Northwood 1.jpg)
Staines Town 2
Tuesday 27th October 2020
| NORTHWOOD | |||
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| 1 | Hafed Al-Droubi | ||
| 2 | Ryan Phillips (33m) | ||
| 3 | Jaden Sharman | ||
| 4 | Reece Yorke | ||
| 5 | Dave Thomas © | ||
| 6 | Aaron Morgan (60m) | ||
| 7 | Excel Muhemba  |
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| 8 | Marcelo Graca | ||
| 9 | Devonte Totesaut |
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| 10 | Yiannis Constantinou | ||
| 11 | Danny Brown (75m) | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Ryan Esprit | ||
| 14 | Arash Abdullahi (75m) |
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| 15 | George Isaac | ||
| 16 | Andre Da Costa (60m) | ||
| 17 | Daryl Bryan-Samuels (33m) | ||
Staines: |
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Northwood’s poor league form continued with a third home defeat of the season as improving Staines Town took the points with a stoppage-time winner.
Woods welcomed back central defender Reece Yorke while Excel Muhemba had recovered sufficiently from his ankle injury to regain his place on the right flank. There was also a start for Danny Brown in central midfield, allowing Yiannis Constantinou to move into a left sided attacking role.
The visitors settled well and were looking the more threatening in the early stages as Kain Adom tested goalkeeper Hafed Al-Droubi with a cross shot before Ola Williams saw his header cleared off the line following a hanging free-kick to the far post.
Northwood briefly threatened as Marcelo Gracas released Jaden Sharman into the Staines box but he was thwarted by a well-timed tackle as he shaped to shoot and the Swans resumed their attacking momentum as Tayo Oyebola headed narrowly over from a corner while Like Robinson wasn’t far away as he shot across the face of the Woods goal after a strong run.
Northwood were forced into a change as they lost Ryan Phillips to injury on 33 minutes with Daryl Bryan-Samuels his replacement at right-back. And the visitors looked took take advantage as Woods were getting reorganised with a quick free-kick which saw Robinson’s shot deflected behind.
But Staines were not to be denied as they opened the scoring on 38 minutes after Northwood lost possession in the middle of the park, allowing Exauce Bizimia to break down the Swans’ right before squaring to Oyebola, who bundled the ball home from close range.
Northwood had a great chance to restore parity just before the break when Aaron Morgan created an opening for Constantinou, but his shot rebounded off the legs of keeper Joe Williams.
Woods would have been hoping for an early chance to strike upon the resumption but they continued to stutter with Staines looking more likely to be adding to their lead as Frederick Hill hooked wide from close range while Che Krabbendum would have been disappointed as he skied his shot when well-placed after Northwood had conceded possession in a dangerous place once again.
Andre DaCosta was introduced for Morgan on the hour mark in attempt to freshen up the attack attack, but after Woods had had a shout for handball turned down following a Constantinou corner, the hosts were indebted to Al-Droubi as he pulled off a smart save to deny Krabbendam.
Brown made way for Abdollahi on 75 minutes as Northwood continued to search for that elusive attacking ingredient and a way back into the contest and following another save from Al-Droubi as he dealt with a Bizima header, Da Costa went close with a shot after Muhemba and Yorke had combined to create the opening.
Northwood were finally getting some attacking momentum as Constantinou played in Devonte Toutesaut but the Woods number nine was thwarted by a fine block tackle from Williams. But with five minutes left on the clock, Woods finally found a way through as the referee played a good advantage allowing Muhemba to exchange passes with Sharman before finding the net for his first goal for the club.
Woods might have settled for the point, but in their eagerness to push on in added time, they left themselves exposed as Staines broke from the halfway line with Hill playing in substitute Sebastian Osei-Obengo who broke Northwood hearts as his shot deflected off Al-Droubi’s hand for the winning goal.
REPORT by Robin Piper
