The Wood begin their pre-season campaign this Friday, July 6 (7.30pm), when we welcome the Brentford first team to Meadow Park. Here’s our preview…
Match Details
Entrance fees for the game are as follows: Adults £15; OAPS £12, under 16’s £6 and under 5’s are free.
The match will not be segregated, and the nearest public car park is stationed in Brook Road and adjacent to stadium.
Team News
The Wood returned to pre-season training in fine form last Thursday and will all be fit to face Brentford.
Luke Garrard has a number of new faces to choose from, with Brad Ash, Manny Parry, Femi Ilesanmi and Jamal Fyfield all recruited so far this summer.
All are available for selection and will be hoping to get some much-needed minutes under their belts.
Form Guide
The Wood finished their National League season at Wembley Stadium, narrowly loosing 2-1 to Tranmere Rovers in the Promotion Final.
The defeat will have left Garrard and his side with a desire to make amends in the 2018/19 campaign and they will hope to get their pre-season off to a winning start.
Fresh from agreeing to remain at Boreham Wood – despite Football League interest – Morgan Ferrier will hope to pick up where he left off last campaign.
However, the forward will be joined by a new strike partner this season, having seen Bruno Andrade depart to Lincoln City. New signing Ash, or the returning Shaun Jeffers will be vying for this spot on Friday.
Managed by 47-year-old Dean Smith, Brentford finished in ninth place in the Championship last season.
The Bees will also be looking to kick off their pre-season with a bang, as they continue their year-on-year progress in England’s second tier.
The likes of Ollie Watkins, Josh McEachran, Ryan Woods and David Bentley could all feature on Friday, and were amongst the division’s top performances last season.
One to Watch – Ollie Watkins
The 22-year-old was signed from Exeter City in the summer of 2017, following a fantastic campaign in League Two.
The exciting forward can play anywhere along the frontline and was one of the Championship’s brightest players last season.
Watkins netted 21 times, with Brentford narrowly missing out on a spot in the play-offs.
On his style of play, Watkins said: “I try to base my game on his (Thierry Henry), by driving at defenders and looking to make something happen when I get the ball”
From the Dugout – Luke Garrard
“The big thing for me is that Brentford are going to come here and dominate the ball and they are going to utilize the pitch that we have. For me, it is about out of shape, out of possession, organisation and set-pieces, but mainly fitness.
“I look at the pre-seasons that I have been involved in, in my last six years at this football club, as a player, as an assistant, and as a manager and we always have an illustrious pre-season.
“This year we have got the likes of Brentford, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon, so we will be tested.
“I don’t think you can mirror that on a training pitch, as much as we try and get the stats up to where they would be for a 90-minute match.
“To play football matches, against teams that are dominating the ball, who drag you about the pitch, you can’t replicate that.
“Just watching them, they are frightening, they play some superb football, Dean has got them playing some unreal football and that is just what I have watched from last season.
“I am very pleased that we can host them, but we have got our own agenda and we understand what pre-season is about.
“We are not going to be playing pre-season football, we are going to be playing National League Football, because I want them focused from the off.”
