An early goal from the Wood earned them a superb 1-0 victory over league leaders Leyton Orient on Saturday, at Meadow Park.
Femi Ilesanmi was the deciding factor in the game, when his powerful shot proved too much for Orient ‘keeper Dean Brill in just the fourth minute.
Luke Garrard made a couple of changes to the team, following some impressive performances in the Herts Senior Cup on Monday.
Bradley Ash and Sorba Thomas both came into the side, as Garrard lined up in slightly altered formation.
Boreham Wood started the quicker of the two sides, and their early dominance was rewarded when Keiran Murtagh’s lovely backheel to Ilesanmi, set him up perfectly to score with an emphatic finish.
The pressure continued from The Wood throughout the early stages of the first half. Ricky Shakes darted down the right channel and cut it back to Murtagh, who forced a low save from Brill.
The majority of Orient’s opportunities throughout the game came from outside of the box and Jobi McAnuff started the trend, when his shot from distance just cleared the bar.
The game soon settled down and The Wood were able to keep Orient’s chances to a minimum. Dale Gorman saw two efforts from distance go begging, one forced a low save from Ryan Huddart and the other sailed just wide of the post.
In the second half, The Wood continued to keep Leyton Orient at bay whilst creating chances of their own.
Murtagh was brought down on the edge of the box, which earned him a free-kick. The midfielder whipped it into the box and it met the head of Gozie Ugwu, who had climbed above his marker, but he could only nod it over the crossbar.
Shortly after the hour mark, Orient’s Josh Coulson found himself free at the back post, but his header was saved brilliantly by Huddart, who was vital throughout the game.
With the clock ticking down, the O’s started to ask some questions of The Woods’ defence, and a shot from McAnuff on the edge of the area, went just centimetres wide of the post.
Late on in the second half, Josh Koroma forced an incredible close-range stop from Huddart, who only prevented a goal with the end of his boot.
With five minutes added on, Boreham Wood professionally managed the end of the game to ensure that they held onto a vital and impressive three points.
The Wood: Huddart, Ilesanmi, Ricketts, Stephens, Shakes, Champion, Murtagh, Ash, Fyfield, Thomas, Ugwu (Shaibu 89’)
Subs not used: Burbidge, Parry, Smith, Ndiaye
Leyton Orient: Brill, Ling (Alabi 61’), Widdowson, Coulson, McAnuff, Clay, Bonne, Dayton (Brophy 27’), Gorman (Lawless 72’), Koroma, Ekpiteta
Subs not used: Sergeant, Happe
Goals:
The Wood: Ilesanmi 4′
