Boreham Wood V Tonbridge Angels
Saturday 28^th April 2012 – LAST GAME OF THE SEASON
Blue Square Bet South – Kick off 3.00pm

This Saturday Boreham Wood play their last game of the season when they host Kent side Tonbridge Angels at Meadow Park in the Blue Square Bet South, kick off 3.00pm.

Boreham Wood and Tonbridge Angels are positioned 8^th and 9^th respectively and the game itself is a makeshift 8^th or 9^th place play-off. ‘Wood’ currently sit only one place above the Angels with a record of 16 wins, 10 draws and 15 loses so far this season accumulating 58 points, compared to Tonbridge’s 15 wins, 12 draws and 14 loses, totalling 57 points – so the game is sure to be a tight affair.

Both sides met earlier in the season in the reverse fixture which ended 1 – 1. Boreham Wood dominated large proportions of the game and led 1 – 0 until the league’s top goal scorer Frannie Collin, who has found the net 28 times in the league this season, ten more than any other player, popped up in the last minute to find an equaliser.

Both sides have had successful season on the whole – with ‘Wood’ cementing their highest ever league position after finishing 13^th last season and already guaranteeing a place in the top 10, whilst Tonbridge also cemented a top 10 finish in their first season in the Blue Square Bet South after play-off promotion from the Ryman Premier last campaign.

Boreham Wood Football Club’s Community department are also offering FREE child tickets to Saturday’s game, which will also gain half price entry for the accompanying adult, however these must be collected ahead of the game – deadline 5.00pm on Friday 27^th April from the Community Office. So please come down and get behind the boys!

Admission prices: £12 Adults, £6 Children.

Address: Boreham Wood Football Club, Meadow Park, Broughinge Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 5AL.

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THE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
COMMUNITY CLUB DEVELOPMENT FUND
supported by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association

Boreham Wood Football Club and their Community Department are delighted to announce their hugely generous £15,000 grant awarded from the newly established Football Conference Community Club Development Fund.

The Community Club Development Fund is a partnership between the Football Conference, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association. The Premier League and the PFA have committed to contribute £400,000 each to the Fund a year for three years. This Fund of £2.4m is to support all the Football Conference member clubs and to help support and develop their community activities.

PFA Chief Executive Gordan Taylor said “We at the PFA are very pleased to extend our financial support to Football Conference clubs and trust that their players will embrace the concept that they can harness their potential and develop club community activities in education, health, social inclusion and equality and help make a difference!”

This money will go a long way to help deliver and support Boreham Wood Football Club’s Community Programme throughout the Local area. We are currently coaching in six local Primary School’s providing two hours of completely FREE curriculum School’s coaching per School, as well as offering FREE Primary School child season tickets, FREE quarterly newsletter’s, FREE goalkeeping coaching and lastly FREE injury and nutritional advice from our full time medical department to all children in Borehamwood and local area’s 11 primary schools.

The Football Conference Chairman, Brian Lee, said “We are grateful to both the Premier League and the PFA for their generosity in creating this fund. Boreham Wood Football Club is one of many undertaking important work in their communities and I look forward to seeing the outcome of their work.”

Community Manager Billy Hunter said “This grant is a welcome boost for the clubs community programme. Football is a great way to help all children’s development. It teaches them the benefits of a healthy sporting lifestyle and by using our physios, our first team players and our academy coaches to deliver that message, we believe our community programme, will make a difference to local youngsters in a positive way.

“This year our Community Department aim to give out over 10,000 newsletters, 25,000 child complimentary tickets for Blue Square Bet South home games, 300 child season tickets, treat and advise over 300 children on sports injury and nutrition, supply 480 hours of curriculum coaching to over 1,100 children and do this all at no cost to the child or school.”

Hunter continued “As you can imagine all these initiatives incur a huge cost and is something that could not be achievable, nor manageable without the generosity of the Community Club Development Fund, so we must thank the Football Conference, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Assocation.”

Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, said “We are extremely pleased to be working with the Football Conference to establish the development fund that will allow Conference clubs, all extremely important within their local communities, to invest more funds in local youth development and good cause initiatives.”

Boreham Wood FC Community Department’s Loretta Browne, said “Our Chairman has alongside the PFA, the Premier League and the Football Conference invested heavily in our programme. He wants our Coaches, our Medical Department and the Community Department, to engage positively with local people and local schools. He wants us to assist the schools and deliver free quality coaching sessions to the children, with an emphasis on teamwork, club awareness and skills development. Our Club has worked hard to ensure we are part of a pioneering scheme, supported by the Football Conference, the Premier League and the Professional Footballers Association and this acknowledgement will give us the confidence to continue our progress, as we strive to move the club forward”.

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Boreham Wood are delighted to announce the signings of their Centre Half duo, Charlie O’Loughlin and Callum Reynolds for the 2012/2013 season.

Charlie signed for the Wood last summer from Solihull Moors, whereas Callum only joined Wood from Tamworth on loan in March. However both players have been instrumental in Wood’s recent good form, which has seen them cement a top 10 finish whilst still looking to clinch their highest ever league finish of 8^th in the Blue Square Bet South.

Wood Manager Ian Allinson and his assistant Luke Garrard have also been busy in the last few weeks trying to finalise deals with Omer Riza, Sam Cox, Mark Jones, Graeme Montgomery and David Bryant, who have all been made offers for the 2012/2013 season.

Offers of re-engagement will also be made to the younger players within the changing room, which includes Inih Effiong, Simeon Akinola, David Hutton, Omar Beckles, Ruddock Yala, Sam Doolan and Harvey Scott-Morris.

