The Wood are back it again on Monday, July 31 for the opening of their new 5G Astro Turf against a Barnet XI (7pm). Here’s our preview……..
Match Details
The match is completely free for supporters, so come down and support the Wood in their final pre-season fixture.
Team News
There are no fresh injury concerns going into the fixture.
Dean Wells made his debut against Arsenal as he played the first half, the centre-back will be hoping to add to this on Monday night.
Tom Champion also returned and he captained the side as Mark Ricketts was rested for the first half.
Luke Garrard will be looking to finalize his starting XI ready for the kick-off of the 2017/18 campaign against AFC Fylde on Saturday, August 5.
Form Guide
The Wood battled hard against a strong Arsenal XI, but the class of the Gunners proved too strong for Garrard’s side who succumbed to a 0-4 defeat.
However, the Wood have been in strong form this pre-season, the highlight of which was a 1-7 win away at Wingate & Finchley.
With the start of the season just a week away, Garrard’s men will be hoping to return to their best against Barnet.
Managed by 32-year-old Rossi Eames, Barnet finished 15th in League Two last season.
From the Dugout – Luke Garrard
“The Barnet game is going to be against their 23s, but I can imagine that they are going to have a few lads that are not making their final game today, with regards to getting 90 minutes, so there may be a few first team players in there.
“It is going to be on the astro and it will be our first game on there, and our first session on there, so it will be interesting in terms of how they adapt.
“We have been on the pitch now twice and we have been away from home, so to get accustomed to the Astro will be very useful.
“It is going to be a good exercise for us as it is the last prior to AFC Fylde, so again, we will be trying to nail down restarts, regains and all of those bits.
“We will be looking to finalise verything that we have been working on, to make sure that we are as prepared as possible for when we go up to AFC Fylde on Saturday.”
