Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard has said that there were plenty of positives to take from the side’s 4-1 win over a Barnet XI in their final fixture of pre-season.
In a match that officially opened the club’s new 5G astro turf, the Wood blasted four past a Barnet XI, with Shaun Jeffers getting his first goals for the club.
Angelo Balanta and Keiran Murtagh also scored, and Garrard says that with the new season just under a week ago, this win will prove key.
“I felt that, especially in the second half, that it was a good performance,” the 31-year-old asserted. “I made a few changes, introduced a couple of fresh legs, and I felt that in the second half of the game we did dominate.
“In the first half they asked questions, and I think our decision making maybe wasn’t the best at times, but in the second half we improved and I will continue with that.”
Garrard rotated his eleven, with Ryan Johnson, Mark Ricketts, Bruno Andrade, Frank Keita, Bradley Sach and Shaun Jeffers all coming into the side.
Garrard expressed the importance of getting everybody fully fit ahead of the new campaign, and asserted his belief that his squad are now at that point.
He continued: “I am trying to get everyone to about 400, 450 minutes, I think that I have now gotten that into about 85% of the squad, which was my main aim with this evening’s game.”
PASE academy graduates Bradley Sach and Frank Keita were among those selected for starts against Barnet, and the Wood manager says that he was impressed with what he saw from the youngsters.
“I felt that Bradley Sach lead the line well and looked good alongside Shaun Jeffers,” Garrard declared.
“Frank Keita, especially in the first 15, 20 minutes, looked accomplished and handled the ball really well, he is used to being on 3G, so that was shown this evening.”
A Shaun Jeffers brace got both the striker and the Wood off the mark and Garrard said that it was important for all of his strikers to break their duct.
“I think that as a striker you need to get off the mark, he’s been unlucky, he’s had a few chances and a few goals disallowed, his goal against Wingate should probably have stood.
“But tonight, his first goal was superb, his first touch opened up the whole goal. I am happy for Shaun, he needed to get off the mark and that will please him.”
The Wood now have just a few days until they make the trip up to AFC Fylde, and the gaffer said that this time will be spent ironing out any last minute details.
“We have got to dissect what AFC Fylde are going to do, we have had the lads watch two of their games now; Morecambe and Curzon Ashton; so, it is very much about what they have to offer, what are their strengths and weaknesses.
“But ultimately, we will be going there thinking about us, thinking about how we can get on the ball and how we can be on the front foot, playing with tempo and energy.
“Thursday and Friday will very much be about organisation and nailing down the finer details, so it is going to be very much getting into the lads and showing them that they need to be focused come Saturday.”
