Marley Marshall-Miranda (69)
Bowen Phillips (84)
Boreham Wood were made to settle for a 1-1 draw against an Arsenal XI in a match they largely dominated. Marley Marshall-Miranda gave Wood a deserved lead on 86 minutes before a late equaliser from Bowen Philips ensured a share of the spoils.
Both sides started by playing the ball around nicely and trying to get into attacking positions. The Gunners had a couple of half-chances, with Evan Mooney and Demaine Agustien going close. On 20 minutes, Matt Rush was played in by Zak Brunt but fired just wide of Khari Ranson’s goal. Soon afterwards, Tarryn Allarakhia played an excellent ball to James Clarke, whose cross just missed the head of Callum Reynolds. On 37 minutes, Tylor Golden had a shot deflected just wide by an Arsenal defender. Just before the break, Trialist C fired straight at Ranson in the Arsenal goal, and Evan Mooney then hit the Wood crossbar with a cross.
Wood came out for the second half having made nine changes, with only Lewis Gunter and Tom White remaining from the first half. Three minutes after the restart, Abdul Abdulmalik went on an impressive run before finding Marley Marshall-Miranda, who fired just wide. Almost immediately, Lewis Richardson hit the Arsenal crossbar with a rasping shot. On 57 minutes, Richardson played a lovely pass to Luke Norris, who forced Ranson into a good save. A minute later, Chris Bush found Richardson with an excellent pass and, after a good run, the former Burnley forward fired just wide. Wood now had their tails up, and Regan Booty’s cross was headed wide by Oliver Bainbridge.
Wood continued to control possession and, on 69 minutes, they finally got their reward. Bainbridge’s cross was controlled brilliantly by Norris, who then played the ball to Marshall-Miranda, who fired home. During this period, Abdulmalik and Bainbridge were showing encouraging signs of a real connection down the left. They were both involved in a lot of Boreham Wood’s good play in the second half. On 84 minutes, Abdulmalik fired high and wide when well placed. Straight afterwards, Wood were made to pay for that miss when Arsenal equalised. A Gunter error while playing the ball out was intercepted and, when the ball fell to Bowen Philips, he produced an excellent finish, giving Gunter no chance. Maalik Hashi could have won it for the Gunners late on, but he shot straight at Gunter.
It was another good performance from Luke Garrard’s men, with some encouraging displays from a number of players. Next up is Tottenham Hotspur XI on Tuesday 21 July, with a 19:30 kick-off.
Boreham Wood (First Half): Gunter, Clarke, White, Brunt, Trialist A, Allarakhia, Trialist C, Reynolds, Golden, Kensdale, Rush.
Boreham Wood (Second Half): Gunter, Bainbridge, Bush, O’Connell, White, Richardson, Abdulmalik, Norris, Trialist D, Marshall-Miranda, Booty.
Man of the Match: Oliver Bainbridge.
Written by Brett Lewis.
