A defensive howler as early as the 2^nd minute consigned ‘Wood’s’ Under 19’s to their first defeat of the season, going down 1 – 0 in the Conference League Cup Semi final to a hard working Watford outfit.

The fact ‘Wood’ couldn’t finish a number of guilt edged chances meant they narrowly failed to go to their second National Cup Final in 8 days and although on possession and chances we can feel slightly hard done by, the effort showed by their opponents meant Boreham Wood could not begrudge Watford on the day.

However as we enter the business end of the season the Under 19’s must themselves be ready to go again. Wood’s young guns will have to pick themselves up quickly and as the Chairman Danny Hunter said, “Football can be such a great friend when you’re winning as was shown in last week’s National College Cup Semi win and it can be a cruel mistress when you lose, as the boys have now found out against Watford.”

Hunter continued “So although I commiserate with our players, I must also congratulate the victors who worked extremely hard on the day. Our players need to remember how much this defeat has hurt them, they need to understand it’s part and parcel of football, but they need to accept it and move on. As a group they have a lot of football still to play and they should be very proud of what they’re achieving. We have a Southern Counties League title to retain, we have a College National Cup title to retain, we have a Champions of Champions Cup to win, we have a Brian Hitchings Cup to win and we have a SESSA Cup final to play for, as well as a College League title or two.”

Hunter concluded “So although the boys are disappointed, let’s look at the positives across the board in what is proving to be a hugely successful season for our coaches, structure and players, but with success you also need a little bit of luck with injuries, decisions and it’s what makes Football the fantastic game it is, and learning to lose is all part of the football education for these very talented boys.”

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 Boreham Wood 3 – 0 Myerscough College

On Wednesday afternoon Boreham Wood’s talented group of Under 19′s travelled to Lilleshall to take on the fancied Myerscough College, Preston in the Semi final of the all England and Wales College National cup.Myerscough started the game the sharper of the two teams and dominated the early proceedings.

The Preston based College piled pressure onto ‘Wood’s’ defence, however the back line remained resilient for the opening half hour before ‘Wood’ got to grips with Myerscough’s passing style of football and then after it didn’t look like Myerscough would trouble the ‘Wood’ goal, however the game remained a stalemate to enter the half time interval 0-0.

After a stirring half time team talk from the management team, Luke Garrard and Mario Noto, ‘Wood’s’ Under 19′s began to get a firm foothold in the game and created chances for themselves. In fact ‘Wood’ controlled the large majority of proceedings in the second half, however they were unable to find that elusive goal that would take them to their second National cup final in as many years and therefore the game went to extra time.

‘Wood’ continued their dominance throughout extra time and there was only going to be one winner. ‘Wood’s’ youngsters showed the superior fitness and quality, taking an extra time lead when Harvey Scott-Morris found the top left hand corner after great work down the right flank from Robert Hastings. ‘Wood’ doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time when Dean Rubinia was taken down on the edge of Myerscough’s box, leaving ‘Wood’ skipper and set piece specialist Charlie Hunter to step up and find the top right hand corner of the net from 20 yards.

In the second interval of extra time Boreham Wood put the game out of sight when great movement from Dean Rubinia and a superb through ball from Lee Close allowed the frontman to be 1 on 1 with the Myerscough goalkeeper, Dean calmly but comprehensively scooped the ball over the keeper and extended ‘Wood’s’ advantage to 3 goals.

‘Wood’ saw the remainder of extra time out professionally to secure their second National Cup final as many years. They will face Gower College Swansea at TNS in Wales, date to be confirmed.

‘Wood’s’ successful Under 19 side will be looking to make their second National cup final of the season when they take on local rivals Watford CSE Hertswood on Wednesday in the Conference Youth Alliance National cup and we wish the boys the very best of luck.

Pase Head Coach, Luke Garrard, said “This group seem to love the big games, in fact the bigger the game, the bigger the response and they always seem to come up with the answers and know how to win football matches. It’s important we don’t get carried away as we have another National Semi final in the Conference Cup on Wednesday when we face Watford. No doubt we’ll be the underdogs yet again, but in truth that suits us just fine.”

Squad: J Wilton, L Close, L Wallace, C Hunter, R Yala, S Doolan, L Griffin, M McCann, D Rubinia, H Scott-Morris, G Hunter. Subs: T Winston, T Mashingindze, R Hastings, S O’Connor, P Appleton.

