Weary Wood Make The Final.
Hertfordshire F A Senior Cup Semi Final.
Hitchin Town 0 Boreham Wood 1,
by John Mead.
A dogged performance from a leg weary Wood made it four wins in eight days, securing a berth in this years Final of the County Cup.
With a plethora of first team members unavailable through injury or work commitments it was a commendable effort on the night. Wood started slowly and struggled to make an impact on the game until Lee Angol grabbed the eventual winner after 24 minutes against the run of play.
Greg Morgan for the third time in eight days provided a delivery that bore fruit. His free kick from the left was met by the Town defence but they failed to clear the second ball which fell for Angol whose shot went in off the left hand post.
He almost added a second from the restart, but opted to cross when through on goal.
The goal completely changed the complexion of the game with Wood slowly gaining the upper hand.
A rare mistake from Callum Reynolds allowed Simon Martin through on goal after 40 minutes. He spurned his sides best chance of the game skewing his shot wide of the target.
After the interval a dipping drive from Charlie Smith was not far away for the home side, who were restricted to long range efforts by a hard working Wood defence. Cameron Mawer , who had spent the day training on a coaching course and arrived just fifteen minutes before the kick off turned in a fine shift filling in at right back and could hardly walk by the time the game ended.
Junior Morias never stopped running in front of goal all night and looked to have won a penalty when he went down under the challenge of Alasan Ann. However referee Mr Mellor decided to consult with his assistant who had not flagged to overrule the decision initially, before ordering a drop ball to continue the game.
Wood looked good value for their win but had to survive a few scares. Substitute Gary Wharton got a shot away from a corner that James Russell spilled , leading to another corner from which Smith saw his shot blocked on the line.
Callum Donnelly hit a decent free kick destined for the top right hand corner but Russell was on hand to palm the effort to safety.
Wood looked dangerous on the break, with Graeme Montgomery curling an effort just wide after a good run by Loick Pires. Mawer hit the side netting, before Morias beat the outrushing keeper Tahj Bell to the ball but could not find the angle to put the tie out of reach. The Town defence put bodies in the way of shots on numerous occasions but lacked a cutting edge going forward to support the rearguard’s efforts.
The last thing Wood needed was extra time, but the little bit of extra quality they showed since scoring carried them through to the Final.
Speaking after the game Wood Boss Ian Allinson praised his side. “ Full credit to the players tonight. We were a patched up side and playing and winning four games in eight days is no mean feat. Cameron Mawer has come in at the last minute and done an excellent job again for us. Up front Junior never stopped running, whilst I have just watched Josh Hill play three games for me in five days after having rarely started a game all season. We are pushing players to the limit and they are responding. We will patch ourselves up now for our next game at Dover in less then 48 hours time.”
Team: Russell, Mawer, Morgan, Noto, Hill, Reynolds, Pires, Whichelow ( Shakes 77), Morias, Angol, Montgomery.
Subs not used: Brown, Vasey, Holland, Courtnage.
Bookings: Pires, Noto, Morias.
Goals: Boreham Wood: Angol 24.
Man Of The Match: Junior Morias.