Club Captain/Assistant Manager Luke Garrard said “Our squad is starting to take shape even at this early stage… I really believe if we can retain a large majority of this year’s squad with a few quality additions and have that little bit of luck with injuries next campaign, we can have a good season and push for a playoff position.”

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Blue Square Bet South

Dartford    2    Boreham Wood    2

by John Mead

With The Darts already assured of a second place finish and Wood merely protecting their eighth spot in the table anybody thinking that only pride was at stake would have been hugely mistaken.    Ian Allinson finally had a full Squad from which to select, which was a godsend against very strong opponents.

The Darts squandered two early chances.    James Rogers running central skipped past challenges from Sam Cox and Luke Garrard before lifting his effort over the bar.    Then Mark Jones gave the ball straight to Tony Garrod who shot wide when well placed.    Wood quickly found their feet playing some good passing football, whilst Garrard and Jones produced some excellent tackles to protect Elvijs Putnins’ goal.

Garrard picked up a booking before The Darts opened their account from their second corner of the game.    Tom Champion delivered a goal bound header that was deflected past Putnins at the right hand post by Garrod.

Wood however responded well and Cox went close from the edge of the area after some great hold up play inside the penalty area from David Bryant.

The Wood equaliser came from a fine defence splitting ball from Jones who found Bryant inside the area.    He controlled before squaring across the box from the left.    Omer Riza dummied giving Graeme Montgomery space to hit a sweetly struck left footed shot into the top left hand corner of the net after thirty minutes.

Riza then saw a shot charged down by Tom Bonner before Wood constructed the move of the match. Osei Sankofa played out of defence to Cox who played a superb one touch exchange with Montgomery before releasing Garrard whose effort from just outside the area was  high of the target.

Dartford were suitably upset by Wood’s dominance and embarked upon a mission to get Garrard sent off, rather than concentrate on the task in hand.    Danny Harris and Charlie O’Loughlin then contributed to the tense atmosphere with both players lucky to still have a shirt on their backs in a number of clashes in what was a fractious end to the half.    Riza was tripped when he span exquisitely away from his marker with David Hutton’s free kick failing to trouble Louis Wells.

Thankfully Dartford concentrated on playing football after the break and found Wood a tough nut to crack.    Garrard defended well, before Putnins raced out of his area to clear the impending danger as Wood played with authority turning defence into attack.    Harris won a race with Putnins on the edge of the area but the great team effort continued with Montgomery on hand to mop up behind his ‘keeper.

Thirty-two year old Riza showed his incredible fitness bursting onto a lofted ball forward.    He got beyond Adam Green only for Paul Goodacre to haul him down in a fifty-fifty challenge.    With Riza the last man and falling well inside the area, Referee Mr. Woolford erred on the side of sensibility giving a free kick right on the edge of the area and just a yellow card allow the Darts man to compete in the two legged Play-offs for promotion.

The introduction of Jacob Erskine gave the home side a lift and four minutes later Lee Noble picked him out on the edge of the area from a right sided cross and he hit a sweet first time volley which tucked right into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.    It came a little against the run of play and was certainly not what Wood had deserved from their excellent performance.

With two minutes remaining the equaliser came.    Jones was held up delivering his free kick from the right by some fussy officiating.  Luckily for Wood Mr. Woolford pinpointed the exact spot for Jones to deliver a telling cross that O’Loughlin ran onto diving to head home a fantastic goal, his second in two games, to cap a fine afternoon on the road.

“It was important to contain them for the first twenty minutes, which we spoke about before the game. Then we go and concede but showed tremendous character in how we reacted after both their goals. We played very well today and did enough I thought to have won the game.    The superb move in the first half when Luke Garrard blasted over and the second half run of Omer Riza which on another day would have been a penalty and a red card were the defining moments for me, as I thought the challenge was inside the area.”    Ian Allinson went on to explain the commitment shown by his side with little at stake adding, “This game was about planning for next Season and Dartford were in no mood to roll over.    I would hope to keep the nucleus of this Squad intact as we are very near to a finished product that can stake a claim for a Play-off place and that was evident today.”

Team:    Putnins, Sankofa, Jones, Garrard, Reynolds, O’Loughlin, Hutton (Sub – Akinola 81 mins.), Cox, Bryant, Riza, Montgomery (Sub – Effiong 81 mins.).

Subs (Not used):    Noto, Beckles, Jordan.

Bookings:    Garrard, Riza.

Goals:    Dartford:    Garrod 22, Erskine 79.            Boreham Wood:    Montgomery 30, O’Loughlin 88.

Man of the Match:    Charlie O’Loughlin.

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Boreham Wood are delighted to announce another confirmed Pre Season Friendly for 2012. Boreham Wood and Arsenal have agreed, that a strong Arsenal XI will visit Meadow Park on Saturday 21^st July 2012, Kick off 3.00pm.

This Pre Season fixture is played annually because of the long standing partnership between the Clubs with a new 3 year contract about to be signed for the Arsenal Ladies to play all their home games in the Ladies FA Cup, the Women’s Super League and the UEFA Women’s Champions League at Meadow Park.

In the last 5 years seasons a host of top Arsenal players have graced the pitch at Boreham Wood, young and old. The likes of Robin Van Persie, Antonio Reyes, Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere have all played in this fixture, so it’s a great opportunity to potentially watch some Arsenal superstars of the future up close and personal.

Boreham Wood as always would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Arsenal for year on year bringing an Arsenal XI to Meadow Park for a pre season friendly and also for their continued support.

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