The Woods strolled into the next round of the Red Insure Cup with this comfortable victory over league leaders Chalfont St. Peter. With the two sides due to meet again in a League game in just ten days’ time, the Saints opted to leave out star striker Tony Mendy and rest the trio of skipper Alan Hedley, defender Jack Mullan and full-back Remmel Clarke to the bench. With James Burgess and Jon Munday both suspended, Mark Burgess gave a debut to young Barnet defender Charlie Kennedy who has joined the club on a month’s loan from the Football League side where he has been a regular in their development side.

After Chalfont had recorded the first effort on goal after 8 minutes with Tyrone Pink latching onto an Alex Paine cross and seeing a low strike comfortable saved by Berkley Laurencin in the Northwood goal, the Woods settled at a high tempo and were quickly in charge. Niko Muir fired a shot just wide after good work from Max Holland and then on 13 minutes the Woods wide man got the better of his marker to knock in another good cross. Muir laid it off to Michael Murray who powered a shot into the top corner to give goalkeeper Michael Power-Simpson no chance.

Three minutes later Murray returned the favour when knocking a good ball inside to Muir whose shot beat the keeper despite him getting his hands to it and the Woods were suddenly two goals ahead. The Saints hadn’t got a look in at this stage but on 23 minutes they were back in the game as a good cross from the left saw Paine outjump George Nicholas to head home from just six yards.

There was no sign of Northwood looking to defend the now narrow advantage and on the half-hour, after Mark Burgess saw his header blocked, Louis Stead went close to extending the lead with a low, curling shot that looked destined for the bottom corner until Power-Simpson dived across to push it wide of the post. Burgess got his head to a deep Joakim Ehui cross soon after but he headed over from a tight angle, and then play switched to the other end where Adam Louth tried a sharp snapshot that Laurencin saved well.

Chalfont were gradually getting more into the game and a corner dropped to Mark Jamison who saw his well-struck effort blocked by the Woods keeper. With half-time approaching former Northwood striker Aaron Lansiquot hit a powerful shot that was always going wide and then Kofi Lockhart-Adams got the better of Burgess and shot across goal but inches wide of the far post.

It was all set up for a hard-fought second half but Northwood had other ideas and quickly took control. Muir and Andy Lomas both had early efforts which failed to trouble the keeper but on 51 minutes Nicholas produced a fine ball to put Stead in down the right. His run and cut back found Muir on the edge of the box and although his shot was saved by the keeper, he followed up to drill the rebound into the roof of the net.

Bayley Brown was then introduced for Murray and on 64 minutes the young midfielder netted his first goal for the club when Ehui did well to battle past Louth and knock in a centre which Brown forced home from a few yards. Now comfortably in front, a deep cross come shot from Louth dipped and forced Laurencin into tipping the ball around the far post and Louth also got a flicked header to the resulting corner but it was always flying high and wide.

The Saints continued to rally, with Laurencin keeping out a Jamison header but the Woods should have been further ahead with ten minutes to go as Power-Simpson dropped a simple ball and Nicholas was first to the loose ball as he hit a shot on the turn which crashed back off the post. It ran to Brown who had a chance of a second but his effort was cleared off the line by Paine.

Chalfont substitutes Lewis Ochoa and Remmel Clarke both tested the Woods keeper with shots on target in the closing stages but without looking likely to beat him and Northwood then added a stoppage-time fifth goal and Kennedy got on the end of a Stead cross with a header that beat Power-Simpson to cap a solid debut.