Following their midweek FA Cup exploits at Harrow Borough, the Woods produced a totally flat performance and fell to their heaviest away defeat in the league for over a year against a much-improved Beaconsfield Sycob side. Northwood were missing Manager Mark Burgess who has taken a much-planned week off to get married so Assistant Simon Huggett was in charge and they made some unenforced changes for almost the first time this season. Top scorer Michael Murray and Louis Stead were both rested with Myles Stephenson coming in for his starting debut alongside Niko Muir who was also starting his first game since returning to the club once again. Omar Vassell was also still unavailable so Joakim Ehui continued to fill in at right-back.

The home side had made an excellent start to their own league campaign but had suffered a setback in the FA cup against lower opposition a week earlier. That didn’t show in the early stages of this game, especially after they took an early ninth minute. A clever back-heel from Aaron Berry saw a cross swung in and Omari Patrick was unmarked to flick a neat header into the top corner. Just five minutes later that lead could have been doubled as a long goal-kick was flicked on by Charlie Lossasso and Patrick was through on goal. He raced into the box but then drove his shot wide of the far post.

The Woods made attempts to get back into the game, mainly through Rob Hastings who got the better of his marker on a couple of occasions but without creating any chances in front of goal. On 28 minutes a neat move saw Patrick knock in a cross which Lossasso laid into the path of left-back Robert Gerrard and his low shot was saved by a diving Berkley Laurencin.

Northwood rallied again as they looked for an equaliser before half-time. George Nicholas and Hastings both had efforts blocked around the edge of the area before James Burgess skied his effort. Then another Hastings attempt flew well wide. Just before the break, the Rams could have added a second when Patrick fed Berry but the striker fired over the bar.

The half-time talk would have needed to have raised Northwood’s spirits but there was no time to tell if that would have worked as Beaconsfield added a second goal just forty seconds after the restart. A throw came in from the right and found Aaron Minhas in space and he let fly with a spectacular strike that flew in off the far post to give Laurencin no chance.

Just four minutes later it could have been all over as Gerrard played a great ball in and Laurencin was forced into a diving stop to deny Patrick’s poked effort. Perry Dicker replaced the injured Nicholas on 51 minutes before Jon Munday picked up the game’s only booking for a series of foul tackles as the Woods tried to stay in the game.

Muir had made very little impression on the game but did get a shot off that sailed wide on 56 minutes but Sycob pretty much wrapped up the points from the counter-attack that followed. Another long kick saw Ehui and Laurencin both hesitate. The tap back was short and Patrick nipped in between them, went past the keeper and coolly slotted into the empty net to make it 3-0.

Murray replaced Stephenson for the final thirty minutes and soon after Munday went close with a powerful long-range effort that wasn’t far over. Murray then had his own strike from a free-kick that produced the same result. The Rams always looked more dangerous in front of goal and went close again as Tristan Campbell clipped the post with a shot, before the Woods gave a debut to Bailey Brown as a replacement for Burgess.

Hastings fired over again after a header on from Murray but it was a home substitute that made more of an impact. Ryan Debattista had been on the field less than a minute when Lossasso got forward on the left and knocked in a cross that Laurencin couldn’t gather cleanly and Debattista knocked in a fourth goal.

Laurencin saved again low down from Debattista and then from a Lossasso free-kick as Sycob tried to turn the screw but it was Northwood who finished the game well in stoppage-time. Home goalkeeper Sam Bunting ended his quiet afternoon by pushing over another Murray free-kick but from the corner Murray picked out the run of Dicker who flicked a perfect header into the top corner to reduce the arrears. Then Hastings got forward well again and hit a good shot that flew inches wide of the far post.

Having won their first four league games the Woods have now picked up just one point from their last four and have slipped to eighth in the table. They will need to put this performance behind them if they are to return to form in their big FA Cup clash at home to Didcot Town next Saturday.