Match Report
by Robin Piper
Northwood
produced a repeat of last season as they came away from a midweek
trip to Potters Bar with three points in the bag.
Woods put in a
solid performance, with the winning goal coming midway through the
second half courtesy of a Sean Sonner penalty.
Manager Colin
Payne sent out an unchanged team but he had to make an early
adjustment as Joe Cowen succumbed to a knee injury, Danny Brown his
replacement at right-back.
Potters Bar
began well as they went looking for their first win of the season,
with Stephen Hafner pulling the strings in midfield. And it was a
Hafner free-kick which caused Mitch Swain a problem in the Northwood
goal as the ball skidded off the greasy surface, Ryan Tackley
clearing the loose ball.
Northwood
gradually began to find their range, John Christian seeing his shot
deflected for a corner following a surging run.
Dwain Williams
was seeing plenty of the ball in the Woods midfield and he combined
well with Sonner to create an opening for Christian but the
Scholars’ defence averted the danger.
Williams was
involved once more as he tested ‘keeper Dave Lovell with a free-kick
from outside the box.
Potters Bar
were enjoying their fair share of possession but they were
struggling to seriously threaten the Woods’ goal, Aaron Freeman’s
deflected free-kick being the nearest they came before the half-time
break.
At the other
end, Michael Gordon went close as his low shot deflected past the
far post following a neat interchange between Brown and Christian.
There was a
change of personnel in the Northwood attack for the start of the
second half, Otis Williams replacing Terry Davies and the
substitute’s pace immediately asked questions of the Potters Bar
defence.
But the
Scholars continued to look lively, and George Sifonias found himself
in a good position but was unable to direct his shot beyond Swain.
Woods had a
great chance to open the scoring on the hour mark when Otis Williams
created the opening for Sonner, but his shot found the side-netting.
However,
Northwood were not to be denied, and when Danny Murphy was upended
in the box by Mustapha Dumbuya, Sonner coolly despatching the
resulting spot-kick to give Woods a 62nd minute lead.
Potters Bar
responded well and they forced a succession of free-kicks to test
the Northwood rearguard, but Woods’ defensive unit was equal to the
challenge.
Having soaked
up the Scholars’ pressure, Northwood almost extended their lead but
Otis Williams saw his close range shot smothered by Lovell.
There was a
scare for Woods as Bradley Hewitt blocked Serge Makofo’s goal-bound
shot, but the action switched to the other end as Otis Williams was
denied by the post when he latched onto Gordon’s low cross.
Dwain Williams
was the next to threaten but Lovell produced a smart save to turn
the shot around the post.
Woods were
unable to find the second goal that their play deserved, and the
hosts had a chance to salvage a point in stoppage time when they won
a free-kick on the edge of the box, but the opportunity was missed
and Northwood had secured their fourth win of the campaign. |
