Northwood Res. 2  North Greenford Res. 1

Saturday 20th October 2012

NORTHWOOD RESERVES		Suburban League Premier B Division
		At Northwood Park
Team line-up
1	Garry Malone
2	Ed Hatcher
3	Harry Wright
4	James Fraser
5	Liam Fowler
6	Ricky Rogers
7	Jack Clarke
8	Freddie Brooks
9	Chinnau Cole
10	Reynaldo Carbon
11	Rashid Obbadi
Substitutes
12	Jeffrey O’Sullivan (8, 73m)
14	Billy Fraser
15	Bekim Beka
16	George Chater-Clarke
17	-

Northwood reserves put on another spirited team performance in beating North Greenford United 2-1 at Northwood Park. Greenford are a big physical side and they started the game well attacking the Woods’ goal on several occasions within the opening ten minutes. However, Northwood’s defence were able to match them for strength and commitment, and through good early defending prevented any real clear cut chances for the visitors.

The home side settled into the game, began to play better attacking football and were unlucky not to score on 12 minutes when Ricky Rogers’ thirty yard drive was saved low down by the Greenford keeper. A few minutes later a clever weaving run by James Fraser saw him skip past several defenders before he shot was push out for a corner. The resulting corner was whipped in to the back post and found Ed Hatcher, who headed down for Chinnau Cole to pounce and smash home the opening goal on 17 minutes.

Both sides continued to attack at pace throughout the first half with Northwood creating the better of the chances. Jack Clarke on 21 minutes and Rashid Oddabi on 25 minutes came nearest to adding to the score with good individual runs and shots that only just went wide of the Greenford goal.

The second half began at the same blistering pace, with both sides creating early chances. Woods won a free kick on 48 minutes and Rogers went close with a good header. A few minutes later another Northwood counter attack found Harry Wright just inside the box and his half volley flew inches past the post. Northwood continued to dominate during this part of the game, and Greenford where finding it hard to deal with the pace and skill of the Northwood frontline of Cole, Reynaldo Carbon and Obbadi.

The visitors came back into the game and went close in the sixtieth minute, when a cross from the left wing found the head of their striker who couldn’t keep the ball down and it sailed harmlessly over the Northwood bar. As the game went on, Greenford players were becoming increasingly more frustrated and were lucky to not see red for a number of unsavoury tackles and off the ball incidents; so it was unsurprising when Chinnau Cole went down injured and despite numerous calls for the visitors to stop the game and kick the ball out of play so he could be treated, that they unsportingly continued up field and scored an equaliser.

Derek Lewis decided to change things up and sent on Jeffrey O’Sullivan on 73 minutes to replace Freddie Brooks, who had a good game in midfield for Northwood. Both sides continue to create chances and Northwood were fortunate not to concede when the Greenford number 7 was through on goal, but was stopped by the feet of Garry Malone. A few minutes later a Greenford free kick just outside the box was cleared from a good punch from Malone, and Northwood where able to counter attack once again at pace.

Northwood’s midfield got control of the later stages of the game again and created a number of chances for O’Sullivan, Cole and Carbon, who all went close to regaining the lead. Their pressure finally paid off in the 89th minute when Cole rose above the Greenford defence to head home his and Northwood’s second goal of the game from a Wright in-swinging corner. The game went on into the ninety sixth minute, and Northwood almost added to the score line on several occasions when Obbadi and Carbon shot just wide after two individual runs that turned the Greenford defence inside out and from a forty yard free kick from Clarke that just missed the target.

Watch video of first goal