While the Woods picked up a valuable point at in-form Ashford Town, results elsewhere saw them drop to second from bottom in the league table and there is still plenty of work to do if they are to move away from the danger zone.

The game almost didn’t take place. The fog which had shrouded the area all day was still persistently hanging across the pitch throughout the early evening to the stage where the Referee pretty much decided at 7pm that there was little chance of it changing. The two club secretaries knew that the forecast was for the fog to clear at some stage so encouraged him to wait until 7.30pm to make a final decision and by then the night was suddenly crystal clear.

Mitch Swain returned between the sticks for his first appearance in six weeks while Murray Williamson started his first game since running the New York Marathon. The home side were without former Football League players Jamie Lawrence and Isaiah Rankin, both ruled out through injury.

Ashford started brightly, enjoying plenty of possession in the early stages but the Woods defence was clearly prepared for battle and they never threatened a goal until the 16th minute when a good cross in from Mark Bitmead saw Jones Awuah head wide at the near post. 

Swain dealt comfortably with a long-range effort from Luke Hickie while Ashford’s Jordan Kiffin was a little lucky not to pick up a second yellow card for preventing a restart shortly after picking up a caution for a poor challenge on Wayne Jackson.

The Woods gradually began to make inroads forward themselves with Andrew Murphy forcing goalkeeper Jackson Franks into action from distance. Then Charlie Hill hit a free-kick that bounced in front of Franks but the young ‘keeper was equal to it, holding onto the ball comfortably.

Ashford went close when Awuah’s shot skimmed the crossbar after 34 minutes while Bitmead should have done better when failing to turn in a loose ball in the box six minutes later. The home side finished the half on top as Swain saved well from Awuah who appeared to be the only real threat from the Tangerines and he also had a header flicked just wide.

At half-time, Ryan Tackley replaced the injured Williamson for his first action since the end of September and he quickly got involved with a couple of crosses into the danger-zone. The Woods were on top at this stage and when Tackley headed a Jackson free-kick back across goal, Hill had a glorious chance to score but blasted a shot high over the crossbar.

Dean Wallace tried a long-range strike that went just wide after 65 minutes but just two minutes later he made a rash challenge on Kwasi Edusi as he tried to shut down space and the Woods were reduced to ten men as he was shown a straight red card.

It was a huge blow to Northwood’s chances which were looking good at that stage and within a minute Ashford almost took the lead as a long ball was pumped forward and Awuah flicked a header which crashed back off the crossbar.

It was a let-off for the Woods and, under the urgings of Mark Burgess, they buckled down to the task ahead. Romaine Walker was brought on for the tiring Murphy for the final fifteen minutes and the youngster was soon causing the Ashford defence a few problems.

Sam Sharples hit one shot straight at Franks in goal as the Woods looked for a shock victory while Swain was alert to save at the feet of Awuah at the other end before Kiffin headed a Tyrone Berry cross wide of the post.

The final ten minutes was all Northwood as the ten-men looked for a winner. John Sonuga headed a Jackson free-kick over the bar and then Walker beat his marker before letting fly with a shot which was well-saved by Franks.

A defensive error from Hickie let Walker in again and this time his shot beat Franks but clipped the wrong side of the far post with just three minutes to go.

Finally, just into stoppage-time, Jackson was again the provider of a good ball through to Walker who squeezed in a low shot but it was not enough to beat Franks who kept his side in for a share of the spoils.

Report by ALAN EVANS