Report by ALAN EVANS

Having parted company with manager Manny Williams earlier in the week, this tough away game at second-placed Ardley United looked to be a tall order for the makeshift Woods side and so it proved as the home side inflicted the club’s equal worst away league defeat since a similar result at Hayes & Yeading United back in September 2018.

Former Under 18s manager Jamie Barry returned to the club to bridge the gap before any new appointment is made and he was assisted by Mark Chandler plus the current youth team management of Matt Kaye and Karl Scott.

With the experienced paid of Mustafa Tiryaki and Liam Enver-Marum opting to leave the club, the squad was bolstered by the arrival of two players on dual-registration from Harrow Borough in Archie Morris and Parris Mason. Former Wood, Michael Kelly came in from North Greenford while current Under 18 James King came in for a senior debut while former Wembley defender Lucas Georgiou was also drafted in to strengthen the backline.

On a good-looking green surface, the home side kicked down the significant slope in the first-half and soon took command. The game was just seven minutes old when a corner was swung in from the right and skipper Elliot Baron found himself unmarked to power home a header.

The Woods struggled to get any impetus going forward and Ardley pierced the shaky defence again on 17 minutes. Top scorer Marcus Mealing was denied a shot at goal by Kieron Lake-Bryan who then also blocked another shot before the rebound was picked up by Sam McConnell who drove quickly into the box before a crisp left-foot finish. There was almost a third two minutes later as George Cowmeadow flashed a shot just wide of the far post.

The Woods finally made some inroads into the final third after 22 minutes as a half-cleared free-kick saw Kelly head the ball into the path of Mason whose first touch created a good chance but he couldn’t squeeze a shot past goalkeeper Harry Way. From the resulting corner, Morris swung the ball in and Way had to claw the ball away from under the crossbar to keep it out.

Northwood were still looking to get back into the game and got another good chance on 40 minutes when an excellent pass from Lake-Bryan put Mason through on goal. He beat Way to the ball but couldn’t steady himself which allowed the ‘keeper to recover well and block his effort.

From the chance to make it 2-1, the Woods saw the game completely slip away from them inside the next four minutes as Ardley netted twice, pretty much in identical fashion. A long ball put Cowmeadow through on goal and he tucked his shot away neatly. Times two. Suddenly the half-time whistle blew and the Woods were behind 4-0.

There was a chance to personnel and formation in the second-half as Freddie Greenstreet slotted into a three-man defence at the expense of King. Ten minutes on and Mason went close to pulling a goal back with a powerful strike from distance which was either just wide or touched wide by the diving Way. That was the Woods new man’s last action as he was replaced by Kayne Connor.

Sadly, the home netted a fifth goal soon after as a free-kick was knocked deep and McConnell’s simple knock back across goal found it’s way through the defence and over the line for his second of the game.
Rowan Daly, who had a few first-team games for the Woods last season, came on as a substitute to replace Reon Smith-Kouassi who hadn’t managed to make any real impact but Ardley were rampant again and netted a sixth goal through substitute Josh David on 64 minutes with plenty of time still to add to that tally.

Lake-Bryan continued with his good form with a run into the box soon after, stayed on his feet when challenged and got a cross into the danger-area but the ball was cleared and he was substituted soon after, replaced by another debutant, Lucas Da Silva Luz. Nathan Akandi also replaced Kelly on 74 minutes as the Woods continued to battle and this spirit almost brought a goal on 82 minutes as Daly was put through on goal. He showed great composure to step across two retreating defenders but his left-foot strike lacked the power needed to beat Way who dived to his left to parry and recover the loose ball.

The last chance of the game also came from Northwood as Akandi was felled just outside the box and Morris flighted the free-kick well but Way was equal to it once more, collecting it safely.