Northwood 1 Chertsey Town 3.jpg)
Saturday 10th October 2020
| NORTHWOOD | |||
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| 1 | Hafed Al-Droubi | ||
| 2 | Ryan Espriti (57m) | ||
| 3 | Jaden Sharman (66m) | ||
| 4 | Ryan Phillips | ||
| 5 | Dave Thomas (c) | ||
| 6 | Reece Yorke | ||
| 7 | Diogo Da Silva  |
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| 8 | Siju Odelusi |
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| 9 | Devonte Totesaut | ||
| 10 | Taufee Skandari (57m) | ||
| 11 | Richard Ward | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Sukru Can Yildiz (57m) | ||
| 14 | Tyla Stuart | ||
| 15 | Michael Panford | ||
| 16 | Baback Dehghani (66m) | ||
| 17 | Excel Muhemba (57m) | ||
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Injury-hit Northwood suffered their second defeat of the week as highly fancied Chertsey Town took the points in front of a healthy 200-plus crowd at the Fenton Civil Engineering Stadium.
Manager Rob Ursell’s plans continue to be hampered by injury issues with midfielders Marcelo Graca and Charlie Kuehn the latest to be added to a growing list, but he was able to welcome back Reece Yorke to bolster the defence. Ryan Esprit replaced Baback Dehghani at right wing-back while Siju Odelusi, an on-loan signing from Hayes & Yeading United, was introduced to the midfield. There was also a first start for Taufee Skandari in an attacking role.
Chertsey were quickly out of the blocks forcing a couple of early corners and Northwood goalkeeper Hafed Al-Droubi was called into action as to tip over a shot from Sam Murphy before Casey Maclaren headed narrowly wide.
Having resisted the early pressure, Northwood began to find their attacking range and they went close as Curfews’ keeper Joseph Osaghae produced a smart near-post save to deny Esprit while at the other end, Al-Droubi dived full length to divert a Jake Baxter effort.
But it was Northwood who opened the scoring on 23 minutes as Devonte Totesaut drew the Chertsey defence before crossing to Odelusi, who gleefully scooped the ball home for a debut goal.
The Curfews looked for an immediate response and they had a great chance as Jonathan Hippolyte found himself one-on-one with Al-Droubi but the Woods stopper spread himself well to smother the shot. And the visitors were not to be denied as they drew level on 32 minutes following a corner as a deflected clearance fell to Baxter who swivelled in the six-yard box to hook the ball beyond Al-Droubi.
Woods responded well to the setback and they weren’t far away as Yorke latched onto a Ryan Phillip’s free-kick with the header being deflected behind before another slick move ended with Richard Ward trying his luck with a shot from Abiodun the edge of the box which flew narrowly over.
However, Chertsey might have gone into the half-time break a goal to the good as Al-Droubi redeemed himself with a fine save after gifting the ball to Sam Murphy while the lively Magnus Abisogun surged into the Northwood box before firing over.
There was lively start to the second period as Abisogun went close once more for the Curfews while Northwood asked questions as Skandari had a close-range shot blocked after being set up by Totesaut before the former fed the over-lapping Esprit whose low shot was diverted wide by Osaghae.
Both sides continued to press, but it was Cherstsey who put their noses in front as a Hippolyte broke quickly down Northwood’s right flank before sending a low ball across to Abisogun to apply the finish on 53 minutes.
Woods were forced into a change just before the hour-mark as debutant Sukru Can Yildiz replaced Esprit, who was struggling with an ankle injury, Yildiz moving into the back three with Phillips switching to right wing-back. There was also a change up front as Excel Muhemba was introduced for Skandari to freshen up the attack.
Chertsey were looking increasingly threatening as they sought to increase their advantage with Hippolyte having a shot charged down after good work from Murphy. And Woods were forced to reorganize once more as left wing-back Jaden Sharman succumbed to a thigh problem with Baback Dehghani his replacement.
The Curfews kept their foot on the gas as Al-Droubi clawed away an effort from Bryan Taylor before Andrew Crossley went close with a long-range attempt. And the visitors finally got their reward as Northwood were caught out by a short corner routine which was finished off by Maclaren to effectively end the contest with nine minutes left on the clock.
Chertsey went close to adding a fourth following a mazy run from Scott Day but the substitute was denied by Al-Droubi. But that would have been harsh on Woods who maintained their shape and created a couple chances in the closing minutes, Totesaut seeing his shot blocked before Muhemba fired into the side-netting to bring proceedings to a close.
REPORT by Robin Piper
PHOTOS by James Brown
