Match Report
by Robin Piper
Northwood made
hay in the spring sunshine as they hit five goals without out reply
past lowly Witham to gain revenge for the defeat at Spa Road back in
November.
There was only
one change to the Woods’ team which drew at Brentwood the previous
week, goalkeeper Warren Carter being drafted in from Maidenhead United
to replace the suspended Mitch Swain.
The match took a
while to warm up with Robert King’s long range attempt for the
visitors and Bradley Hewitt’s gentle header the only attempts at goal
in the opening ten minutes.
However,
proceedings livened up on 14 minutes as Northwood opened the scoring
through Eugene Ofori when he latched onto the loose ball after Gary
Senior’s shot was charged down.
Witham almost
posted a reply through Stefan Falla but his overhead attempt was wide
of the mark.
Although in the
lead, Northwood were struggling to exert a firm grip on the game with
no clear chances being created at either end.
But things looked
brighter for Woods on 38 minutes when Senior registered his first goal
for the club to extend the lead as he volleyed the ball home following
Ofori’s headed lay-off from Rob Ursell’s cross.
Woods proceeded
to pin Witham back for the remainder of the half, Senior and Chris
Seeby having their close-range shots blocked, Ursell curling a shot
narrowly wide before John Christian’s long range shot flew the wrong
side of the upright.
Northwood were
immediately on the offensive at the start of the second-half with
Ofori heading narrowly over the crossbar after he latched onto
substitute Gary Burrell’s cross, the latter a half-time replacement
for Danny Brown.
Woods confirmed
their superiority and effectively put the game beyond Witham on 49
minutes as the unfortunate Bradley Stopher headed Danny Power’s cross
into his own net.
Things got worse
for the visitors as Ofori scored his second goal of the afternoon on
the hour-mark as he coolly swept the ball home following Burrell’s
delightful far-post cross.
Kyle Matthews was
introduced for Christian and took up position on the right flank,
whilst Hugo Figueiredo replaced Ofori in attack.
Northwood
continued to threaten more goals, with Figueiredo and Senior trying
their luck from distance.
And the fifth
Woods’ goal duly arrived from the penalty-spot after Senior fell under
a clumsy challenge from Stopher as they competed for a bouncing ball,
Burrell sending Moore the wrong way as he converted with five minutes
remaining.
Northwood went
close to adding more goals before the end, with Moore managing to claw
Ursell’s shot away to safety, and then Matthews’ near-post header from
Figueiredo’s corner flew narrowly over the bar.
But there were no
further additions to the scoreline, and Northwood were delighted with
the win which puts them four points ahead of play-off rivals Concord,
who conceded a late goal to share the spoils at league leaders East
Thurrock.
PHOTO GALLERY 1 (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
Photos: James Brown
PHOTO GALLERY 2 (Click thumbnail to enlarge)
Photos: James Solomon |
