Report by ALAN EVANS

Northwood looked to bounce back from their midweek defeat at North Greenford as Burnham arrived at the Skyline sitting in second place in the Premier North table. Manager Manny Williams was forced to ring the changes once again with several players missing through injury and unavailability. There were five new names on the team sheet, four of them making debuts as starters in another reshuffled side which also saw Mustafa Tiryaki back in defence alongside youngster Lewis Buamah.

There was a slow start to the game with the Woods restricted to one blocked effort from Reon Smith-Kouassi which was followed by debutant Khalil Francis firing over from the loose ball.

Burnham had more possession and after 11 minutes, former Woods striker Jordan Brown broke into the box but was denied by a superb tackle from Kieron Lake-Bryan. Then, midway through the half, Brown had another chance with a shot blocked by Buamah and then the follow-up was saved by Kacper Orlowski. The Blues continued to dominate and Brown knocked a cross wide of the post when it looked easier to score and further efforts, mainly from distance were also blocked or lacked the power to severely test Orlo
wski.

It was almost half-time when Kayne Connor slipped a ball through to Reon Smith-Kouassi who battled past his marker but then hit his shot into the side-netting and the scores remained goalless at half-time.

There was one change at half-time, as Amara Fofana replaced Francis who had picked up a knock but still Burnham looked the more likely to threaten a goal, dominating the midfield through Rafael Bertoli and finding space down the right flank. It almost paid off in the 57th minute when the Blues won a corner and then Kieron Marshall showed a good touch before seeing his shot saved by Orlowski at his near-post.

The opening goal followed just five minutes later. Another ball worked down the right found Jabir Laraba, just on as a substitute and he played a simple ball across to the unmarked Bertoli who fired home. It got worse for the Woods six minutes later when a short back-pass saw Brown and Orlowski meet for a 50/50 challenge that the striker took full advantage of as the ball rebounded kindly for him to knock a second goal into an empty net.

There was a welcome sight when Freddie Greenstreet returned to the side as substitute for debutant Tolu James after 69 minutes having recovered from injury issues but it could have been three on 72 minutes when Orlowski dived to save another breakaway striker and despite seeming to push the ball away before the attacker fell over him, the Referee pointed to the spot. The Woods ‘keeper made amends though as he dived to his left and pushed Laraba’s penalty wide of the post.

If Northwood were going to get anything out of the game, they had to reduce the arrears quickly and they managed to do that just two minutes later as a ball pumped to the edge of the box was flicked on by the head of Tiryaki and flew over the keeper and into the empty net.

Luca Lombardi brought fresh legs in place of Pierce McNamara on 77 minutes as the Woods looked to push for an equaliser but the Blues looked to defend in numbers and they were unable to create much. Brandon Trujillo had one effort blocked but the goalkeeper wasn’t tested and it was Burnham who went closest to adding to the scoreline when the impressive Bertoli started a move that sent Laraba into the box. He returned the ball back to the onrushing Bertoli but his effort skimmed the crossbar.

The Blues held on to record all three points and strengthen their spot close to the top of the table while the Woods will look to a couple of midweek training sessions to improve their chances of grabbing points from the Bank Holiday double home fixtures on Saturday and Monday.