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Northwood Under-18s leapt above their
opponents Hayes & Yeading United to take over at the top of the Premier
Division on Wednesday night with a solid but unspectacular 2-1 victory.
After Monday's 4-2 defeat at Chesham, the
Woods needed to bounce back if they were to remain in the title race so the
three points were vital to Gez Reilly and Phil Hatcher's side.
Hayes began brightly and a ball from Ollie
Fayed sent Esmond James through on goal but the striker, put under pressure
by Dan Power, shot wide of the target.
After 11 minutes James showed plenty of pace
as he raced past defender and goalkeeper Troy Roach. His shot was from a
tight angle but still on target and Jamie Tompkins had to clear off the
line.
Gradually, Northwood got a grip on the game
themselves but hadn't really tested goalkeeper Matthew Faley until taking
the lead three minutes before half-time.
Aryan Taj played a free-kick into the box and
it dropped deep to Tyrone Durrant ,who hooked it back across the goal, and
skipper Nick Glenday to sweep the ball into the roof of the net.
Dominic McAuley went close with a free-kick
for the visitors five minutes into the second half and the Birch made a good
save to deny James after a good run from Fayed.
But the second goal took the game away from
Hayes & Yeading, with Taj curling a sublime 25-yard shot over the 'keeper
and under the crossbar to make it 2-0 after 67 minutes.
Taj almost added a third soon after when a
great strike flashed just over the bar, and then Jack Bennett raced onto a
Taj ball before shooting across the face of the goal and just wide.
With six minutes to go, some good approach
play from the visitors appeared to have been thwarted only for Power to
touch the ball back into the path of substitute Daniel Wishart ,who finished
clinically to raise their hopes.
But there were no further defensive lapses
and the Woods clung on to the three valuable points.
The title race remains as a three-way battle,
with the Woods top of the table with 27 points from 14 games (four to play).
Hayes & Yeading are second with 25 points from 13 games while Edgware Town,
held to a 2-2 draw by Bisley Sports on Thursday night, have 24 points from
12 games. The big clash between Hayes & Yeading and Edgware Town is on
Monday night before Northwood take on North Greenford United at Chestnut
Avenue on Wednesday. |
ALLIEDS