The Woods slipped to their fourth defeat in succession with this self-inflicted defeat in the Middlesex derby at rivals Uxbridge who came from behind to notch their first home win since the opening day of the season.
Northwood goalkeeping problems meant that they introduced a fifth different ‘keeper between the sticks in the last five matches, the latest being former MK Dons youngster Andrew McCorkell who has represented Northern Ireland Under-19s and played a few games for both Hendon and Chesham United last season. Also making his Northwood debut in central midfield was Michael Buckley who joined the club from Hanwell Town during the week.
But the Woods were slow out of the blocks and the opening stages belonged to the home side. After just three minutes former Woods midfielder James Burgess was the first to record a shot that flashed wide but soon after a ball over the top saw Dylan Kearney through on goal but though he beat McCorkell the ball was wide of the far post. Tom McDonnell then picked up an unwanted early yellow card after just seven minutes for a foul that actually save Kearney get a shot in on goal but again he was wide of the target.
There were ten minutes on the clock when Northwood breached the Uxbridge defence for the first time as Harry Newman got in a dangerous cross and defender Dave Thomas sliced his clearance high over the bar for a corner.
But it was only a brief respite and Uxbridge got their first effort on target after 20 minutes when Joe Wright hit a goalbound shot that was cleared off the line by an alert Buckley. Just three minutes later Wright got his head on the end of a Thomas cross but the ball came back off the crossbar.
Northwood’s attempts to form some attacks of their own came mainly through Newman but he was brought down in full flow on two occasions, earning yellow cards for both Ben Peden and debut defender Sam Aggrey-Adam with free-kicks coming to nothing.
Meanwhile Uxbridge were still putting the Woods defence under pressure with McCorkell saving well from a Matt Sinclair effort and then a mazy dribble from Rhys Rabess saw him beat two defenders but shoot over the bar. The half came to an end after a similar run from NoyanTajbakhsh got him into the box and this time McCorkell did well to save with his legs.
The Woods coaching staff must have got their points across well at half-time because their side looked a different prospect after the break. They attacked down the hill in much more organised fashion and were quickly on top. The opening goal came on 48 minutes as Evans Kouassi sped down the right past his marker and knocked in a perfect cross to the near-post where Meshach Williams headed powerfully past Paul McCarthy.
Northwood should have doubled that lead eight minutes later as Newman did well on the left and Tom McDonnell played the ball off to Tayshan Hayden-Smith who shot over the bar with just the ‘keeper to beat. Two minutes later Newman and McDonnell combined well again with the ball running loose to Kouassi whose powerful shot was well blocked by Burgess.
After 61 minutes a good run from Pat Kelly set up Williams for a good shot on the turn that flew over the top and Uxbridge changed things around by bringing on experienced striker Anthony Thomas for the tiring Wright who was just coming back from injury.
Williams gave away a free-kick and picked up a booking for a clumsy challenge after 74 minutes and it was from Sinclair’s excellent delivery towards the near-post that Dave Thomas met with a deft flick which left McCorkell flat-footed and levelled the scores.
Brad Hewitt had been struggling with injury in the heart of the Northwood defence and was replaced by youngster James Gurteen for his first appearance of the season and almost immediately the Woods had a great chance to regain the lead but McCarthy spread himself well to save from Newman who was through on goal.
As Northwood lost Kelly to injury, replaced by Jamie Doolan, it was Uxbridge who were pressing more for the winner in the closing stages. A long cross pumped in by Luke Warner-Eley saw Kearney’s header directed straight at McCorkell while Anthony Thomas picked up another yellow for the home side after hacking down Jack McDonnell.
After Kearney had worked the ball across goal, Warner-Eley then let fly with a good strike from distance which wasn’t far wide but time was running out when McCorkell made a good save from a Sinclair shot on 86 minutes. As the Woods ‘keeper lay on the ground, Kearney followed in and appeared to make minimal contact with his boot but inexplicably McCorkell reacted badly as he recovered his feet and swung his arm at the striker. The result was a penalty followed by a red card and with Buckley donning the green shirt and keepers gloves to make his debut more memorable, he could do nothing to stop Anthony Thomas from scoring from the spot and putting Uxbridge in front.
Despite six minutes of added time, the ten-men could do nothing to try to rescue the point as the home side managed the game through to the finish and the Woods were left pointless. |