Boreham Wood v Millwall
Saturday 9th January 2021, 12.00pm
Meadow Park, Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round
THE CONTEXT
History beckons for Boreham Wood as we take our place in the 3rd Round of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time in our history when we take on Championship side Millwall at Meadow Park tomorrow afternoon, kick off 12.00pm.
After a two-week isolation period, Millwall hosted Coventry City last Saturday at The Den but were defeated 2-1 after two early goals from the Sky Blues was enough to seal the victory.
After three weeks without a game, Wood emphatically beat rivals Barnet on Saturday at the Hive thanks to a first half onslaught as we went into the break three goals to the good.
THE FORM GUIDE
THE WOOD
Previous six games (in all competitions): –
Barnet (A) | VNL | 0-3 W
Aldershot Town (H) | VNL | 3-2 W
Notts County (A) | VNL | 0-1 W
Hartlepool (A) | VNL | 1-2 W
Canvey Island (A) | FAC | 0-3 W
Altrincham (H) | VNL | 0-1 L
Although Wood were without a game for three weeks due to COVID issues with opposing sides, the lengthy break certainly did not show on Saturday when we comfortably dispatched of an out of form Barnet side 3-0 at The Hive.
Wood’s top scorer, Kabongo Tshimanga, opened the scoring after Matt Rhead won his aerial battle and nodded down well to find the run of Tshimanga who slotted home past Loach.
Just ten minutes later, Leyton Orient loanee Myles Judd was sent off in his first Bee’s appearance for a cynical hand ball which was evidently going in past Scott Loach, a penalty was awarded and Tshimanga had no trouble doubling the lead from the spot.
Tom Champion was then on the scoresheet against his former side with a spectacular effort from just inside the penalty area to make it three goals to nil just before the break. In truth, if it wasn’t for the heroic goalkeeping exploits of Scott Loach in the Barnet goal then Wood’s advantage at half time could have been more.
The second half was dominated from Wood on all fronts, with the Bees having very little possession, but it was a number of last ditch blocks from Bee’s defenders kept the scoreline at 3-0, namely Moshni denying Murtagh and Loach deny Whitely acrobatic overhead kick attempt.
This victory now means that Wood enter Saturday’s cup tie five games unbeaten in all competitions. Additionally, another clean sheet for Luke Garrard’s side also means that Wood have the best defensive record in the National League, conceding the least number of goals (10) in 13 League appearances to date.
THE LIONS
Previous six games (in all competitions): –
Coventry City (H) | CHAMP | 1-2 L
Nottingham Forest (H) | CHAMP | 1-1 D
Bristol City (A) | CHAMP | 0-2 W
Middlesbrough (A) | CHAMP | 3-0 L
QPR (H) | CHAMP | 1-1 D
Derby County (H) | CHAMP | 0-1 L
Millwall come into this fixture having won just one game out of their previous 13 competitive fixtures, a run stretching back over two months when they defeated Preston North End 2-0 in late October.
Experienced defender Murray Wallace will miss Saturday’s cup tie after he received a red card in stoppage time in the Lions recent fixture against Coventry City.
The Lions have struggled for goals so far this season, they have scored the sixth least (18) in the Championship so far. However, they have been solid on defensive duties as only four sides have conceded less goals than them in the league (20).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
“THE DESTROYER”
JAKE COOPER
Jake Cooper came through the youth ranks with Reading and signed his first professional deal in 2013 at the Madejski Stadium.
The central defender featured 42 times for the Royals before joining Millwall on loan in 2017, he impressed during that season and helped the Lions reach the League One Play off final.
The deal was made permanent the following season and has since made 162 appearances for the Lions, scoring 16 goals over that time.
“THE PLAYMAKER”
JED WALACE
Wallace started his senior career with Portsmouth after spending time in their academy and made his first team debut in the 2012/13 campaign.
During his time with Pompey, Wallace went on loan to Farnborough and Whitehawk in search for regular game time. He did particularly well with the Hawks scoring eight goals in 11 appearances.
The tricky Winger finished the 2014/15 campaign as top scorer at Pompey with 17 goals, earning himself the Player of the Season award at Fratton Park. It was this form that saw Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers come calling, and Wallace joined the Midlands club on a three-year deal in the summer of 2015 for an undisclosed fee.
However things never quite worked out at Molineux for Wallace, making just 18 appearances during his time there. After a series of successful loan spells with Millwall, which saw him make 35 appearances for the Lions over two separate loan spells at the Den in 2015/16 and 2016/17, Milwall and Wallace made the deal permanent signing for another undisclosed fee in June 2017.
Since signing permanently at the Den, Wallace has now accumulated 196 total appearances for the Lions, scoring 31 times. Jed has become an established and admired player at Championship level and a firm fans favourite amongst the Lion’s faithful.
“THE FINISHER
MASON BENNETT
Mason Bennett came through the youth academy at Derby County and despite attraction from Premier League giants such as Manchester United and Liverpool, he signed his first professional deal with The Rams in 2011 despite making made his senior appearance with the Pride Park outfit at just 15 years old.
Despite Bennett’s huge promise at an early age, including representing England at Under 16, 17 and 19 levels, he never cemented down a permanent place at Pride Park and was limited to just 89 total appearances in 9 seasons with the Rams.
Bennett’s time at senior level with Derby was littered with host of loan spells, namely with; Chesterfield, Bradford City, Burton Albion and Notts County, making just 37 appearances during those various loan spells.
A final loan spell at Millwall resulted in the Lion’s being persuaded to sign the striker on a permanent basis during the summer of 2020 for an undisclosed fee.
PRE-MATCH WORDS
STAY HOME, STAY SAFE
LIVE BT SPORT COVERAGE
Unfortunately, no fans will be allowed to attend this fixture, however, you can watch the game live on BT Sport Digital Channels with live coverage starting at 11:15.
RADIO
You can also keep up to date with the match via BBC 5Live Radio who will be providing full match coverage of tomorrow’s fixture.
LIVE UPDATES
Alternatively, you can keep up with the action via our Twitter and Instagram pages, where there will be regular updates throughout the course of the match.
Instagram: @boreham_woodfc
Twitter: @boreham_woodfc
OUR CLUB. OUR TOWN. OUR COMMUNITY.
Match Preview written by Joe Karadzas (Press Assistant)
