NORTHWOOD'S CUP FINALS OVER THE YEARS
Player profiles Team Report Photos
Middlesex Senior Cup Final 2016
Northwood 2 Enfield Town 0
(at Uxbridge FC)
Saturday 7th May 2016
Team line-up | |
1 | Berkley Laurencin |
2 | Alex Nolan |
3 | Andy Lomas |
4 | Steve Brown © |
5 | James Budden |
6 | George Nicholas |
7 | Max Holland (off 75m) |
8 | James Burgess |
9 | Niko Muir |
10 | Louis Stead (off 88m) |
11 | Rob Hastings (0ff 90m) |
Substitutes | |
12 | Joakim Ehui (sub 75m) |
14 | Myles Stephenson (sub 88m) |
15 | Bayley Brown (sub 90m) |
16 | Mark Burgess |
17 | Georges Ehui |
SQUAD PROFILES FROM 2016
MARK BURGESS (Player-Manager)
The 39-year-old former Woods skipper took up his first managerial appointment in November 2012 so has now just completed three full seasons in the role with the Woods finishing ninth and tenth and now seventh in the table. He has also continued to play when needed and has recently completed 200 appearances for the club.
BERKLEY LAURENCIN
Berkley is an experienced 26-year-old goalkeeper with over 150 appearances for Ryman Premier Division side Hendon. He joined the Woods on dual-registration in January 2014 and was able to get some regular games at the club before deciding to stay. His first full season with the Woods proved extremely successful making a clean sweep of all three Player of the Year awards. Now has over 100 appearances behind him and continues to be a vital member of the side.
ALEX NOLAN
Alex is a young full-back, now 20, who progressed through the Woods Ryman Youth and Reserve sides to make a handful of appearances in 2013/14. He added a further ten games to that the following season while also spending some time on loan to Leverstock Green but this season he has won a regular place in the side and has developed well.
ANDY LOMAS
Andy joined the Woods in the summer of 2014 from Walton & Hersham where he had been named Player of the Year. Prior to that the 25-year-old had enjoyed a successful spell at Oxhey Jets where he had also been club captain. Andy quickly made the left-back position his own and has now made over 100 appearances for Northwood including playing in every single game this season.
STEVE BROWN
A solid defender, 25-year-old Steve joined the club during the summer of 2013 following two very successful seasons at neighbours Oxhey Jets. He quickly established himself as a regular in the Woods starting line-up and despite missing the final month with injury, he enjoyed a clean sweep of all the Player of the Year awards. Has missed large parts of the last two seasons but club captain and a vital part of the central defence.
JAMES BUDDEN
James signed for the Woods in December 2015 from Spartan South Midlands League side Leverstock Green having previously played for Hemel Hempstead. He quickly established his place in the centre of the defence while making the step up comfortably and has also found the net on occasions.
JON MUNDAY
Jon is a former QPR youth player who had a year as a professional before playing for Hendon, Hayes, Kidderminster Harriers and Worcester City. Now 27, Jon is a centre-back and joins the Woods in the summer of 2015 with plenty of experience having also seen service in recent years at Maidenhead United, Burnham and Beaconsfield Sycob amongst others.
LOUIS STEAD
An attacking midfield player, Louis joined the Woods in the summer of 2015 from Chalfont St. Peter where he impressed when playing against the Woods the previous season. Louis is 23 and started out with Tring Athletic before having a spell with North Greenford United. In double figures for goals in his first season at the club.
GEORGE NICHOLAS
George joined the Woods from Wealdstone in January 2013 to gain more regular first-team football. Now 23, George made one first-team appearance for Notts I County before being released in 2012 and has developed into the Woods leader in the centre of the park and has now completed 110 appearances for the club.
JAMES BURGESS
Vastly-experienced 39-year-old who has enjoyed long spells with Northwood and then Hendon over the years. Twin brother of Woods manager Mark Burgess and with over175 appearances behind him his knowledge of the game is invaluable to the youngsters of the squad. Played against Enfield Town for Hendon in the 2003 Senior Cup Final which Hendon won 2-0 at Northwood FC.
