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The Woods’ run of four successive wins could feasibly have been extended against league leaders Slough Town on the strength of this performance, but it was the Rebels who rode their luck and showed the more clinical finishing taking all three points. Gary Meakin named an unchanged side and the Woods came out of the blocks quickly, with Romaine Walker being put in by James McCluskey but his chip was turned off for a corner by Adam Logie. McCluskey, who bagged his first Northwood goal at the weekend, looked keen to try again and shot just wide from the resulting corner.

Slough’s first real attack came on 13 minutes as a flick on by Danny Burnell released Paul Coyne. Goalkeeper Derek Lewis was out to clear and Burnell was quick to shoot from the loose ball but it was straight at Lewis who held comfortably. Back at the other end, Jonathan Constant tested goalkeeper James Wallington with a crisp shot and although the keeper couldn’t hold it; Dave Woozley completed the clearance by conceding another corner. This time the ball was worked short and Walker cut in before unleashing a low shot which flashed through a ruck of players and nestled in the far corner to give the Woods the lead.

The Rebels looked to respond quickly as they upped the pace of their own attack and a cross from Steve Sinclair needed a timely clearance from McCluskey to prevent it causing any real danger. However, just two minutes later Sinclair broke again with a ball down the right to Sean Sonner, whose cross was neatly tucked away by Burnell to level the scores. Northwood almost regained the lead immediately as Walker again caused havoc down the left. He crossed to Garry Senior who laid it off into the path of Oliver Hawkins but the tall striker fired over the bar.

Slough made the Woods pay for this after 24 minutes after a long-ball tempted Lewis to race out of his goal but he misjudged it completely as Sonner beat him to it and he lobbed the keeper perfectly from 25 yards to score against his former club and give the Rebels the lead. If anything, Northwood raised their game more at this stage. Walker was the main catalyst as he found several ways around the giant Alex Brown playing on the right of the defence. One run and cross picked out Senior in front of goal but he somehow scooped it up and over the bar from six yards. The Woods’ top scorer continued his profligacy in front of goal a few minutes later as he latched onto a Hawkins flick-on but again blasted over the top.

After 41 minutes Walker twisted and turned his way into the penalty-area but couldn’t find the space for a final shot and when it was eventually worked across to McCluskey he again failed to keep it down. The half ended in much the same fashion with Senior getting a touch to a good cross but this time Wallington managed to spread himself to block and keep it out.

It was quite clear that Northwood were far from out of this game as the second half started, and Andrew Mensah made a great attacking run from his full-back position only to see a deflection steer his shot just wide for a corner. But disaster struck on 51 minutes when Stuart Swift pumped in a long-range free-kick from left to right and Sonner met it at the far post with a cracking volley that rocketed into the roof of the net, though claims of a foul in the middle by Nathan Bowden-Haase were ignored.

A two-goal cushion was always likely to be enough for Slough, but the Woods never gave up trying with Walker still causing Brown problems, as he picked up a yellow card for a blatant block on the youngster. Mensah was also getting forward more, and from one run and shot, many thought that he had pulled a goal back only to find it had hit the side-netting on 64 minutes.

It was only in the final fifteen minutes of the second half that the pace of the attacks dropped a little, and Sonner missed the chance of a hat-trick when he poked a shot wide after waiting for a long ball to bounce kindly. A minute later, another former Northwood player, Danny Murphy got forward well on the left but saw his strike turned round the post by Lewis. It was after 84 minutes that Slough notched a fourth goal. The ball was worked across and Coyne saw his shot blocked by a diving Lewis but it ran loose and despite efforts to clear the danger, goal-poacher Burnell seized on it to knock in his second of the game.

The Woods rallied again in the closing stages. Substitute Kurt Morlese hit a shot on the turn which flashed just wide and then, after 88 minutes, Mensah got forward again to provide a near-post shot which was tucked under Wallington at the near-post by Morlese for his first goal for the club. Still Northwood attacked and Ronayne Marsh-Brown raced to the edge of the box and let fly with a shot that took a wicked deflection and flashed inches over the bar for a corner. There was time for one more effort and that saw Walker have another effort well-saved by Wallington.

Report by ALAN EVANS

Photos by James Brown