Goal scorers: H Scott-Morris, C Hunter, D Rubinia.

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Boreham Wood Under 19’s 4 – 2 Bromley Under 19’s
Conference Youth Alliance National Cup – Quarter Final
Wednesday 7^th March 2011 – Kick off 1.00pm

On Wednesday, Boreham Wood’s talented group of young players progressed to their second National Cup Semi Final in as many weeks when they beat Bromley 4 – 2 in the Conference Youth Alliance National Cup Quarter Final.

‘Wood’ started lacklustre and after sloppy defending down the left wing Bromley were allowed to cross the ball into ‘Wood’s’ box, which fell kindly for the Bromley striker to stroke the ball home. However ‘Wood’ didn’t react to this wakeup call and Bromley missed a number of chances to widen their advantage.

Bromley would later regret these missed chances after a pin point free kick from Charlie Hunter was met by Ruddock Yala to level the scores mid way through the first half. ‘Wood’ later doubled their tally for the day when good forward play from Harvey Scott-Morris allowed Dean Rubinia in on goal to toe poke the ball past the Bromley goalkeeper and into the bottom left hand corner, and Boreham Wood entered the interval 2 – 1 up.

Boreham Wood started the second half much brighter than they did the first and yet although not playing to their full potential they bagged another goal, when another Charlie Hunter set piece after 70 minutes was flicked on at the front post by front man Dean Rubinia and was met with a riffling header from Liam Griffin.

The game was put out of sight after 80 minutes when a Bromley defender failed to put distance on his clearance the ball fell to Sam Doolan on the edge of the box. Sam, on the half volley, struck the ball cleanly into the top left hand corner of the goal and scored his second wonder goal in as many games after scoring a bicycle kick against AFC Wimbledon in the Reserve Team on Saturday.

Bromley scored a late conciliation when Sam Doolan took down a Bromley striker inside the box. The same boy dusted himself off to take the penalty and stroked the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Although the performance of ‘Wood’s’ young players was not up to scratch, so far in this competition ‘Wood’ have comprehensively beaten Croydon Athletic 4 – 1, Welling United 4 – 0 and Cambridge United 6 – 0 before their 4 – 2 win against Bromley on Wednesday, however they must push on and work hard from here as this is when the season really does begin and nothing is won in March.

Squad: J Wilton, L Close, L Wallace, C Hunter, R Yala, S Doolan, L Griffin, M McCann, D Rubinia, H Scott-Morris, G Hunter. Subs: T Winston, R Hastings, D Laughton, S O’Connor, T Mashingindze, M Roles.

Goal scorers: R Yala, D Rubinia, L Griffin, S Doolan.

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Lincoln College 1 – 2 Boreham Wood FC
English College’s National Cup Quarter Final
Thursday 1^st March 2012 – Kick off 1.30pm

On Wednesday afternoon ‘Wood’s’ Under 19’s travelled to Lincoln to take on Lincoln College in the Quarter Finals of the English College’s National Cup.

After a sloppy first half that included a penalty miss from Charlie Hunter, Boreham Wood gave away a late penalty which was converted and ‘Wood’ entered the interval 1 – 0 down.

However after a spurring half time team talk from PASE Academy Manager Luke Garrard, ‘Wood’ started the second half much brighter and equalised early. An over hit corner was put back across goal by front man Dean Rubinia for Calaum Martin to slot into the back of the net.

‘Wood’ continued their pressure and Lincoln finally succumb when they gave away yet another penalty when Harvey Scott-Morris was taken down inside the box. Harvey brushed himself off to step up and fire ‘Wood’ into the lead.

After a few late scares, Boreham Wood’s youngsters held on for the win to progress to the Semi Final of the ECFA National Cup.

Squad: J Wilton, L Close, L Wallace, C Hunter, R Yala, S Doolan, L Griffin, M McCann, D Rubinia, H Scott-Morris, C Martin. Subs: T Winston, R Hastings, G Hunter, S O’Connor, T Mashingindze.

Goal scorers: C Martin, H Scott-Morris.

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On Monday two of ‘Wood’s’ promising youngsters, Charlie Hunter and Ruddock Yala, once again played for The English College’s, this time against their Welsh College counterparts at the brand new Bangor City Stadium.

Both Charlie and Ruddock started in a 1-0 win over The Welsh College’s and both gave impressive performances, which culminated with England getting an 80^th minute winner.

