Brave Northwood undeservedly came out second best as they shared five goals with promotion-chasing Beaconsfield Town after playing the whole of the second half with ten men following the controversial dismissal of Joe Russell.

Woods welcomed back striker Jermaine Osei and Meshach Williams while there was a return for Isaac Olurunfemi at right-back in place of the departed Andrew  Camilo-Tayaca. Sam Oyeniran and Harry Newman reverted to the subs bench and there was rare start for Nebay Haile on the left flank while Femi Azeez was missing from the midweek defeat at Aylesbury United.

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Proceedings got off to the worst possible start for Northwood as they fell behind as early as the second minute when Alex Cathline was on hand to convert the loose ball after goalkeeper Xavi Comas had saved Tony Mendy’s initial effort.

Woods  were unfazed by the early setback and they deservedly drew level on 13 minutes as an Evans Kouassi corner found the unmarked Osei, who executed a smart finish beyond former Northwood ‘keeper Brendan Hazlett. Northwood continued to ask questions of their high-flying opponents with Haile and Keir Dickson combining well on the left flank to produce a number of promising openings, the former seeing a header brush the base of the upright while Osei threatened again with a couple of shots.

There was a hint of things to come as the referee issued soft cautions to a couple of Beaconsfield players including Tony Mendy for a slight tug of a red shirt. And Mendy was looking increasingly threatening as his attempted lob over Comas bounced narrowly wide before the Woods’ keeper produced a smart save to keep out the Rams’ striker’s low shot.

Chances were being created at both ends, with Kouassi the next to go close with a run and shot which narrowly cleared the Beaconsfield bar, Mendy having a couple more shots charged down and Wilson Chingoka trying his luck with a long range effort that was gathered by Hazlett.

But it was Northwood who deservedly took the lead on 36 minutes with a swift counter-attack which was expertly finished by Osei with his second goal of the afternoon.

Moments later the referee made what would turn out to be a significant contribution to the eventual outcome of the contest as he issued a yellow card to Russell for what the over-fussy official indicated was another tug on an opposition shirt.

Northwood had a great chance to extend their lead a minute before the break as Kouassi broke quickly into Beaconsfield territory but he chose to go it alone rather than play in Osei who would have been one-on one with Hazlett. And with the referee somehow managing to find nearly three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half and Northwood struggling to clear their lines there was time for Russell to produce a poor challenge on Nathan Webb which warranted a second yellow card and the hosts were reduced to ten men.

Beaconsfield were immediately on the attack after the restart as they looked to make their numerical advantage count and Comas had to produce two fine saves to deny Wes Daly and Bajram Pashaj. However, Comas was helpless to prevent  headed strikes from Former Northwood player Reece Yorke and Mendy on 51 and 52 minutes respectively to restore the Rams’ lead and seemingly set them on a path to another victory.

However, Woods weren’t ready to simply roll over as they stood up to the inevitable onslaught with Comas twice denying substitute Lee Barney. And Northwood reminded the visitors that they were still in a contest as Osei fired over before drawing another save out of Hazlett.

Newman and Paolo Montella were introduced for Haile and Kouassi with Woods still very much in the contest as they continued to make light of their numerical disadvantage with Williams forcing Hazlett into a full-length save. Northwood continued to dig deep as Comas and his defenders  denied substitutes  Aaron Minhas and Kezie Ibe while Pashaj was foiled once again.

But despite their efforts, Northwood were ultimately left unrewarded with no further additions to the scoreline. However, there were plenty of positives for Northwood and Acting Manager Gordon Boateng to take from the contest.