Boreham Wood suffered defeat at Meadow Park, as they lost 1-0 to Dover Athletic on Tuesday night.
The game was deadlocked at the break, but an early second half goal from Inih Effiong sealed the Woods’ fate.
Luke Garrard made four changes to the side that played AFC Fylde on Saturday with Justin Shaibu, David Stephens, Mark Ricketts and Sorba Thomas coming into the side.
Both teams started scrappy, with neither side able to control the game in the early stages, and that theme continued for much of the game.
Mid-way through the first half, Dover Athletic’s Jamie Allen found the ball at his feet and struck an effort on goal, forcing a good save from Ryan Huddart, but the move was eventually ruled offside.
Just moments later, Brentford loanee Shaibu found himself in on goal, thanks to a looping through ball from Danny Woodards. However, Josh Passley defended well and kept him wide of the goal, with Shaibu’s eventual strike skewed over the bar.
Bedsente Gomis lofted a dangerous ball into the box, but Ryan Huddart was out quickly to pluck the ball from the air and out of danger.
As the first half drifted to a close, Shaibu nicked the ball from Kevin Lokko deep into the Dover half and his run was promising, but under pressure, he hit it over the crossbar.
Dover also had a fantastic opportunity to break the deadlock before the halfway point, but Jamie Allen’s flashed effort was saved superbly by Huddart.
In the second half, Jai Reason appeared to have a fantastic opportunity after some poor Boreham Wood defending, but he could only hit the ball well wide of the goal, before being dragged back for offside.
The game eventually had a goal 56 minutes in, when Joshua Debayo ran down the left channel and squeezed a ball into Reason. His shot was parried out by Huddart, only to be bundled in by the Effiong.
A penalty shout did not interest the referee when Shaibu appeared to be pushed over in the box. This was shortly followed by a penalty call for Dover, after a late tackle on Gomis by Femi Ilesanmi, but the referee again waved play on.
Opportunities were few and far between for the remainder of the match, with The Wood failing to find a way past Dover stopper Mitch Walker.
The Wood: Huddart, Woodards (Ilesanmi 70’), Stephens, Champion, Ricketts, Fyfield, Shakes, Murtagh, Thomas Umerah (60’), Ugwu (Ash 86’), Shaibu
Subs Not Used: Smith, Parry
Dover Athletic: Walker, Passley, Brundle, Gomis (Nortey 79’), Debayo, Lokko, Lewis, Taylor (Jeffrey 66’), Reason, Effiong, Allen (Pavey 71’)
Goals:
Dover Athletic: Effiong (56)
Att: 407 (69 away)
