Northwood 1 Hanworth Villa 4

Monday 2nd January 2023

NORTHWOOD




1	Andrew McCorkell
2	Harry Gallagher
3	Brandon Kalu
4	Riccardo Alexander-Greenaway
5	Luke Tingey ©
6	Romario Jonas
7	Ronan Hutchins (46m)
8	Jake Tabor (69m)
9	Josh Helmore (46m)
10	Juwon Akintunde
11	Carl Stewart
Substitutes
12	Junior Paiva
14	Gareth Chendlik (46m)
15	Teddy Stacey (69m)
16	Micah Jackson (46m)
17	Andy Lomas
	Hanworth: Gary Ross , James Fenlon (Louis Taylor 60m), Tom Bender, Ben Geraghty , Guy Ansah-Palmer, George Wells, Gagendeep Samra (Elliott Simpson 81m), Theo Crawford, Jacob Erskine , Sam Merson, Kyen Nicholas (Jordan Ellis 62m)

Northwood suffered a disappointing start to 2023 as they crashed at home to Hanworth Villa for the second time this season following their FA Trophy exit back in September.

Woods were unchanged from the Boxing Day success at Southall and there was a place on the bench for new signing Gareth Chendlik to strengthen the attacking options. And in front of a healthy bank holiday crowd, the game got off to a low-key start as both sides took time to find their rhythm.

The contest gradually warmed up and it was the visitors who began to show first as Kyen Nicholas nipped between defenders, but his effort lacked the required connection to trouble Woods keeper Andrew McCorkell. And Nicholas was involved again moments later as he escaped the attentions of Romario Jonas with a smart turn before shooting beyond McCorkell to open the scoring on 11 minutes.

The Villains were continuing to dominate the midfield area and they forced a corner which Woods struggled to clear with the return ball finding the head of Jacob Erskine whose header was collected by McCorkell. At the other end, Northwood threatened on a couple of occasions through Luke Tingey’s long throw - Jonas flicking onto Josh Helmore whose hooked volley cleared the crossbar before another flick-on flashed across the face of goal with no red shirt to apply the finish.

Villa continued to threaten as they forced a series of corners and Northwood’s defence was breached once again as they failed to deal with a far post delivery with George Wells sweeping the ball home to increase the lead with 33 minutes on the clock.

Northwood looked to respond before the break, and they went close as Tingey’s defence-splitting pass found Juwon Akintunde whose low shot was palmed away for a corner by Villa keeper Gary Ross.

PHOTOS by James Brown

Woods made a double substitution at the break as Chendlik and Micah Jackson replaced Helmore and Ronan Hutchins. But the hosts gave themselves a mountain to climb as they conceded a third goal five minutes into the second half as Harry Gallagher got in an unfortunate tangle allowing Nicholas to break clear before calmly slotting the ball home for his second of the afternoon.

And the contest was effectively over three minutes later as the Villains scored a fourth, Woods failing to clear their lines and allowing Sam Merson to get round the back of the defence before sending over a low cross which was headed home by a stooping Jacob Erskine.

Northwood hoped for some consolation, but they continued to struggle to make much of an impression on a well-drilled Hanworth outfit, being restricted to speculative attempts with Jackson’s long-range shot clearing the woodwork.

Teddy Stacey was introduced for his first home appearance of the season as Jake Tabor made way and the substitute was quickly involved as he found Akintunde who was unfortunately in an offside position as he rolled the ball into the Villa net.

There were a number of yellow cards brandished for minor offences in the closing stages as Woods’ frustrations grew. However, the hosts signed off on a brighter note as Chendlik opened his Northwood account as he converted from the penalty spot deep into added time after Akintunde was upended.

REPORT by Robin Piper