Match Report
by Robin Piper
Northwood continued their impressive finish to the season with a hard fought win over play-off contenders Redbridge who were looking for their sixth victory on the spin.
Lee Holland had recovered sufficiently from his hamstring strain to return to the right-back slot in place of the injured Danny Brown, whilst Rodney Hicks was also missing through injury, Abdul Yoki his replacement on the left flank.
Woods took the initiative as they opened the scoring on eight minutes through Matt Baxter, who held off a number of challenges before rounding keeper Tony Tucker and slotting the ball home.
Redbridge looked for a immediate riposte and Mitch Hahn went close with a couple of efforts, whilst Aaron Gayle sent his volley wide of the target.
A sweeping Northwood move almost resulted in Northwood adding a second goal as Baxter played the ball across to Sonner, but his touch let him down allowing Tucker to smother the danger.
Redbridge were beginning to pin Woods back, and they dominated possession for the remainder of the half.
However, ‘keeper Mitch Swain was in fine form once again as he pulled off smart saves to deny Steve Butterworth and Gayle.
The visitors continued to press for an equaliser but the resilient Northwood defence was up to the test with Bradley Hewitt and Gary Edwards looking strong in central defence.
However, Woods suffered a scare as a David Collins free-kick into the box deflected of Hewitt’s head and onto the crossbar, but the ball rebounded to safety.
Having soaked up the Redbridge pressure, Northwood delivered the sucker-punch by extending their lead seven minutes into the second-half, Sonner converting from the penalty spot following a handball offence after the visitors failed to deal with Holland’s long throw into the box.
And Northwood almost added to Redbridge’s frustration as Baxter tested Tucker with a fierce shot from the edge of the box, but the visiting keeper tipped the effort over the bar.
Redbridge needed a quick goal if they were to get back into the contest, and Gayle tested Swain, and then missed a gilt-edged chance to reduce the arrears when clean through on goal.
The visitors utilised thier full quota of substitutes as they looked for a way back, whilst Jerome Hall entered the fray for Woods, as he replaced Sonner with fifteen minutes left on the clock.
Redbridge did throw themselves a lifeline as Lee Townrow capitalised on a rare slip from Hewitt to grab a goal on 85 minutes but it was merely a consolation as Woods held on to record their first ever league win over the Motormen.
Photos: James Brown
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