BAYLEY BROWN
Tall 18-year-old midfielder who joined the Woods last summer having come through the youth ranks at Maidenhead United and has gained some excellent experience by being around the squad throughout the season, developing all the time.
GEORGES EHUI
Georges, now 21, joined the Woods in December 2015 after a short spell at Burnham. The former Wycombe Wanderers academy player, who made one first-team appearance for the Chairboys, has also made brief appearances for Eastbourne Borough, Corby Town, Margate, Wealdstone, AFC Hayes and Hadley. Has been a useful member of the squad in midfield and defence.
NIKO MUIR
The Woods welcomed Niko back to the fold for a third spell in late I September 2015 after a short spell with VCD Athletic. He first arrived at the club in December 2012 and was top scorer at the club the following season before spending time with Wingate & Finchley and then re-joining the Woods. Now closing in on 140 appearances for the club and with over 60 goals to his name and a string of Golden Boots.
ROB HASTINGS
Rob is a product of the Boreham Wood academy and impressed enough to earn a contract. He had a couple of loan spells during the 2013/14 season with Barton Rovers but started the following campaign with Histon before switching to Northwood at the end of August 2014. Now 20, he has enjoyed a solid season once again and with 100 appearances behind him, he has also found his goal touch once again in the second-half of the season.
MAXWELL HOLLAND
Max joined the Woods from Boreham Wood where he progressed from their youth set-up into their reserve side and scored plenty of goals last season. Only 19, Max hails from Jamaica but played for England Schools during his time with the Wood. He has continued to impress in his first season with Northwood and has a number of excellent performances behind him as he continued to develop.
JOAKIM EHUI
Joakim is a former Fulham youngster who has had spells with Hayes & Yeading, St. Albans City, Harrow Borough and Harlow Town over two seasons. Now 23, he won a regular place in the Woods starting line-up in 2013/14, hardly missing a game, and followed that with another consistent campaign the following season. Joakim now has over 150 appearances for the Woods behind him.
THE MATCH REPORT
The Woods claimed the Middlesex Senior Cup for the second time in their history with this solid victory over Ryman Premier outfit Enfield Town, who had only narrowly missed out on the play-offs. It was nine years earlier that Northwood had won the competition for the for first time in their 24 years of entering, and once again they went into this game with the “underdogs” tag but after previous cup wins over other Middlesex-based Ryman Premier teams – Harrow Borough, Hendon and Staines Town – they went into this one with plenty of confidence.
39-year-old James Burgess, who had played in the Final for Hendon in the 2003 Final when the Greens beat Enfield Town 2-0 in the Town’s only previous County Cup Final appearance, was restored to the line-up after having completed the suspension that saw him miss the final seven games of the season. Their opponents had to leave a trio of late season signings out of their squad as they weren’t qualified in time, so there was a place in their starting line-up for their own manager Bradley Quinton, at 37 still a couple of years short of his opposing number eight.
Enfield Town had scored no less than eighteen goals in their three previous rounds of the Senior Cup while Northwood had scored two in each round to reach the Final and it was no surprise that it was the Town that made the early running. Northwood had to defend well in those early stages and after 11 minutes a good run and cross from Corey Whitely was headed away by Steve Brown, back from his injury problems, at the near post. Two minutes later a ball played down the middle put Bobby Devyne in with a chance but he shot well over the bar.
Niko Muir had the first half-chance for the Woods on 18 minutes but his effort was blocked and he was unable to bring the ball down from the rebound. Whitely made a trademark tricky run soon after this but took on too many and his eventual shot was blocked by Andy Lomas and cleared. Then a free-kick saw Nathan Livings hook a shot that was always rising and never likely to threaten Berkley Laurencin in goal.
