The Woods recovered from conceding an early goal with an improved second-half performance that was rewarded with their first home victory since mid-September.  On the back of Monday’s away win at Marlow, Steve Hale named an unchanged starting line-up for the visit of fellow strugglers Beaconsfield Sycob after the game had been given the go-ahead following a couple of days of heavy rain.

The visitors have had a similar season to Northwood, having spent time at the bottom of the table, and having changed their manager twice already, they are another side in transition, but they started brightly enough with a long-range effort from Carl Garstang forcing Woods goalkeeper Michael Parkin into action early, tipping the ball over the bar as it arrowed towards the top corner.

While the Rams enjoyed the better of the early stages, Northwood looked dangerous on the break, and Miles Jones poked a shot well wide and then Ikenna Ofoche set up Wayne Jackson for a great chance, which was cleared off the line by Dean Harper. But it was Sycob who grabbed the lead after 15 minutes when a corner was only half-cleared and Ashley James hit a low shot through a ruck of players and in off a post. They almost added to the score four minutes later as a flicked header from one-time Northwood striker Riccardo Cannon sent Richard Shittu through on goal, but Parkin was out quickly and managed to block his shot with his legs.

The Woods had to dig deep to get back in the game but gradually they started to restrict the visitors and create chances themselves. Jones got through on goal but hit a weak shot that goalkeeper Carl Dennison saved comfortably. Then, a good break saw Jackson set up James Bent with a great chance but he took too long to pull the trigger and has his effort blocked by defender Seldyn Grant.

Just before the break a long ball released Warren Whitely who used his pace to get into the box only for Dennison to pull off a fine save to deny him an equaliser. Having finished the first-half well, hopes were high for a second-half comeback and a good ball from Tom Windsor saw Ofoche fire goalwards, but the striker was just off target.

There was a setback after 52 minutes, though, as Ryan Tackley was caught low on the shin by a poor tackle and had to be carried off, being replaced by Scott Raper. A bad injury was feared but later news from the Hospital was good in that the gash needed stitches but there was no break. Unfortunately the officials had somehow missed this challenge completely and the game restarted with a throw.

Scott Orphanou, making a gradual comeback from his broken ankle suffered at Daventry four months ago, replaced Ofoche for the final half-hour and, as had happened at Marlow, his movement up front created problems for the opposition. Almost immediately, Zac Gill surprised everyone with a 20-yard volley that had Dennison scrambling across to push the ball round the post and from the resulting corner, Raper headed on and Gill headed just over the bar.

The equalising goal came after 66 minutes as some good approach work involving Windsor and Orphanou led to a Howard Hall cross which fell to Jones, and he controlled it well before steering a shot past the ‘keeper. It was the first Northwood goal at Chestnut Avenue since November 2nd and Jones celebrated it in gymnastic style!

Beaconsfield were really up against it now, but they made it really difficult for themselves when skipper Harper made a grave misjudgement as he raced down the centre with Orphanou chasing a through-ball. He appeared to be favourite to clear but instead chose to block off the Woods striker and was shown a red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity. Jackson went close from the resulting free-kick and Sycob tried to readjust their side in an effort to hold onto a point.

The Woods were equally determined to find a winner and it came after 82 minutes as Whitely did well on the left to find space to whip in a cross, and Orphanou met it with a deft flicked header which flashed out of reach of Dennison and into the far top corner.  The visitors were unable to recover and Northwood could have added to the score in the closing stages, as Orphanou broke through again and twisted past both his marker and Dennison only to knock his shot the wrong side of the gaping goal.

Back-to-back wins and the first “double” of the season has certainly improved the spirit of the side and at the club, and with the games now coming thick and fast, the Woods will be hoping to continue their run this week. They take on Burnham at home on Tuesday night and then play away to second from bottom AFC Hayes next Saturday.

Report by ALAN EVANS

Photos by James Brown