Westfield 2 Northwood 1
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Tuesday 23rd April 2024
| NORTHWOOD | |||
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| 1 | Andrew McCorkell | ||
| 2 | Harry McKenna | ||
| 3 | Deago Dunbar Bonnie | ||
| 4 | Teddy Stacey | ||
| 5 | Luke Tingey © | ||
| 6 | Stephan Langley | ||
| 7 | Archie James (67m) | ||
| 8 | Harry McCorkell | ||
| 9 | Lucas Sinclair (87m) | ||
| 10 | Dan Williams (87m) | ||
| 11 | Kofi Anokye-Boadi | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Denzel Effah (87m) | ||
| 14 | Godlove Oppong (87m) | ||
| 15 | Jeremy Stewart (67m) | ||
| 16 | Sam Jenkins | ||
| 17 | Julio Fresneda | ||
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Northwood followed their second half resurgence at Guernsey on Sunday with one of their best away performances of the season on Tuesday night but ultimately Westfield secured a place in the end of season play-offs with a last-minute winner.
Manager Ben Bukowski kept mainly the same side that had played on the Island just over 48 hours earlier with skipper Luke Tingey returning to the centre of the Woods defence in place of the injured Harry Gallagher while Carl Stewart remained sidelined.
Westfield went into the match in superb form having won their last five matches and knowing that a win would mean they would definitely pip Raynes Park Vale to the final place in the end of season knockout.
With only two wins on their travels all season, the Woods would have been big outsiders to get something from this game but they started really well with less than three minutes on the clock when a good ball sent Kofi Anokye-Boadi through on goal but former Woods Youth keeper Sonny Wheeler was out quickly and he managed to spread himself well and block his shot one-on-one.
Northwood continued to hold sway and on 12 minutes, Harry McCorkell sent over a tempting cross which was crying out for a finish at the back post but no-one gambled on it and the chance was gone. The Woods should have been ahead on 25 minutes though when Anokye-Boadi’s ball in from out wide picked out Dan Williams in front of goal. He took it down perfectly with his chest but then knocked it wide of the post with his left=foot.
Westfield were guilty of over-hitting their final ball as the Woods continued to press and after 33 minutes McCorkell hit a good, low shot that whistled just past the post. The visitors then had another great opportunity five minutes before the break as Lucas Sinclair threaded a ball through to strike-partner Williams with just the keeper to beat. It seemed he had done that with his shot but Wheeler just managed to get a touch to it and it bounced wide of the post. From the resulting corner, swung in by Archie James, there was a bit of scramble in the box with two shots blocked including one from Sinclair and another from Stephan Langley.
It was only in the closing-stages of the first half that the Field finally to create something in front of goal. A low strike from Mayowa Adaje was dealt with comfortably by Andrew McCorkell in the Woods goal while a flicked effort from Manolis Gogonas also flew straight into the keeper’s arms just as the half ended.
Westfield were first to record an effort on goal after the break as Jordan Alves cut in from the right and hit a shot that flew wide via a deflection but after that, the Woods again got on the front-foot and a good flowing move led to a shot from James that forced Wheeler into another save low down.
Five minutes later, the ball was worked from right to left and Williams set up Deago Dunbar-Bonnie for a shot which flew over the crossbar and it was after 64 minutes that the Woods took a deserved lead. It was Dunbar-Bonnie that delivered a well-placed corner and Harry McCorkell who stretched to head home from close-range for his first Northwood goal.
Westfield responded to the goal by bringing on substitute Jamarie Brissett, the former South Park winger who had scored twice against the Woods for his former club back in December. He was almost immediately into action, finding a lot of room down the left side of the box and beating McCorkell with a good strike but Langley did superbly well to clear off the line and deny him a goal.
The home side were definitely waking up though and on 73 minutes Adaje made inroads down the right and then forced McCorkell into a good save at his near-post and two minutes later Northwood tried to freshen things up with Jeremy Stewart replacing James.
But Westfield got lucky with ten minutes remaining as Alves cut in from t
he left flank and found enough space to fire goalwards with a left-footed strike that clipped the head of Tingey and flew in to give McCorkell no chance.
Very little happened in the next ten minutes, though both Anokye-Boadi and substitute Godlove Oppong fired shot wide of the target for the Woods and it was in the last of the four-added minutes of stoppage-time that Westfield stole all three points. Alfie Huckle and Gogonas worked the ball across to Alves on the left and he was again allowed to get in a shot which bounced in front of McCorkell and flew in for the winner and a place in the play-offs.
It was the Woods' seventh 2-1 defeat of a season but they could still climb as high as thirteenth in the table with a win on Saturday as they take on Ascot United at The Skyline Roofing Stadium in their final fixture.
REPORT by Alan Evans