Both boys will now return to club duties, and will be a part of the squad that will take on Lincoln in theQuarter Finals of this year’s ECFA National Cup this Thursday. It’s a cup that both players helped ‘Wood’s’ Under 19’s win last year and we hope can retain again this year.

Boreham Wood’s Head PASE Academy coach, Luke Garrard, said “The boys have shown the right Attitude, Discipline and Desire all season and now are starting to get their rewards. The season is building nicely and we have a huge next few weeks ahead with two National Cup Quarter Finals.”

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Boreham Wood Reserves V AFC Wimbledon Reserves
Suburban Reserve Premier Division
Saturday 3^rd March 2012 – Kick off 3.00pm

This Saturday, 3^rd March 2012 Boreham Wood’s youthful reserve side host AFC Wimbledon at home in the Premier Division of the Suburban Reserve League, Kick off 3.00pm.

‘The Wombles’ currently sit top of the division having won 9, drawn 4 and lost 4 from their 17 league games so far, recording 31 points, whilst conceding only 16 goals and scoring 39. Giving them the most prolific strike force and best defensive record in the league at this present moment, so it sure to be ‘Wood’s’ toughest test so far.

The game will be played within the Stadium at Meadow Park, rather than the adjacent 3G Astroturf with admission at £4 for adults and £2 for children.

C’mon ‘The Wood’!

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This Monday two of ‘Wood’s’ promising young talents Charlie Hunter and Ruddock Yala travel to Bangor, Wales to play for the English College’s FA against the Welsh College’s FA.

Charlie and Ruddock both featured in the English College side that played the Welsh Schoolboys in January, and ‘Wood’s’ players gave good accounts of themselves.

The match on Monday evening is the ECFA’s last warm up game before travelling to Italy in March, to take part in a European International tournament, where the boys are likely to play against the likes of Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and of course Italy.

The youngsters join the production line of young Boreham Wood academy players who have gone on to represent England at either College or Schoolboy level. Previous players to represent their country at College or Schoolboy level include Jon Clements, Jordan Lawal, Jay Brett, Bradley Fraser and Lee Close.

‘Wood’s’ PASE Academy over the last decade has gone from strength to strength and can now boast that they have produced 100+ players who have featured at Ryman Premier level or beyond (including Pelly Ruddock who was sold to West Ham United earlier this season), 100+ players who have gone on to play in the non-league pyramid, as well as winning 2 National titles over the past 5 seasons (Our Under 19’s are reigning ECFA National Cup Champions).

Boreham Wood’s PASE Academy are currently holding trials to join their scheme for the 2012/2013 season. If this interests you then please contact The PASE Department at the Club on 020 8953 5716, or alternatively download an application form from this website and send it to The PASE Department, Boreham Wood Football Club, Meadow Park, Broughinge Road, Borehamwood, Herts, WD6 5AL.

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Boreham Wood Under 19’s 1 – 0 Hartpury College
ECFA National College Cup Last Sixteen
Wednesday 22^nd February 2012 – Kick Off 1.00pm

On Wednesday, Boreham Wood’s talented crop of Under 19’s took on Hartpury College in The English College’s National Cup for a place in the Quarter Finals.

Hartpury College who are current ECFA league champions travelled to Meadow Park to face the reigning ECFA national cup champions, so an exciting game was in store.

It was a tense first half in which both sides struggled to play the style of football they are renowned for and the game remained 0 – 0 at the interval.

‘Wood’ started the second half much brighter and took the lead when Harvey Scott-Morris played in Dean Rubinia, who coolly lifted the ball over the Hartpury goalkeeper’s head.

Hartpury piled on the pressure with long balls, but ‘Wood’s’ centre halves Ruddock Yala and Sammy Doolan stayed resilient and gave outstanding performances. ‘Wood’ held on for a tough, hard fought victory and will face Lincoln away in the next round, date to be confirmed.

Boreham Wood’s Under 19′s have been in formidable form thus far in National competitions, reaching the quarter finals of both the ECFA national cup and Conference national cup. Comprehensively beating Cambridge United 6-0, Welling United 5-0 and Croydon Athletic 3-1. However there is still a lot to be done and the hard work really starts now.

Squad: J Wilton, L Close, L Wallace, C Hunter, R Yala, S Doolan, C Martin, M McCann, D Rubinia, H Scott-Morris, L Griffin. Subs: T Winston, R Hastings, T Mashingindze, S O’Connor, G Hunter.

Goal scorer: Dean Rubinia.

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