frustrated the Kent side.    Godfrey threaded his way past three defenders into the penalty area feeding Bryant who was thwarted by an important challenge by Matt Fish.    Mike Cestor then made his way to the edge of the penalty area playing a one two with Sogbanmu before shooting weakly at Flitney.

Gareth Risbridger had a commanding afternoon in the middle of the park and made a superb challenge to deny the dangerous Birchall, before Kamara slid in on the prolific striker to maintain parity on the edge of the area.    Noto, who worked tirelessly all afternoon, fired over from distance, before Birchall was again denied by the impressive Putnins.

The combination of Godfrey and Bryant almost paid dividends.    Godfey’s low drive was parried by  Flitney as far as Bryant who shot wide of the post.    Wood sensed victory and went on the all out attack, which proved to be their undoing.    Sam Hurrell should have done better with his cross from the left which was intercepted and immediately dispatched up field.    Birchall was duly fed and found space to run at goal.    He wrong footed Brathwaite before holding his nerve to sell Putnins a dummy and round the ‘keeper.    It was a brilliantly taken goal!    Greg Morgan was introduced with Wood switching to a  3 – 4 – 3 formation and it created a frenetic last few minutes with Wood searching for the equaliser.

Noto’s clearance found Godfrey whose flicked header was met by Bryant on the right whose shot ran just wide across goal.    The home side were forced to hang on to their points in the closing stages. Godfrey’s corner flashed dangerously across goal, before Noto’s free kick was met by a flicked back header from Godfrey that was tipped to safety by Flitney.

It was a gallant effort by Wood which left Ian Allinson, “Very frustrated as we deserved something from the game.    We maybe should have closed things out for a point at the end, yet we continued to search for the winner which led to Dover Athletic opening us up.    We maybe could have passed the ball a little better and had we taken our chances we would have been celebrating tonight.    On the positive side we have come to a top seven side and taken the game to them, showing that we fear no one.”

Wood are currently seventeenth in the table and six points clear of the drop zone, should the ten point deduction handed to St. Albans City still stand after the appeal hearing on 1 April.

Next up is another tough test as second placed Farnborough visit Meadow Park this coming Tuesday.

Team:    Putnins, Kamara (Sub – Morgan 89 mins.), Brathwaite, Cestor, Wilkinson, Noto, Godfrey, Risbridger, Bryant, Sogbanmu, Hurrell.

Subs (Not used):    Garrard, Maledon, Nicolau, Moran.

Bookings:    Noto, Cestor, Wilkinson, Bryant.

Goal:    Dover Athletic:    Birchall 87.

Man of the Match:    Daniel Brathwaite.

Tweet

Blue Square Bet South

Boreham Wood    1    Basingstoke Town    0

by John Mead

The introduction of Ola Sogbanmu after 55 minutes turned this game from a dour struggle into a priceless victory.    On paper the starting eleven looked commanding with Ian Allinson finally having a healthy Squad to choose from.    On grass however it was a different story.    With front men David Bryant feeding off scraps and no cohesion between midfield and play maker Elliott Godfrey Wood looked short of ideas.

This allowed the visitors to boss the game through the middle of the park and create the better chances in the first half.    The game was crying out for a tactical change and when Sogbanmu entered the fray Wood were an altogether different side.    His presence changed the whole dimension of the game and when Sam Hurrell joined in the fun with fourteen minutes remaining it was left to a quite brilliant goalkeeping display from the visitors Chay Morris to keep the score line respectable.

Town smothered any hopes of an early goal that Wood harboured.    Snubbing out any attacking play down the wings and looking by far the hungrier in the middle of the park the visitors looked the likelier side to take the points.    A lack of communication between Mike Cestor and Wes Foderingham almost proved fatal, before Foderingham made the first save of the match after twenty minutes when the strength of David Pratt allowed him to set up Greg Draper for a low drive which the Crystal Palace Loan player was equal to.

A Nicky Nicolau corner driven low to the near post then hit defender Rob Rice before flying across the goalmouth like a loose cannon, when just a touch was all that was needed to convert.    Callum Reynolds then curled a free kick around the Wood wall for Pratt to connect with a rapier like header which flew off the top of the crossbar.

The half featured a distraught Allinson remonstrating with his stuttering defence, before Dragons Manager Frank Gray took advantage of the clement weather by conducting his half time talk on the playing field.

Compared to the first fifty-five minutes the rest of the game was unrecognisable.    Daniel Brathwaite almost turned in an Elliott Godfrey free kick, before the visitors swung into action.    It took a brilliant reaction save from Foderingham to deny Draper at the near post, before Brathwaite was on hand to clear his follow up off the line.    Sogbanmu, the catalyst for Wood’s now attacking threat went close when he turned in the area, only to be denied by the brave goalkeeping of Morris.

The goal came after 71 minutes.    Brathwaite did well to maintain possession down the left and played a ball forward for Sogbanmu, whose deft lay off released Bryant.    He collected his third goal in five starts by staying upright to jig past two defenders before poking the ball beyond the advancing Morris, a fine individual goal.

Sogbanmu then held off three challengers to supply Bryant whose strike was thwarted by Morris, before the same pair went into combat again less than a minute later.    Bryant ran back from an offside position to go through one on one with the ‘keeper who again got his angles right and smothered the effort.    Godfrey went close with a thirty yard free kick, before Morris again saved his side with another great block to deny Mario Noto who had been set up by Bryant after another Wood counter attack carved the Dragon’s defence apart.    Sam Hurrell’s fine low cross from the left was met squarely by Bryant as Wood looked to tear the opposition to pieces in the final stages.    Morris saved his best till last with a quite superb reflex save to deny Bryant a certain goal.

Sogbanmu almost got the goal his quite magnificent thirty-five minute display deserved when the lively Hurrell again supplied, only for his header to strike the crossbar.

Speaking after the game Manager Ian Allinson admitted, “We were poor for an hour.    I wanted to start with the two small strikers up front, but when you fail to pass the ball it makes their job impossible.    Ola Sogbanmu, who was unlucky to have been left out of the starting eleven was just the option we needed and in the end it could have been four or five!”

With Wood the only side in the bottom ten recording a victory they find themselves at their highest ever League position of fifteenth, an amazing nine points clear of the drop zone, a position that was unthinkable at the turn of the year!

Team:    Foderingham, Garrard, Brathwaite, Noto, Wilkinson, Cestor, Morgan (Sub – Hurrell 76 mins.), Risbridger, Bryant, Godfrey, Nicolau (Sub – Sogbanmu 55 mins.).

Subs (Not used):    Kamara, Maledon, Moran.

Bookings:    Godfrey.                    Goal:    Boreham Wood:    Bryant 71.

Man of the Match:    Ola Sogbanmu.

Tweet