MATCH REPORTS 2005-06

Southern League Premier Division 

Northwood 2  Banbury United 1

 Report by Alan Evans

The Woods battle for survival will go right down to the wire after Saturday's game against Banbury United saw the side roar back to notch a vital victory.

Colin Payne was glad to see Danny Julienne back from injury after missing the shambles at Aylesbury, while Rob Courtnage also returned at left-back in place of youth teamer Daniel Hawes. Hawes would have continued having impressed in midweek but was pressed into playing cricket for his School, so became unavailable. It was an otherwise unchanged line-up so the management team were clearly hoping for a return to the previous Saturday's form rather than the performance from the Bank Holiday Monday.

And the lads were fired up from the off with an intricate move putting Gavin Hart through on goal in only the second minute. The long-serving wide man had been in good scoring form of late, but this time he scooped the ball over the 'keeper but also inches over the crossbar. Shayne Demetrious got forward a couple of times to threaten and then Dean Clark saw an effort charged down after ten minutes but gradually the visitors managed to get a foothold.

As when the Woods won at Banbury last October, our opponents' main threat was that posed by former Wycombe striker Andy Baird, and he kept the central defensive pairing of Dave Nolan and Fergus Moore busy throughout. But the Puritans had not actually created anything until they took the lead ten minutes before the break with a scrappy goal, Ollie Stanbridge taking advantage of defensive errors to lash the ball in from six yards.

Young midfielder Sam Hatton broke from midfield to shoot just wide soon after but it could have been curtains for Northwood on 40 minutes as Baird broke through on goal. He hit his shot well enough but Rob Bullivant had spread himself well and just kept it out with a fine diving save.

The second-half started with Hart enjoying a great run from the halfway line, which saw him chip the ball up inside the box where veteran 39-year-old former Oxford United full-back Les Robinson appeared to control the ball with his arm. Penalty appeals were waved away by referee Stuart Burt, who had such a good game overall that you have to wonder whether he was right with that decision as well.

Then Bullivant kept the Woods in the game once more. It was deja-vu as Baird burst through past Courtnage to cut in from his right but again the Woods 'keeper was equal to his shot on goal.

Changes were needed to boost Northwood's hopes and Payne turned to 16-year-old Elliott Buchanan to replace the flagging Courtnage. Soon after, Jason O'Connor came on to give a different look to the defence with Demetrious making way, Hatton moving to right-back and Julienne into the centre. It was all change and it had the desired effect, too.

After 72 minutes Dean Clark swung in a free-kick and it was Fergus Moore who headed low past 'keeper Alan Foster and a defender on the line. The Woods were level and the experienced defender could celebrate his first League goal for the club.

Just four minutes later Clark burst through the centre and into the box. He shimmied past Foster in goal only to be tugged back and the referee pointed to the spot. It was Clark who stepped up for the all-important kick and he fired past Foster to put the Woods in front with his sixteenth goal of the season. The goal certainly silenced the large following of otherwise jovial Banbury fans who had been taunting the Woods about imminent relegation only a few minutes earlier.

The Puritans had little response, and it was Clark who went closest to adding to the scoreline. Hart, now plying his trade on the right, made another jinking run, chipped over to the far post and Clark hit a first-time volley which Foster did well to touch onto the post and wide.

After five fraught minutes of added time, the final whistle left the Woods celebrating as news reached us of Hendon's defeat at home to ten-man AFC Wimbledon. There was still plenty of work to do but it meant that Premier Division survival was now back in their own hands. 

The Woods had also completed their first-ever Southern League "double" having also won 1-0 at Banbury back on October 29th. Now they have broken that duck, they need to make it a second when they travel to Cirencester Town next Saturday and follow-up the 3-0 win that the Woods enjoyed back on January 7th – also the last game when Northwood managed to keep a clean sheet some twenty matches ago.