Bottom of the league Woodford United currently have the worst record in the country, having lost every game they have played this season and Northwood were in no mood to give them any respite. Incredibly, the home side are still only five points from safety due to the almost equally poor form of North Greenford, so they will continue to plug away and look for a breakthrough but had little to offer in this one-sided battle on a difficult pitch surface. The Woods manager Mark Burgess opted to have a run-out himself in place of the injured Adil Salih but it was an otherwise unchanged starting line-up following Tuesday’s first game in several weeks.

Woodford looked liveliest in the opening ten minutes and when Reece Yorke missed a clearing header, the ball rolled forward to Aaron Hinds who was through in goal but James Reading was out quickly and saved with his legs. It took Northwood a while to get to grips with the task in hand but after Oliver Hawkins had seen a shot saved by goalkeeper Jack Riley on 15 minutes, the Woods took the lead three minutes later. Burgess played a ball forward to Hawkins and his knock down was seized on by Jerome Federico who let fly from twenty-five yards into the top corner, netting his first goal for the club.

Woodford rallied briefly with Hinds slicing a shot wide and then Reading made a comfortable save from a Wez Emery free-kick but, having found the key to scoring, the Woods then netted twice in quick succession. After 29 minutes, Spencer Bellotti latched onto a well-worked forward move and crashed a shot past Riley for his first league goal since mid-November. Then, just three minutes later, Hawkins raced towards goal and set up Federico who swept home his second of the game.

There was a setback for the Woods soon after as skipper Brad Hewitt was forced off with a hamstring strain and this brought a debut for Brentford youngster Stefan Tomasevic, a recent arrival on work experience. Federico almost completed a first-half hat-trick but saw his crisp drive crash back off the post and Ryan Phillips also tested Riley with a free-kick but the home side managed to keep the score down to just 0-3 at the break.

Woodford held out for another ten minutes into the second-half but then gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position on the right. Federico knocked it to the near-post where Bellotti steered a header across the keeper and over the line for a fourth goal.

It was Federico who had another chance to complete his hat-trick first when Bellotti headed down a Phillips cross into his path but his shot flashed wide of the post. Bellotti should have completed his on 67 minutes when he raced clear of the defence but then chipped the ball straight to Riley who was well off his line. The fifth goal came after 71 minutes and it was a hat-trick delight for Bellotti as he twisted to latch onto a cracking cross from Tomasevic and volleyed home. It was the striker’s second hat-trick of the season and makes him the Woods top scorer.

Niko Muir replaced Hawkins straight after this and then Woodford were dealt a further blow as Liviu Bisoc pulled Muir back as he went for goal and picked up his second yellow of the game to leave the home side with ten men for the final fifteen minutes. But with the game won, the Woods never really looked to take advantage of their extra man and chances were few and far between in the closing stages. Federico volleyed over after teeing up a shot, while Muir also shot wide after some clever footwork.

The three points were very welcome for Northwood, ending a run of six league games without a win which stretches back to mid-November and was also their first league clean-sheet for the same period of time.