Saturday 4th September 1971
HARVEY CLINCHES IT FOR WOODS
VIKING SPORTS 0 NORTHWOOD 1
Northwood made a fine start to their Middlesex League programme when they overcame powerful Viking Sports at Greenford on Saturday.
The match was a tough one for an opener, and Northwood were forced on the defensive for most of the first half.
Still Woods looked dangerous when they did break away, and Willie Wordsworth had two terrific shots saved.
Ian Harvey worked exceptionally hard in mid-field, and he found a willing ally in Barry Gould.
When Viking pressed forward, they found Pat Madigan solid at centre-half, while both Don Dibbens and Pete Bailey played above their recent form.
But it was Northwood who did most of the pressing after the interval, and strong running by Senior and Pearce began to stretch the Sports defence.
Woods’ new signing Bob Hickmott came into his own at the beginning of the half and his powerful shooting roused the Viking defence to panic on several occasions.
Northwood’s winner was scored by Ian Harvey, who picked up a pass from Wordsworth and slipped past three defenders before driving low and hard into the Viking net.
With Senior becoming even more prominent up front, Northwood pushed forward for a second.
And they were unlucky not to get it when Wordsworth saw his first time volley crash against the underside of the bar and rebound back into play.
But the star of the game from Northwood’s point of view was Barry Gould.
Gould often had Viking under pressure in the air and he capped a good display with some smart tackling and ball distribution.
Northwood: Byrne, Harding, Madigan, Bailey, Dibbens, Gould, Harvey, Hickmott, Senior, Wordsworth, Pearce. Sub. Myers.
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