Lomas was starting to get forward down the left and supplied an excellent ball to Louis Stead in space but he mishit his shot which was sliced well wide. Enfield Town continued to press and Tyler Campbell produced the best effort on goal to date after 23 minutes with an attacking run and shot from distance that flew into the side-netting, and two minutes later Harry Ottoway’s effort took a wicked deflection off Burgess and dropped onto the roof of the net. From the resulting corner, Whitely chipped a shot towards goal, but he it drifted through to Laurencin who took the ball comfortably.
But the Woods grew in confidence having survived the early pressure, and on 28 minutes a sweeping five-man move eventually fed Muir, whose shot arrowed only just wide of the post. Brown then almost got on the end of a Stead corner but was just beaten to it by Ottoway and then good work from Max Holland set up Rob Hastings but his shot was blocked for another corner.
But there was a real turning point in the match on 41 minutes as Lomas looked to make progress down the left and Whitely came across with a badly mistimed challenge, off the ground, that went over the ball and took him down. No-one was really arguing that it was a red card offence and it left Town with ten men. The fracas after the event also brought bookings for Stanley Muguo and Northwood’s Muir. The response from the Woods was almost instant and clinical, as Lomas raced down the left to get on the end of a Muir ball and sent over a superb cross, which was met by George Nicholas’s powerful downward header that beat goalkeeper Nathan McDonald and put Northwood in front.
That lead could easily have been doubled before half-time. James Budden got his head to a Lomas free-kick after Devyne had picked up another yellow for deliberate handball but McDonald got his hands to it. Then a Burgess pass put Hastings through on goal but he lifted his shot just too high and it cleared the bar.
Enfield made changes at half-time, Muguo replaced by Samir Bihmoutine while manager Quinton dropped into a back-three as they looked for a way back into the cup-tie. On 48 minutes a deep cross picked out Micky Parcell who outjumped Lomas but headed over the top. A minute later a free-kick from Livings crept all the way through and Laurencin saved low down.
But the Woods were looking to take advantage of their extra man and Lomas and Muir combined well to put Stead in with a good chance but a late challenge took the ball off his foot as he went to shoot. After 59 minutes Holland’s run produced an excellent cross and the ball had to be hooked away well while under pressure from Hastings.
Laurencin comfortably dealt with a shot from Campbell before another good move from Lomas put Hastings in front of goal but he had two efforts well blocked before Stead latched onto the loose ball but fired well wide. Parcell’s dangerous cross was well dealt with by the safe hands of Laurencin before Claudiu Vilcu and then Campbell both shot well wide as Enfield’s challenge started to falter.
On 71 minutes Northwood produced a fine move that saw Nicholas play Muir through on goal and he squared to Holland, who should have scored but saw his effort blocked by McDonald. A minute later, Budden picked up a yellow card when catching substitute Dernell Wynter out wide but thankfully there was cover behind him and from the resulting free-kick Laurencin made a fine save to keep out the strike from Bihmoutine.
There was a brief hope for Town as a good ball put defender Vilcu through down the right and he did well to stop it running out for a goal-kick but then his cross lacked any quality and it flew to safety. That was about it for Enfield, and the Woods were holding on comfortably before finally settling the game on 86 minutes as another good move found Muir in a bit of space and Northwood’s top scorer let fly with a cracking shot that gave McDonald no chance. Laurencin maintained his clean sheet with a late save to deny Parcell but the final whistle soon followed and the Woods had taken the Senior Cup with a 2-0 victory.
There were good performances all-round, and although it was George Nicholas who was named man of the match by the County judges, the defence had played really well throughout and deserved their clean sheet. Alex Nolan, who had been mascot when the club had beaten Hayes to win the Senior Cup last in 2007, had a fine game at right-back and history repeated itself as brother Max Nolan was mascot for Northwood this time around! After three full seasons in charge, it was a great result for Mark Burgess’ side, winning their first silverware in that time.