Archie Tamplin (87)
Zak Brunt (32), Lewis Richardson (34)
Boreham Wood continued their unbeaten pre-season campaign with a deserved 2-1 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge at the Chigwell Construction Stadium. First-half goals from Zak Brunt and Lewis Richardson gave Luke Garrard’s side the lead before Archie Tamplin pulled one back late on for the hosts, although it proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
Wood started brightly and looked threatening from the opening whistle. On five minutes, Tarryn Allarakhia and Brunt combined well down the right before the move was snuffed out by Harrack. Three minutes later, the hosts appealed for a foul on Andy Carroll inside the Wood half, but the referee was unmoved. The Daggers created their first opportunity on 10 minutes when captain Harry Beautyman tested Luca Gunter with a low strike, but the shot stopper gathered comfortably. Wood then responded well and almost broke the deadlock on 15 minutes. Regan Booty threaded an excellent pass into the path of Oliver Bainbridge, who reached the byline before seeing his attempted cross cannon into the side netting.
Zak Brunt continued to cause problems, and, on 19 minutes, his dangerous, low cross had to be cleared by the Daggers’ defence. Six minutes later, Bainbridge’s cross created a scramble inside the Dagenham penalty area before the hosts eventually hacked the ball away. Chris Bush then attempted to release Matt Rush with a superb through ball on the half-hour mark, but former Wood goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore raced from his line to gather. Wood’s pressure finally paid off on 32 minutes. Lewis Richardson drove to the byline before pulling a low cross back to Brunt, whose first-time effort took a slight deflection off a defender before beating Ashmore and finding the back of the net.
Only two minutes later, Wood doubled their advantage with an excellent move. Rush showed great awareness to lift a pass into Richardson’s path and the forward produced a superb first-time volley beyond Ashmore to cap an outstanding first-half display. Wood nearly added a third before the break when Rush won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. The initial set-piece was eventually cleared, but only as far as Booty, whose powerful effort from distance drifted narrowly wide.
Charlie O’Connell replaced Tom White at the interval as Luke Garrard made his first change of the evening. The hosts came out with renewed purpose, but Wood defended resolutely. On 49 minutes, Callum Reynolds and Chris Bush combined brilliantly to deny Carroll as the former England international looked to burst through on goal. Four minutes later, Carroll’s header was comfortably claimed by Gunter before Richardson saw strong appeals for a penalty waved away on 54 minutes.
Gunter was called into action again on 58 minutes, calmly collecting before Beautyman could latch onto Carroll’s delivery into the six-yard box. Luke Garrard freshened things up on 62 minutes with a host of substitutions, introducing Abdul Abdulmalik, Luke Norris, Marley Marshall-Miranda and Erico Kensdale. Abdulmalik almost made an immediate impact and, on 71 minutes, danced his way through the Dagenham defence before being brought down, only for another Wood penalty appeal to be dismissed.
The Daggers searched for a way back into the contest, but Rodari was caught offside on 77 minutes before Marshall-Miranda produced an important clearance from a crowded penalty area a minute later. Wood thought they had wrapped up the victory on 82 minutes when Tylor Golden brilliantly lobbed Ashmore, but the referee ruled the goal out for a foul in the build-up. Rodari fired narrowly wide on 86 minutes before Dagenham finally reduced the deficit a minute later through Archie Tamplin. The hosts pushed for an equaliser, but Tamplin’s stoppage-time effort flew over the crossbar before the referee brought proceedings to a close.
It was another encouraging performance from Luke Garrard’s side, who looked organised defensively and clinical in attack. With the National League season fast approaching, Wood continue to build momentum with every pre-season outing.
Boreham Wood: Gunter, Bainbridge, White (O’Connell 46), Bush (Kensdale 62), Richardson (Abdulmalik 62), Brunt (Marshall-Miranda 62), Allarakhia, Reynolds, Golden, Booty, Rush (Norris 62).
Subs not used: Clarke, Abdulmalik, Norris, Kensdale.
Man of the Match: Regan Booty.
