Northwood 1 Marlow 0
Saturday 22nd January 2022
| NORTHWOOD | |||
 |
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| 1 | Daniel Hosier | ||
| 2 | Sam Jenkins  (68m) |
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| 3 | Andy Lomas | ||
| 4 | Keagan Cole © |
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| 5 | Tommy Boxer | ||
| 6 | James Gurteen | ||
| 7 | Ryan Young |
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| 8 | Teddy Stacey | ||
| 9 | Josh Helmore (80m) | ||
| 10 | Sydney Ibie (87m) | ||
| 11 | Carl Stewart | ||
| Substitutes | |||
| 12 | Micah Jackson (68m) |
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| 14 | Alex More (80m) | ||
| 15 | Yiannis Constantinou | ||
| 16 | Matt Surmon (87m) | ||
| 17 | Lewis Batten | ||
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)Northwood finally laid the ghost to rest as they celebrated their first home league win since September by overcoming third-placed Marlow.
There were a couple of changes to the team which won at Basingstoke the previous Saturday, Dan Hosier back between the sticks in place of the unavailable Daniel Purdue, while Ryan Young returned to the starting line-up in the absence of Kyal Williams.
Woods were quickly into their stride with Sydney Ibie and Josh 
Helmore threatening while Sam Jenkins was making an impression down the right flank, creating an opportunity for Helmore which was deflected wide before shooting narrowly over after another strong foray forward.
Having had to do some defending in the early stages, Marlow began to find their range with Hosier saving well from Khalid Simmo while Kameron English sent over a cross shot which was cleared by Jenkins.
Woods continued to threaten with their swift incisive play, Ibie working himself into good position but being crowded out by the Marlow defence while Jenkins went on another strong run which resulted in a corner.
The Blues reminded Northwood of the threat they offered with a strong finish to the opening period, Kameron English combining well with Nnamdi Nwachuku before lifting his shot over while Hosier produced a fine double save to keep out the latter and Keagan Cole was on hand to make a timely block.
Marlow came at Woods immediately after the restart, Nwachaka being foiled by Hosier after a defence-splitting ball. But it was Northwood who broke the deadlock with the opening strike on 53 minutes, Andy Lomas feeding Helmore who showed great strength and composure before picking his spot beyond visiting keeper Aaron Atkins.
Photos by JAMES BROWN
Woods made their first substitution on 69 minutes with Jenkins protecting a slight groin strain by making way for Micah Jackson, the latter taking up the inside-right position with Young dropping into the right wing-back berth vacated by Jenkins.Northwood refused to sit on their one goal advantage and the effervescent Teddy Stacey produced another surge from midfield before threading the ball through to Ibie, whose low shot was saved by Watkins.
Hosier was called into action again as he gathered another attempt from English. But play switched to the other end as Woods won a free-kick just outside the box after Ibie was impeded – Jackson seeing his curling effort diverted onto the post by the fingertips of Watkins.
Northwood utilised their full quota of subs as Alex More and Matt Surmon were introduced for Helmore and Ibie respectively, and the remainder of the game saw Woods largely untroubled as they made sure of the points to further consolidate their position away from the relegation zone with their fifth win in eight games.
Report by ROBIN PIPER
