The Woods made it through to the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup Final on Tuesday night with a narrow victory over Evo-Stik League Southern rivals Uxbridge. Former Woods boss Tony Choules rested plenty of his first-team stalwarts in preparation for some tough Easter League games which of course includes another return to Chestnut Avenue next Monday afternoon for what could be a crucial contest. In contrast, Gary Meakin fielded a strong side and it will be interesting to see how it changes things for the league encounter next week.

There was a bright start to a really open first half, with the visitors quickly into attack. Mitch Swain made a good save to deny Nicke Kabamba, pushing his shot away and Ryan Fenton followed up with a good strike that hit the post and went wide. However, the Woods then took the lead from their first real attack on seven minutes as the returning James McCluskey lifted a clever ball forward and Spencer Bellotti raced through to lob goalkeeper John Peacock.

Uxbridge responded well and won a free-kick fairly central from 20 yards out that top scorer Michael Murray stroked elegantly over the defensive wall and past the despairing dive of Swain to level the scores.

Adamson Ajayi was causing the visitors problems with his pace down the left and a good move involving Warren Gladdy and Bellotti saw him pick out Oliver Hawkins with an accurate cross but the Woods’ top scorer headed over the bar. Northwood were back in front after 25 minutes and it was Ajayi that made the goal with another attacking run which took him past Howard Hall and into the box, where his sharp cross was cleverly flicked home by Bellotti for his second of the game.

But again the visitors hit back quickly and were back on equal terms just three minutes later as Kabamba got past Gladdy and knocked in a cross which was finished superbly by recent signing from Bedfont Town Shaun Lucien. After 33 minutes the impressive Kabamba tried a spectacular overhead kick which wasn’t far over the bar, and then the other end saw McCluskey curl a free-kick which took a deflection but Peacock stretched to push the ball over the top.

The Woods got their noses back in front on 39 minutes. A half-cleared corner appeared to be going nowhere until Reece Yorke showed a surprisingly deft touch with a turn and pass that put McCluskey in on goal, and he slipped the ball past Peacock to make it 3-2 at the break.

Liam Fowler replaced Gladdy at half-time with Lee Grant moving across to left-back, and it did seem to steady the Northwood defence in the second-half, though Kabamba again forced Swain into a save early on.

The Woods then had the ball in the net twice in quick succession, firstly when Hawkins converted a Bellotti cross but was adjudged to have kicked the ball against his arm on the way to the net and then Bellotti was denied a hat-trick when the referee spotted another infringement elsewhere in the box.

The attacks continued, with Ajayi cutting in from the left and firing a good shot which Peacock could only push away. It fell straight into the path of John Christian, who missed the simple chance of slotting home at the far post. A minute later Hawkins knocked in an excellent cross which just eluded Bellotti and then a quick free-kick from Grant sent Ajayi away and his cross picked out Hawkins coming in at the far post but again he somehow managed to steer his shot wide of the gaping goal.

It should have been all over by now, but there was always a possibility of Uxbridge snatching a late goal and forcing the lottery of a penalty shoot-out and after 78 minutes Swain again was forced into action to keep out a good strike from Kabamba. But that was it from the visitors and apart from a couple of efforts from Christian which sailed high and wide, the Woods were happy to hold on to their narrow advantage through to the end.

Northwood will now take on another fellow Evo-Stik Southern League Central Division side in Ashford Town in the Final which takes place at Wealdstone FC’s Grosvenor Vale on Bank Holiday Monday, 7th May. It will be their fourth attempt to win a Middlesex Charity Cup final, the one senior County competition that has eluded the club in their history, and their first for seven years.

Report by ALAN EVANS

Photos to follow...

Photos by James Brown