Northwood 0 Ashford Town (Mx) 3
Saturday 27th November 2021
| NORTHWOOD | |||
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| 1 | Daniel Purdue | ||
| 2 | Pablo Velasco (58m) | ||
| 3 | Andy Lomas | ||
| 4 | Keagan Cole © | ||
| 5 | Matt Surmon | ||
| 6 | James Gurteen | ||
| 7 | Ryan Young | ||
| 8 | Teddy Stacey | ||
| 9 | Sydney Ibie (73m) | ||
| 10 | Micah Jackson (81m) | ||
| 11 | Carl Stewart | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Matteo Esposito | ||
| 14 | Joakim Ehui (81m) | ||
| 15 | Aaron Petch | ||
| 16 | Yiannis Constantinou (73m) | ||
| 17 | Lewis Batten (58m) | ||
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Woods were brought down to earth with a bump in the new management team’s first home outing as they slumped to defeat at the hands of Middlesex rivals Ashford Town.
Hopes were high for new-look Northwood as they looked to build on last week’s impressive win at Chipstead, but they had to make do without the services of experienced central defender Tommy Boxer 
who was serving a suspension for his previous week’s sending off; Matt Surmon moving into central defence with Pablo Velasco coming in at right-back.
The contest began at a furious pace with chances at both ends, Daniel Purdue pulling of a smart reflex save to deny Ashford’s Aaron McLeish while Sydney Ibie saw his shot, following a strong run into the box, kept out by visiting keeper Paul McCarthy.
Woods maintained their confident start as Surmon tried his luck from long range before a Keagan Cole free kick was headed over by James Gurteen. However, it was the Ash Trees who took the lead on 13 minutes after Northwood were caught out by a long ball into their box with McLeish nipping in to slot the ball beyond the advancing Purdue.
Woods looked to respond, and they weren’t far away as they created a useful opening as Andy Lomas pulled the ball back into the danger area, but Teddy Stacey’s shot flew the wrong side of the upright.
But Northwood found themselves with a mountain to climb as they fell further behind on 25 minutes as Connor Cullen, who made a couple of appearances for Woods earlier in the season, was given far too much freedom on the edge of the before box picking his spot with a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Woods were given a wonderful opportunity to reduce the arears before half time as another strong run into the visitor’s box from Ibie saw him upended, Mc Carthy keeping the striker’s penalty attempt with Ryan Young off target with the follow up. And Northwood finished the half with another effort on goal as Micah Jackson’s corner was only half cleared to Carl Stewart who fired in a low shot which was dealt with by McCarthy.
Photos by JAMES BROWN and LEN KERSWILL
Cullen was quicky into the action for Ashford after the break as he fired in another shot, but Purdue was alert to the danger as he gathered comfortably. However, any hope Woods had of getting back into the game were effectively ended as McLeish picked up the loose ball on the edge of the box before unlashing an unstoppable half-volley to complete his double on 53 minutes.
Northwood stuck to their task with the hard-working Stacey seeing his shot blocked as he latched onto a Lomas free kick while Ibie wasn’t far away with another attempt.
Velasco made way for Lewis Batten at right-back while the recently returned Yiannis Constantinou replaced Ibie in attack. And there was a third substitution for Woods as Joakim Ehui was introduced for Jackson with nine minutes left on the clock.
Woods rallied towards the end with Cole sending a volley wide and Stacey firing over after good work from Ehui. And Stacey was in the thick of it again as he had another shot blocked. But the hosts were unable to find a way through a well-drilled Ashford backline and had to accept defeat to the better side on the day.
Report by ROBIN PIPER
