Northwood’s enjoyable FA Cup run came to an abrupt end on Saturday as they were stunned by two early goals which gave them a mountain to climb against a classy side from two divisions higher in the non-League pyramid. With skipper Reece Yorke ruled out by a one-game ban picked up for his ludicrous sending-off in the previous round, it meant that the defence was already seriously weakened and while Brad Hewitt made a return after injury, he looked rusty as the Woods came under pressure from the start.

Manager Gary Meakin replaced regular goalkeeper James Reading with 18-year-old recent signing Jack Middleton for only his second appearance. He also made the surprising decision to leave both pacy wingers, Romaine Walker and Adamson Ajayi on the bench in an effort to bolster the defensive side of the team but it never had the desired effect.

With just five minutes on the clock Inih Effiong picked up a through-ball from Mark Jones and raced into the box before testing Middleton with an early shot. The keeper kept it out but was unable to push it far enough and Cliff Akurang followed up to fire through a ruck of players to put the visitors ahead. The Woods responded well with Spencer Bellotti hitting a good strike on the turn which goalkeeper James Russell had to push over the top. But it was only a brief respite as Hewitt picked up a rare yellow card for a mistimed challenge and from the half-cleared free-kick; Charlie O’Loughlin chipped a ball wide towards the corner flag. Mauro Vilhete challenged James McCluskey for the ball as he tried to shepherd it out and robbed him of the ball before cutting it back to David Hatton who slotted home a second goal.

Akurang headed a far post cross from Jones over the top a minute later but Northwood showed they were still capable of making a game of it when Hewitt headed a John Christian free-kick back across goal and McCluskey made room for a strike but then failed to hit the target from ten yards. Effiong and Akurang continued to prove a real handful for the Woods defence with the former powering his way past two challenges and forcing Middleton into a good save on 22 minutes. Then Akurang robbed Middleton out wide when the keeper failed to clear his lines and he rolled the ball to his unmarked strike partner who drove the ball wide of the gaping goal.

Hewitt was next to be caught in possession out on the by-line, this time by Hutton who went for goal at the near-post but Middleton, now warming to his task, pushed the ball round the post. He also made another save to deny Akurang shortly afterwards while former Wealdstone man Graeme Montgomery drove a long-range shot just over the bar.

Northwood had been under the cosh for a long period but they almost pulled a goal back on 41 minutes as Scott Raper got forward down the right and Christian got on the end of his cross with a deft touch but Russell got down well and quickly to keep the ball out. Then, just before the break, another good move saw McCluskey put Raper in on goal and though his angled drive beat Russell, the ball rolled the wrong side of the far post.
Ajayi was introduced for Danny McDonnell at half-time in an attempt to change the tempo and an early corner saw Lee Grant get his head to a McCluskey centre but he flicked it wide.

Akurang volleyed over from a Vilhete cross but shortly after Walker had been introduced for Jack Hutchinson, Boreham Wood notched a killer third goal on 63 minutes with a solo effort from Effiong, cutting in from the right and sweeping past two half-hearted challenges before firing high into the net.
The same player missed a great chance to add another on 74 minutes but the Woods were just playing for pride at this stage and their best effort at a consolation goal came after 82 minutes. Ajayi was the architect with a clever run into the box which took him past two defenders and his square ball was cleverly flicked by Oliver Hawkins. The ball was going just wide of the far post and Bellotti stretched to try to recover it but the post came to the visitors rescue and the ball was cleared.

Wood made a couple of late substitutions and within a minute both played a part in a fourth goal as Harvey Scott-Morris sent Effiong down the left and his cross picked out Robert Hastings unmarked and he fired home.