Match Report
by Alan Evans
Northwood finally
showed their true form to move into the next round of the FA Trophy
with this solid victory at Kent side Sittingbourne. Their opponents
had made an excellent start to their Ryman One South season and were
lying fourth in the table while the Woods hadn’t won an away match
since the end of March, a run of ten games.
Colin Payne
brought in goalkeeper Mitch Swain, on loan from Wealdstone, for his
debut and he will have been delighted to have kept a clean sheet but
the return of central defender Bradley Hewitt from injury proved to be
more significant. Jazz Rose switched to right-back in place of Terry
Hogan and with Ryan Tackley a more than adequate stand-in for the
injured Danny Murphy, the defence had a more solid look to it. There
were more changes up front, with Adrian Abramian ruled out with injury
and top scorer Elliott Buchanan unavailable so in came Jerome Hall,
back from injury and playing his first game for seven weeks, with
midfielder Dean Clark in a supporting role.
Northwood got off
to the very best of starts and it was the defenders who played the
starring role. Just into the third minute, Clark curled in a free-kick
which Hewitt flicked on and Rose stole in round the back to plant the
perfect header back across goalkeeper Jamie Riley and into the top
corner for his first goal for the club. Just a few days
earlier, the Woods had conceded an equaliser against Tilbury just
seconds after scoring what should have been a stoppage-time winner and
it almost happened again here, when a quick break and cross from the
right found Mitch Sherwood but he skied his shot.
The Brickies then
suffered a blow to their attacking options when striker Bradley Spice
pulled up with a hamstring strain and was forced out of the game. The rest of the
half belonged to Northwood as the home side were unable to gain any
control. Danny Hart was getting involved with forays down the flank
and had already had one attempt at goal before he knocked in a great
cross to Abdul Yoki who saw his shot tipped over the bar by Riley.
From the resulting corner, the ball was cleared out to Yoki again and
his effort looked goal-bound before a good block from a defender.
After 36 minutes,
Tackley chipped an accurate ball into the box and found Clark, who
controlled it well before chipping a shot over the ‘keeper but also
just over the crossbar. The second goal
came two minutes before the break. The Woods picked up what looked a
fortunate free-kick on the edge of the box after Hall had seen his run
stopped by James Campbell. The resulting shot was deflected for a
corner and from that, Tackley found Hewitt at the far post and the
centre-half nodded the ball home for his third of the season.
Sittingbourne
came out for the second-half with a change in formation and caused a
few problems for the Woods defence for ten minutes or so. A ball from
Tristan Knowles put Steve Hafner through, but his shot was well saved
by Swain in goal. The Woods still
looked a danger on the counter and the impressive Yoki again cut in
from the left to shoot for goal, with Riley once more managing to get
a hand up to push the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner,
the ball came out to Clark in his favoured position for a strike at
goal but this time he cleared the target.
On the hour,
Swain had to be alert again to thwart the danger when a ball into the
box almost saw Colin Richmond in on goal but the Woods ‘keeper safely
pounced on the loose ball. Another Hart
cross after 64 minutes was dropping for Yoki at the far post until
Riley stretched to palm the ball away to safety and soon after, the
home ‘keeper made another good save from a Clark free-kick. Time was running
out for Sittingbourne and they seemed to run out of ideas in the
closing stages.
Jermaine Hamilton replaced the tiring Hall and Kyle
Matthews came on for Clark in the final minutes, and the Woods
continued to move the ball around with ease, while never really
threatening to increase their lead. In the end, it
was an excellent result for Northwood who are gradually looking more
like a team destined for the top half of the table. The only minus
point from the game was the yellow card for defender Adam Theo, his
fifth of the season, which will mean the only ever-present in the
Woods side will miss the next round of the Trophy in two weeks time.
PHOTO GALLERY (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
Woods put pressure on the Sittingbourne goal More pressure on the home goal... ...and the home keeper tips the ball over Jerome Hall struggles to stay on his feet (must but some studs...) Players pack the home area as Dean Clark's corner comes over Jerome Hall adds his weight to Woods' attack Ryan Tackley pushes forward Abdul Yoki on the left flank The home keeper makes another good save Bourne's keeper beats Jermaine Hamilton to the ball Jerome Hall battles it out on the floor! Jermaine Hamilton attacks the home defence in the closing stages Jermaine Hamilton collects a through ball... ...here Hamilton has more of a chase Ryan Tackley on the overlap Jermaine Hamilton takes on his man
Woods put pressure on the Sittingbourne goal
Photos: James Brown |
