Matt Rush (9), Zak Brunt (15) (P), Abdul Abdulmalik (72)
Boreham Wood have made it into the second round of the FA Cup with an emphatic 3–0 victory over League Two Crawley Town, with first-half goals from Matt Rush and Zak Brunt, and a second-half cracker from Abdul Abdulmalik.
Luke Garrard made two changes from last Saturday’s defeat at Forest Green Rovers, with Nathan Ashmore returning from his loan spell at Bedford Town in place of Finlay Herrick, who has returned to West Ham United. Joe Newton came in at left-back in place of Femi Ilesanmi, who dropped to the bench.
Boreham Wood controlled things from the start. They dominated early possession and took a deserved lead on ten minutes when Zak Brunt took advantage of a loose ball played out by a Crawley defender before playing in Matt Rush, who finished brilliantly past Jojo Wollacott in the Red Devils’ goal. Five minutes later, Wood doubled their lead when Brunt was fouled in the penalty area and made no mistake from 12 yards.
After the second goal, the visitors started to have a lot of possession, but there was no way through the excellent Wood defence, well marshalled by Chris Bush and Callum Reynolds. The performance of the Wood backline meant that Nathan Ashmore had very little to do on his return to the starting line-up. The next chance actually fell to Boreham Wood on 38 minutes when, after a good turn from Erico Sousa, he played in Rush, whose shot was well saved by Wollacott. Six minutes later, Bush played in Abdul Abdulmalik, who got a shot away which Wollacott did well to save. On the stroke of half-time, the visitors were reduced to ten men when Ryan Loft was given a straight red card for violent conduct, leaving his team with a mountain to climb to get back into the game.
Assisted by the one-man advantage, Boreham Wood dominated the second half and had numerous opportunities to add to their lead. A minute after the restart, Abdulmalik played in Brunt, who was unable to keep his shot down. On 50 minutes, Bush played in Rush, but the linesman flagged for offside before he could get his shot away. At this stage, Abdulmalik was causing havoc down the Boreham Wood left and twice played in good crosses but was unable to find a white shirt on either occasion.
On 72 minutes, Wood scored their third and put the game beyond doubt with another Abdulmalik masterclass. The ball was played into him on the left and, from 25 yards out, he curled it into the bottom corner beyond Wollacott in the Crawley goal. It was another one for Abdulmalik’s personal goal-of-the-season competition. In the final minute of stoppage time, Wood nearly added a fourth when Charlie Barker almost turned the ball into his own goal after some good pressure from Charles Clayden, but it came off the post.
Boreham Wood’s excellent season continues as they make it into the second round of the FA Cup. They have beaten a number of EFL sides in the competition in recent years, but none more comprehensive than this win against Crawley Town. With Aldershot Town coming to Boreham Wood in just three days, Luke Garrard will want this form to continue.
Boreham Wood: Ashmore, King (Coxe 66), Newton (Ilesanmi 66), Reynolds, Bush, O’Connell, Brunt (Richardson 78), White, Sousa, Abdulmalik (Clayden 78), Rush (Norris 83).
Subs not used: Payne, Dixon, Benton, Henry.
Crawley Town: Wollacott, Malone (Pereira 78), Conroy, Bajrami, Baker, Anderson, Holohan (Forster 62), Scott (Flower 46), Loft, Watson (Brown 78), Flint.
Subs not used: Heater, Tschimanga, Roles, Radcliffe, Dixon.
Man of the Match: Chris Bush.
Match report written by Brett Lewis.
