A late Zak Brunt penalty secured a point in the National League Cup, but it was Everton who gained a bonus point following a 4-3 penalty shootout win after 90 minutes.

Luke Garrard again shuffled the pack for the National League Cup, with Ted Curd, Lewis Richardson, Conor Wilkinson, Tylor Golden, Marley Marshall-Miranda, Ollie Kensdale and Ben Whitfield all coming into the starting line-up from Saturday’s win against Harrogate Town.

Boreham Wood started in top gear by forcing a succession of corners in the early stages. Danny Cashman went close on three minutes but was just off target with a volley. On nine minutes, a lovely one-two between Ben Whitfield and Lewis Richardson ended with Conor Wilkinson heading straight at Toffees keeper George Pickford. Two minutes later, an inch-perfect cross by Lewis Richardson found James Clarke at the far post, but his header sailed just wide.

On 20 minutes, a lovely move involving Cashman and Richardson created a chance for Regan Booty, who clipped the bottom of the Everton post. Four minutes later, Richardson fired from distance, but Pickford did well to cover it. On the half-hour mark, Whitfield tried his luck from distance, but Pickford was again equal to it. Everton had their first real effort on goal on 37 minutes when Harvey Foster tried to curl the ball past Ted Curd, but the Wood keeper was equal to it.

HT: BOREHAM WOOD 0-0 EVERTON U21

The second half, for the most part, lacked the entertainment value of the first half and, in truth, took some time to get going. While Wood continued to control possession, they didn’t offer a great deal in the final third of the pitch in the early stages. On 57 minutes, Jonathan Nsangou forced Curd into a good save. The visitors started to see a lot of the ball at this stage and took the lead on 72 minutes with a fine finish from Omari Benjamin. It took that goal to kick Boreham Wood into life, and they were now able to seize control of the match.

Jay Bird had a good chance on 80 minutes but struck his effort against a Toffees defender. Zak Brunt was a nuisance for the Everton defence at this stage, but the Toffees youngsters defended like their lives depended on it. Just when it looked like Wood would come away empty-handed, they were awarded a penalty on 89 minutes when Tylor Golden was fouled in the penalty area. Brunt made no mistake from 12 yards to snatch a share of the points.

A peculiarity of the National League Cup is that when two teams draw in the group stage, the match goes to a penalty shootout, with the winning side receiving a bonus point. For the first time, Boreham Wood found themselves in this scenario.

Benjamin scored first for the visitors before Booty’s kick cannoned off the crossbar. Foster’s kick also crashed off the crossbar. Brunt scored the next penalty to level things up at 1-1. The next three penalties by Whitfield for Wood and Ceiran Loney and Luis Gardner all went in, so with the score now at 3-3, Charlie O’Connell’s penalty was saved by Pickford before Ezra Carrington won the shootout for Everton.

While Wood weren’t at their best, their unbeaten record this season continues, and Luke Garrard was able to give some minutes to some of his fringe players. With a couple of starting places up for grabs on Saturday against Solihull Moors, this could prove vital.

Boreham Wood: Curd, Clarke (Bainbridge 46), Golden, Bush (O’Connell 46), Kensdale, Marshall-Miranda, Booty, Richardson (Brunt 69), Cashman (White 61), Whitfield, Wilkinson (Bird 69)

Subs not used: Stapelberg

Man of the Match: Lewis Richardson

Written by Brett Lewis.