Report by ALAN EVANS

Visitors Hutton FC arrived from Essex at the Skyline Roofing Stadium on another hot day for their first-ever experience of FA Cup and the Woods had to come from behind to force a replay that will take place on Wednesday night.

Having started the league season with a home victory despite thirteen players making their Northwood debut a week earlier, there were still more changes to their starting line-up with two more new signings coming into the starting line-up. With dual-registered Kacper Orlowski and Bradley Bubb both ruled out by their parent clubs, in came Nathan Vaughan between the sticks and young striker Reon Smith-Kouassi, nephew of former Woods winger Evans Kouassi, in an attacking role. The latter was a late change after Abdul Osman, another who would have made his debut, pulled up with injury during the warm-up. There were also first starts for two others, Amarni Morris and Zach Ingham-Wright.

Essex Senior League side Hutton had lost their first-ever game at Step 5 the previous week, narrowly beaten 1-0 at Harwich & Parkeston and it was the Woods who started this match in a more positive fashion, dominating the opening twenty minutes.

In just the second minute, Ingham-Wright tried his luck with a chip from outside the area but it went wide of the goal while Amara Fofana showed good skill and a quick turn to curl a shot across the face of goal but also just wide of the far post.

After 12 minutes, Rodney Dos Santos made inroads down the left and poked a cross in to the near post where Ingham-Wright stabbed a shot which goalkeeper Stef Lamacq just managed to tip onto the bar and over for a fine reaction save. Two minutes later, Northwood should have been in front when a good ball put Fofana through on goal. He beat Lamacq but the ball bounced onto the foot of the post and also out of reach for Liam Enver-Marum who had followed up well.

Despite the dominance, Hutton were suddenly in front on 20 minutes. The visitors broke down the middle where Woods defender Freddie Greenstreet suddenly pulled up with a hamstring injury, leaving the middle very open and young striker Fraser Brown took full advantage to hold off a challenge and fire past a stranded Vaughan in goal.

Alex Sethi replaced the stricken Greenstreet for his Woods debut and the goal gave the visitors confidence to start creating and they missed a good chance to double their lead before Smith-Kouassi then created one for himself, dancing into the box and shooting fiercely into the side-netting.

Northwood were still behind at half-time and made a change with Mehdi Yone introduced for his debut as he replaced Ingham-Wright.

It proved to be a second-half that lacked the fluency of the first. The visitors had an early chance but a weak shot was easy for Vaughan to collect while the Woods weren’t creating enough down the flanks to threaten the narrow Hutton defence. There were a couple more changes for the Woods with Brandon Tujillo replaced by Nathan Akandi and then Kieron Lake-Bryan limped off with former Woods Under 18 Josh Havard introduced for his first action this season.

That seemed to give Northwood an extra burst of energy and almost immediately, Morris picked his way into the area only to be felled by a clumsy challenge from Jonatas Centeno. Penalty claims were waved away though but an equaliser then followed on 72 minutes when Enver-Marum was put through on goal and he held off a couple of defenders before firing into the top corner to give Lamacq no chance.

Hutton rallied again with a deep free-kick seeing a floating header end up on the roof of the net and another dangerous cross from the left was well cut out by Sethi before skipper Mustafa Tiryaki limped off to be replaced by Craig Stephen-Lett who was making another Woods debut.

Both sides looked tired by the end of the contest when the final whistle blew at 1-1 and they will need to refresh before the replay which takes place at Billericay Town’s 3G pitch on Wednesday night with the winners being rewarded with a home tie against Step 4 Isthmian League side Grays Athletic.

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