Blue Square Bet South
Boreham Wood 4 Farnborough 0
by John Mead
Wood returned to winning ways in some style exacting sweet revenge for the 4 – 0 reverse picked up at Cherrywood Road back in January.
The return of Sam Cox in midfield and Omer Riza in front of goal gave Wood a more solid look and both players provided immense performances. The midday kick off came with its demons as Wood have rarely fared well in such situations. It took Riza just six minutes to exorcise those demons and stamp his authority on the game.
Inih Effiong supplied a cross from the right that ‘keeper Craig Bradshaw looked favourite to smother. He had not reckoned on the lightning reactions of Riza however who nipped in to flick a sublime header beyond the custodian to open the scoring.
Effiong then troubled Bradshaw further, who had to be brave to smother the giant forward’s run.
Nic Ciardini had a decent effort on goal from the edge of the area saved by Elvijs Putnins, before an overhit back pass from Charlie O’Loughlin put his own ‘keeper under some pressure. Putnins could only clear straight to Daniel Bennett twenty five yards out who was thwarted by a remarkable sliding tackle from Cox as he looked to pull the trigger. A lightning break from Simeon Akinola and Effiong ended with a left sided Mark Jones cross dropping dangerously onto the roof of the net as Wood continued to control proceedings, especially in the middle of the park where Cox won tackle after tackle.
Effiong embarked upon another run shooting just wide as Farnborough found the Wood defence in commanding form at the other end. Often their final ball went wayward, but they threatened after a brave run by Adam Bygrave allowed Steve Laidler a rising drive that was just high.
Farnborough arrived on the afternoon scrapping for points with a possible five point deduction to be decided this Monday by the Football Association, yet failed to up their game after the interval.
A fine move involving Cox, David Hutton and Akinola played in Riza whose fierce drive was blocked by Bradshaw who hurt a hand in the process.
Akinola’s efforts were rewarded after sixty-three minutes when he doubled the lead. Cutting in from the right he briefly lost possession to a defender before drifting across a second challenge before coolly sending Bradshaw the wrong way from eight yards out.
Two minutes later and Effiong added a quick fire third. Having fallen just foul of the high line of defence with an alarming frequency, he timed his run to perfection. Hutton played him through on goal and he kept his nerve placing his shot wide of Bradshaw, the ball finding the back of the net via the right hand post.
Substitute Graeme Montgomery skipped past two half hearted challenges hitting a fierce drive that earned a corner. What happened next had been threatening all Season. Montgomery’s delivery from the left picked out O’Loughlin who finally found the back of the net with a fine header. He ran straight to the band of faithful Wood fans who had been ordering a joint celebration from him should he score. It was his first goal in thirty seven appearances and a great way to seal his contract for next Season.
Montgomery could have added a fifth in the final minute as Wood closed out what was a comfortable victory as they rose to eighth in the table.
Team: Putnins, Sankofa, Jones, Garrard, Beckles (Sub – Hunter 67 mins.), O’Loughlin, Hutton, Cox, Effiong (Sub – Montgomery 79 mins.), Riza (Sub – Bryant 67 mins.), Akinola.
Subs (Not used): Noto, Jordan.
Bookings: Jones.
Goals: Boreham Wood: Riza 6, Akinola 63, Effiong 65, O’Loughlin 85.
Man of the Match: Sam Cox.
