The Woods notched their fourth successive victory with this 4-1 success at lowly Fleet Town but they had to come from behind for the second week on the trot, having been under siege for a good portion of the first-half.

The Hampshire side had an eventful week with the departure of their management team after a difficult start to their season and they have made an interim appointment in the shape of experienced player Craig Davis. They lost the services of a few members of their squad but also boosted it by the loan signings of former Bournemouth goalkeeper Ryan Pryce and ex-England non-League striker James Taylor. Now 37, the veteran is the Havant & Waterlooville record appearance maker and goalscorer, though both players have joined from current club Gosport Borough.

Gary Meakin made just a couple of changes to the side that had beaten Leighton Town a week earlier with Romaine Walker replacing the unavailable Gary Burrell, and James McCluskey coming into the centre for Sam Sharples.

The Woods chose to defend the famous Calthorpe Park slope in the first half and Fleet were out of the blocks quickly, showing plenty of effort for their new manager, who took a defensive role himself. After just four minutes Ronayne Marsh-Brown was robbed of the ball out wide and a quick pass forward put Adam Cashin-Murray in on goal, but his strike was turned wide by a diving Derek Lewis.

Two minutes later the play switched to the other end as Oliver Hawkins was put through but he was slow to get his shot away and was tackled. From the resulting corner, Pryce got lost as he attempted to clear and McCluskey lifted the ball over his head but the ball rested on top of the net.

Undeterred, Fleet were soon back on the attack. Suhael Odeh and Cashin-Murray both went close and then, when Jonathan Constant lost the ball in midfield, a quick break saw Taylor race forward. Lewis came out wide to get to the ball first but never looked likely to and Taylor used his experience to draw a foul. He was going away from goal so a yellow card for the Woods keeper was always the likely outcome, and he made amends when the free-kick was swung in as he pushed away Luke King’s firm header.

The game was still only fifteen minutes old when another cross picked out Taylor and his powerful header crashed back off the crossbar and was well cleared under pressure by Andrew Mensah. Then, Louis Wilson showed some clever play to cut in from the left and seemed likely to score but Garry Senior cleared the danger.

Fleet were forced into a change after 22 minutes as Cashin-Murray was forced off with a hamstring injury but they should have taken the lead just second later as Dan Rousell knocked in a deep cross which picked out King for another free header but he failed to beat Lewis once again.

Finally, the Woods began to settle and enjoy a spell of play themselves and after 34 minutes a shot from Constant saw Senior cleverly divert the ball goalwards but Pryce was equal to it, moving quickly to push the ball around the post. From the corner, the ball was worked across to Constant, who let fly from just outside the box but it was just too high.

Having weathered the storm, it was then a bit of a blow when the Woods conceded a minute before half-time. Substitute Mark Watkins knocked in a cross from the right which found Taylor and although Lewis managed to keep out his close-range header, the ball ran loose and despite Liam Fowler’s attempt to clear, it was Taylor who managed to force the ball home for a debut goal.

The second half gave the Woods the opportunity to take advantage of playing down the hill and they certainly upped their game. Just four minutes after the restart, Senior saw his low drive pushed just wide of the post by a diving Pryce and from the resulting corner Hawkins headed into the danger-zone and Craig White was on hand to force it over the line.

Suddenly it was the home side that were on the back foot and after 58 minutes, skipper Marsh-Brown whipped a free-kick from out wide and the ball eluded all to curl inside the far post for his first goal for the club.

Just four minutes later it was game over when a corner was only half-cleared by Wilson and McCluskey returned it with a crisp 25-yard strike which gave Pryce no chance. The young midfielder was also notching his first Northwood goal.

Fleet were unable to respond and the Woods could have added more as the game progressed. Constant and McCluskey went closest as substitutes were introduced from both sides. It was into stoppage-time that the fourth goal arrived. Sharples provided a well-executed lob which gave Hawkins first run down the middle and he chipped the oncoming keeper to extend his run of scoring to four successive matches.

The victory takes Northwood up to seventh place in the table and they now put their winning form to the test on Tuesday night as league leaders Slough Town come to Chestnut Avenue.

Report by ALAN EVANS

Photos by James Brown