Welwyn Garden City 2 Northwood 2

Saturday 8th November 2025

NORTHWOOD




1	Hafed Al-Droubi
2	Ademide Baruwa (93m)
3	Bryan Mankumbani
4	Manny Folarin ©
5	Gabe Cuthbert
6	Omar Rowe
7	Reece Price-Placid (89m)
8	Carl Stewart
9	Dan Williams (89m)
10	Freddie Ford (54m)
11	Osa Otote (67m)
Substitutes
12	Nasir Sharifi (93m)
14	Henry Atkinson (89m)
15	Devonte Totesaut (89m)
16	Harry McKenna (54m)
17	Hicham Bouchareb (67m)
	Welwyn: Donnie Green, Adam Pollock (Ethan Rookard 67m), Tommy Boxer, Aiden Read, Layne Eadie, Nick Ralfe, Eddie Corbit, Charlie McDonald (Carlos Velasco 52m ), Lewis Taaffe, Steve Cawley (Evaristo Mendes 83m), Bailey Stevenson.

Northwood made it a club record fifth successive league draw as this trip to mid-table Welwyn Garden City ended all-square when the home side rallied late in the game. The Woods made just two changes to the last starting line-up in the League the previous Saturday with Reece-Price Placid and Freddie Ford coming in for Harry McKenna and Jon-Jo Bates.

The Citizens, fresh from a 3-2 defeat at Marlow, made four changes from the side played that game which included bringing in top scorer Bailey Stevenson and St. Albans loanee Nick Ralfe.

The home side were gifted a goal inside two minutes when Adam Pollock delivered an innocuous cross from the right which Hafed Al-Droubi looked to collect low down on the edge of the six-yard box at the same time as Manny Folarin looked to clear. The lack of communication saw the ball run loose and Stevenson swept it into the empty net.

A dreadful start for the Woods yet two minutes later they forced a corner on the right and when Carl Stewart knocked in the perfect cross, youngster Gabe Cuthbert outjumped Charlie McDonald to thump a header past goalkeeper Donnie Green for his first senior goal.

Both sides struggled with a sticky pitch surface as the half progressed, struggling to clear their lines but neither threatened up front either until Welwyn went close on 18 minutes as Al-Droubi punched a header from Steve Cawley wide. From the resulting corner, it was half-cleared to Lewis Taaffe but he fired wide of the near-post.

A minute later a great long ball from Ford gave Dan Williams his first run on goal but he was held up by retreating defenders and his eventual shot from distance lacked the power to trouble Green.

Northwood were beginning to get on top at this stage and they took the lead on 26 minutes when Stewart got forward well and found Ford whose centre skimmed the header of defender Aiden Read. It fell to Price-Placid who cut the ball back to Williams who shuffled to his left and planted a shot inside the far post with Green only able to watch.

Two minutes later, Williams went close again as Osa Otote’s header was whipped across by the head of Ford to find the Woods centre-forward and he controlled it well before flashing a volley just wide of the far post.

If that could have been a third, there was no doubt that it should have been a goal after half an hour when a defensive error from Panny Boxer let in Price-Placid but just Green to beat he blasted his shot high and wide of the goal. Having survived that, the Citizens could have been level on 35 minutes when Read got a good head on a well-flighted corner but the ball crashed back off the crossbar.

PHOTOS by James Brown

The Woods continued to push forward with Stewart driving things from midfield. He was crowded out just inside the box after one run and, just before the interval, Williams broke down the left but saw his effort blocked and run through for a comfortable save by the keeper.

Good value for the lead, the Woods were still looking confident at the back at the start of the second-half but self-inflicted disaster struck on 53 minutes. When Stewart kicked a ball out of play to allow treatment for an injury, Folarin decided to take advantage of the break to “take a leak” in a quiet corner of the ground. This was spotted by the assistant referee on the far side who drew it to the Referee’s attention who had “no choice” than to show a red card for an “offensive action”.

It was hard to believe such an incident would happen, especially as 99% of the crowd had no idea what the offence was at the time and before the game restarted, McKenna replaced Ford to strengthen the defence in the absence of the skipper while Welwyn replaced McDonald with Carlos Velasco. The home side enjoyed their man advantage for all of thirty seconds as Velasco, in his first action, flew in to a challenge on Omar Rowe on the halfway line and was adjudged to have earned himself a red card, levelling things up at ten players apiece on the field. It was the Citizens’ fifth sending-off in their last seven matches.

Both teams took time to adjust to the changes in formations but Welwyn perhaps stepped up a gear first with Ralfe seeing a low shot comfortably saved by Al-Droubi before Stevenson found some space but fired over the top.

Hicham Bouchareb replaced Otote who had put in another good shift and the action switched with the Woods threatening again. Rowe enjoyed a good run down the centre and let fly from thirty yards but that flew over and then Williams played a neat ball across to Bouchareb but his deflected strike was just wide of the far post.

Time was ticking towards a possible three much-needed points for Northwood and after 79 minutes, Stewart attacked again, exchanging passes with Williams and Bouchareb but he saw his shot pushed wide by a diving Green for a good save.

Back at the other end, Welwyn could have levelled three minutes later though when a ball was headed across the box and Cawley hooked his effort over the bar before being immediately substituted. It was on 84 minutes that Welwyn brough the scored level as a cross came in from the right which Cuthbert half-cleared. It fell to Taaffe unmarked just outside the box and he hit a sweet shot just inside the post to give Al-Droubi no chance.

Both sides had late chances to win the match. Firstly, some great defending and a fine save from Al-Droubi stopped two attempts to force a ball home when a corner dropped into the near-post area. Then two substitutes combined to almost produce a Woods winner. Henry Atkinson got forward down the right and found Devonte Totesaut with his cross but his shot flashed just over the bar. It was in the seventh minute of stoppage time that Rowe’s jinking run took him into the box again and when the ball ran loose Stewart scuffed his shot wide.

It had been an entertaining game and the point took the Woods up one place in the table but they still need to build on this five-match unbeaten league run to find some winning form with two more home games coming up this week starting against London Lions on Tuesday night.

REPORT by Alan Evans



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