Match Report
by Robin Piper
The visit of the Premiership new boys attracted a bumper crowd to Chestnut Avenue on a balmy July evening. Featuring a mixture of youth, reserve and first team players, the Hornets line up presented a useful test for new look Northwood.
But it was a familiar face that opened the scoring for Woods after 3 minutes, Peter Dean beating keeper Richard Lee with an unerring finish after ex-Hornet Kyle Matthews’ defence splitting pass.
Injury forced Matthews off midway through the half, to be replaced by new boy Leon Callender and moments later Watford equalised through Albert Jarrett, who applied the close range finish on 23 mins.
Watford began to get on top and it was no surprise when Hungarian international Tomasz Priskin put the Hornets ahead in the 34th minute after a swift move. And it was Priskin who threatened once more before the break, Liam Watson pulling off a smart save to deny him a second.
Northwood began the second half in a positive vein, Rob Courtnage seeing his corner cleared off the line, whilst Dean Clark’s free-kick was deflected wide. Woods made a couple of changes with half an hour left on the clock, James Shipperley and Steve Walters making way for Adam Gill and Dave Nolan.
However, it was Watford who found the net once more, replacement keeper Rob Bullivant palming Dominic Blizzard’s header onto the post, before the latter forced the rebound home to extend the Hornets lead on 61 minutes.
Northwood stuck to their guns and continued to put some useful moves together, Clark heading wide before the Woods skipper saw his shot saved after a quickly taken Courtnage free-kick.
The Woods introduced young Elliott Buchanan and James Hamsher for Lee Tunnell and Dean Powles, whilst Jason O’Connor and Jack Lisi replaced Courtnage and Dean respectively. But Northwood were unable to add to the scoring in what proved to be a useful workout as manager Colin Payne prepares his troops for the new season.
Photos by James Brown
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