Match Report
by Robin Piper
Tenant overcame landlord as Wealdstone inflicted the first defeat of
the season upon 10-man Northwood.
Woods shot themselves in the foot immediately after they had
restored parity early in the second-half, Dean Clark incurring the
wrath of the referee and receiving a second yellow card after
kicking the ball away in celebration.
Northwood were once again unchanged as they sought to extend their
unbeaten start to the season, the only alteration being on the
bench, where Daniel Hawes replaced Danny Murphy.
But it was Stones who made the brighter start , Chris O’Leary
testing Woods ‘keeper Rob Bullivant with a low shot, before a slick
move almost found former Northwood striker Dean Papali who was
unmarked at the far post.
Wealdstone continued to dominate the opening exchanges with Woods
unable to construct any worthwhile moves. Wealdstone forced a series
of corners, Gavin Bamford seeing a free header cleared off the line
by Gavin Hart, whilst Bullivant was called upon to deal with a
30-yard effort from Carl Martin.
Northwood finally managed to threaten the Wealdstone goal following
a fairly nondescript opening 20 minutes, Dean Powles’ shot rolling
across the face of goal and narrowly evading the in-rushing Peter
Dean.
But normal service was resumed as Stones were soon on the attack
once again. Bullivant was called into action again to deny Papali,
whilst Matt Gooderick missed a wonderful chance to put Wealdstone in
front, dragging his shot wide of the far post after a deflection had
fallen nicely into his path.
However, Woods gradually began to find some rhythm as half-time
beckoned, with Clark testing the Wealdstone defence with a couple of
free-kicks into the danger area. Perry Norman and Mark Dennison were
inches away from adding a final touch, whilst former Woods’ keeper
Lee Carroll fisted Dennison’s header away following another Clark
delivery. The resultant corner saw Norman scoop a shot narrowly over
the bar after Wealdstone failed to clear their lines.
There were further chances at either end before the break, Bullivant
on hand once again to deny Gooderick, whilst Dean was unable to keep
his shot down following Clark’s knockdown from Ricky Alexander’s
ball into the box.
The deadlock was finally broken within a minute of the restart.
Papali showed good strength as he got in behind the Northwood
defence, his low cross finding the unmarked Carl Martin, who made no
mistake to give Wealdstone a 46th minute lead.
Manager Colin Payne immediately made a double substitution, sending
on James Hamsher and striker Kyle Matthews in place of Hart and Dave
Nolan, Powles switching to right back with Dean moving to the right
flank.
And the changes had the desired effect as Northwood drew level on 56
minutes. Carroll’s punched clearance from Clark’s corner fell to Lee
Tunnell on the edge of the box, his unerring shot through a crowd of
players giving the Stones ‘keeper no chance. However, Woods’ joy was
immediately curtailed as Clark’s celebrations ended up with a red
card.
And Gooderick almost made matters worse for Northwood as he rattled
an upright with a fierce shot.
Woods lost Matthews to an ankle injury in the 65th
minute, substitute Max Howell moving into a three man defence as
Northwood reshuffled the pack again.
However, after Northwood had bravely taken the game to Wealdstone,
their numerical disadvantage was finally made to count with 15
minutes left on the clock, Graeme Montgomery delivering an emphatic
finish into the bottom corner to score the deciding goal.
Woods soldiered on, Wayne Carter having a low shot deflected wide
before Powles almost grabbed a spectacular equaliser with a 30-yard
volley which bounced off the top off the top of the crossbar.
But it wasn’t to be as Wealdstone claimed the points and the local
bragging rights, leaving Northwood fifth in the table as they
contemplated another journey west with a visit to Chippenham Town on
Saturday. |
