Hanwell Town 1 Northwood 1.jpg)
Tuesday 20th October 2020
| NORTHWOOD | |||
 |
|||
| 1 | Hafed Al-Droubi | ||
| 2 | Ryan Phillips (68m) | ||
| 3 | Jaden Sharman | ||
| 4 | Billy Adcock | ||
| 5 | Dave Thomas © | ||
| 6 | Reece Yorke | ||
| 7 | Yiannis Constantinou | ||
| 8 | Marcelo Graca | ||
| 9 | Devonte Totesaut | ||
| 10 | Aaron Morgan | ||
| 11 | Daryl Bryan-Samuels (52m) | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Ryan Esprit (68m) | ||
| 14 | Andre Da Costa | ||
| 15 | Danny Brown | ||
| 16 | George Isaac (52m)  |
||
| 17 | - | ||
Hanwell: |
|||
Northwood halted their run of three successive league defeats with a spirited performance to take a share of the spoils against their old rivals Hanwell Town at the Powerday Stadium.
Woods were looking to build on the positives from their second half display in the Trophy tie against Heybridge, but they had to do so without the injured Michael Panford and Excel Muhemba. Ryan Phillips came in at right-back while Reece Yorke returned to partner Dave Thomas in central defence, the latter having recovered sufficiently from the knee problem which hampered him on Saturday, to allow him to don the Captain’s armband. Chesham loanee Billy Adcock came into central midfield for his first Northwood appearance while the versatile Daryl Bryan-Samuels was given his first start on the left flank following his debut as a substitute central defender. And there was new look to the attack as Aaron Morgan stepped up to partner Devonte Totesaut.
Woods began confidently as they enjoyed plenty of the ball in the opening stages, forcing the first corner of the evening. And they weren’t far away as a Phillips free-kick fell to Yorke on the edge of the box, the latter sending a half-volley narrowly over the Hanwell crossbar. And Phillips had another free-kick which was in range of the Geordies goal but his attempt failed to trouble goalkeeper Hugo Sobte.
Northwood were forced to do some defending as top scorer Ogo Obi’s shot brought the best out of keeper Hafed Al-Droubi while Thomas cleared a Andy O’Brien effort off the line. And O’Brien threatened again as he headed narrowly over from a corner.
Woods gathered themselves and with Bryan-Samuels and Yiannis Constantinou swapping flanks, they looked to reimpose themselves with Constantinou bursting into the Hanwell box but being dispossessed by Joel Jacobs whose intervention almost force dan own-goal as the ball rolled narrowly past the upright.
Gianni Crichlow was becoming more influential for the hosts and following a strong run down the Northwood left, pulled the ball across the face of goal with no black and white shirt to apply the finishing touch. Hanwell kept up the pressure and Constantinou tracked back well to deny Toch Singh with a timely tackle in the box to concede a corner.
But having kept Hanwell at bay, Woods were undone in the final minute of the half as the hosts enjoyed a lucky break following a Sobte drop-kick, a defensive clearance rebounding into the path of Obi who took the ball forward before calmly slotting past Al-Droubi.
Hanwell threatened immediately after the break as Obi and Crichlow went close but Woods stood firm.
Northwood made a change on 52 minutes as Bryan-Samuels made way for George Isaac for his first action for a number of weeks following his hamstring strain. And the substitution reaped immediate benefits as Isaac picked up the ball on the halfway line before avoiding a couple of challenges and combining with Morgan who returned the ball with a delightful backheel for Isaac to stroke the ball beyond Sobte for the equaliser on 52 minutes.
Hanwell looked for a response and Crichlow was looking dangerous again with a couple of threatening runs but the final product was still lacking.
Woods made another substitution on 70 minutes as Ryan Esprit replaced Phillips at right-back and the visitors had a half chance as they forced a corner, the industrious Marcelo Graca hooking his shot wide form the set play.
Obi threatened again for Hanwell as he fired over from a good position before he was denied by an offside flag as he headed into the net following a free-kick.
The hosts were stepping up the pressure as they went in search of the deciding goal and Northwood made their final substitution with Constantinou being replaced by Danny Brown as the visitors looked to stay in the contest.
Woods defending was becoming increasingly desperate as they struggled to clear their lines in the face of the incessant Hanwell pressure and the Geordies had a couple of penalty shouts turned down in a frantic finale.
Northwood did manage to break the stranglehold as Totesaut had a shot charged down, but after a Hanwell free-kick rippled the side-netting, the referee’s final whistle was greeted with relief by Woods who had managed to secure a richly deserved point.
REPORT by Robin Piper
