Chertsey Town 2 Northwood 4
Saturday 4th December 2021
| NORTHWOOD | |||
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| 1 | Daniel Purdue | ||
| 2 | Sam Jenkins  |
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| 3 | Andy Lomas |
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| 4 | Keagan Cole © (88m) | ||
| 5 | Tommy Boxer | ||
| 6 | James Gurteen | ||
| 7 | Ryan Young (76m) |
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| 8 | Teddy Stacey |
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| 9 | Sydney Ibie | ||
| 10 | Micah Jackson (82m) | ||
| 11 | Carl Stewart |
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| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Matteo Esposito | ||
| 14 | Joakim Ehui (76m) | ||
| 15 | Aaron Petch | ||
| 16 | Yiannis Constantinou (88m) |
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| 17 | Matt Surmon (82m) | ||
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Northwood made it back-to-back league wins on the road with an impressive victory over previously unbeaten Chertsey Town. Sydney Ibie led the way with a double strike while Micah Jackson and Ryan Young chipped in as Woods’ revival under the management of Ben Bukowski and Steve Ringrose gathers momentum.
Northwood welcomed back defenders Tommy Boxer and Sam Jenkins in place of Matt Surmon and Pablo Velasco, while a slight change to the balance of the attack saw Ibie and Young playing either side of Jackson, who assumed the central striker’s role.
The hosts were immediately into their stride and Woods goalkeeper Daniel Purdue was called upon to gather an early cross before Bryan Taylor tried his luck from distance with a shot which flew wide of the upright. But it was Northwood who opened the scoring on nine minutes as Jackson latched onto Teddy Stacey’s through ball before firing a low shot from just outside box which was too good for Chertsey keeper Nick Jupp.
The Curfews almost delivered an immediate riposte as Purdue was quickly off his line to smother Jake Baxter’s shot, with Mark Bitmead firing in the loose ball, which was kept out by a combination of Andy Lomas and the post in the ensuing scramble.
There was no let up for Northwood and Baxter might have done better as he spurned a couple of chances for the hosts while Purdue produced a superb full-length save to keep out a deflected shot from Mano Gogonas, the Woods keeper appearing to pick up an injury which bothered him for the remainder of the afternoon.
Northwood were being given a severe examination as the Curfews kept their foot on the gas, Gogonas and Bitmead going close before Daryll Harrison headed narrowly over from a corner. But Woods continued to stand strong, and they managed to release the pressure as Ibie and Stacey combined to force a corner before the former saw his snapshot kept out by Jupp after good work from Keagan Cole.
Woods had some more defending to do as Ashley Lodge fired narrowly over before Purdue scrambled another effort round the post to ensure his side went into the halftime break with their noses in front.
Northwood started the second half with great intensity, and they had wonderful opportunity to increase their lead as Cole and Jackson combined to set Young clear, but his shot was kept out by the on-rushing Jupp. However, Young was presented with another one-on-one opportunity moments later after a neat flick from Jackson and the Woods flyer showed great composure as he slotted the ball beyond Jupp to increase the lead with 50 minutes on the clock.
Photos by JAMES BROWN
Woods’ two goal cushion was short lived as the Curfews hit back on 52 minutes, Gogonas making no mistake with a shot into the bottom corner after possession was conceded in a dangerous position.
Buoyed by the goal, Chertsey went looking for the equaliser and they went close through Taylor whose rising shot narrowly cleared the Northwood crossbar. But the hosts weren’t to be denied as Baxter converted a low cross from Goganas to restore parity on 66 minutes.
Northwood responded well to the setback, and they had a good shout for a penalty turned down as Jenkins appeared to be tripped, Carl Stewart picking up his side’s fourth yellow card of the afternoon as he argued the case. Jenkins was in the thick of the action again minutes later as he performed heroics to keep out Taylor’s header as it looped beyond Purdue, the Northwood right-back scrambling back to hook the ball clear from under the crossbar.
Woods made their first change on 76 minutes as they prepared for the final 15 minutes of an absorbing encounter, Young making way for Joakim Ehui. And the home crowd was silenced a minute later as Lomas played a delightful ball through to Ibie who raced clear before firing his shot across Jupp to put Northwood back in front.
Play immediately switched to the other end as Purdue produced another full-length save to keep out a deflected shot from Goganas and maintain Woods’ precious lead.
Northwood looked to shore things up as Surman replaced the impressive Jackson on 82 minutes. And Woods’ afternoon got even better on 86 minutes as they restored their two-goal advantage after a quickly taken free-kick and good work from Stewart lead to Ibie executing another clinical finish to send the visiting contingent into raptures.
Yiannis Constantinou replaced Cole with a couple of minutes of normal time left. And Woods expertly negotiated the six minutes of added time without any drama to see themselves home to a richly deserved win, taking them up a couple of places in the table.
Report by ROBIN PIPER
