STADIUM SPONSORS
HOME SHIRTS & CLUBHOUSE SPONSORS
AWAY SHIRTS SPONSORS
WEBSITE SPONSORS
PREMIUM CLUB SPONSORS

 

 

 


Westfield 1  Northwood 4

Tuesday 25th January 2022

 

NORTHWOOD
     
     
   
1 Daniel Hosier    
2 Ryan Young    
3 Andy Lomas (78m)    
4 Keagan Cole ©    
5 Tommy Boxer    
6 James Gurteen    
7 Micah Jackson    
8 Teddy Stacey    
9 Josh Helmore (87m)    
10 Sydney Ibie (90m)    
11 Carl Stewart    
Substitutes  
12 Will Robinson (90m)    
14 Alex More (78m)    
15 Yiannis Constantinou (87m)    
16 Matt Surmon    
17 Lewis Batten    
 


Westfield: Callum Backhurst , Callum Abraham-Barlow (Ross Murdoch 62m), Caleb Wright, Kai Davis, Luke Elliott (Rylan Myers 41m), Niran Butler, Sam Evans, Samir Bajja, Kai Hamilton-Olise, IK Hill (Afolabi Soyemi-Ololade 72m), Joel Nakatani-Brown

   

History-makers Northwood made it five successive away league wins for the first time since joining the Isthmian ranks, equalling a sequence they last recorded in the London Spartan championship winning season of 1991/92.

Woods came into the contest with one change from Saturday’s win over Marlow – Sam Jenkins, still feeling the effects of the groin problem which curtailed him at the weekend, standing down with Ryan Young dropping into the right wing-back berth, while Micah Jackson returned to the Northwood frontline.

On a chilly January evening, Westfield quickly warmed to their task as they tested Woods keeper Dan Hosier with an early Kai Hamilton-Olise free kick before Callum Abraham-Barlow rattled the crossbar with a fierce shot following Sam Evans’ knockdown.

Northwood soon settled, displaying the confidence of a team which had won five of their last eight league games, Teddy Stacey firing a shot narrowly over after a good link up between Sydney Ibie and Andy Lomas. And Josh Helmore went close with Carl Stewart the creator, the in-form striker turning smartly before firing his shot narrowly wide of the far upright while another effort from the Northwood number nine just missed the target after a swift counter-attack.

Woods continued to press for the opening goal and a good run down the flank from Young lead to his low cross just evading Jackson and Helmore in the six-yard-box.

Having enjoyed a good spell of pressure, Northwood were forced onto the back foot as the hosts created several opportunities with some neat, incisive play; Sam Evans going close before he created an opening for IK Hill whose shot was charged down by Tommy Boxer. And Hill was involved again as he saw his shot deflected behind for a corner while Hamilton-Olise swung a boot at fresh air when well placed.

But it wasn’t long before Woods were asking questions again of the Westfield defence as Ibie had his shot blocked after a surging run into the box before keeper Callum Backhurst did well to divert a Keagan Cole free kick.

However, after standing firm against a series of Westfield corners which saw Caleb Wright scoop over from close range, Woods took the lead in the third minute of added time at the end of an entertaining opening half – Lomas taking advantage of uncertainty in the home defence, as they adjusted to the loss of skipper Luke Elliot to a nasty shoulder injury, by sliding the ball through to Helmore who gave Wright no chance with a shimmy and a clinical finish for his fourth goal in as many games.

Northwood threatened again immediately after the restart as a sweeping move involving Young and Jackson ended with Helmore testing Wright, who pulled off a fine reaction save to keep out the fierce shot. But Woods’ second goal of the evening was not long in coming, skipper Keagan Cole heading home Jackson’s in-swinging corner on 48 minutes to register his first goal for the club.

And Cole had another headed opportunity as he latched onto a Young corner, but slightly off-balance, missed the target. At the other end, Hosier had to be on his toes to gather a hooked shot from Hill.

Northwood’s evening continued to bear fruit as they extended their lead further on the hour mark, Jackson’s whipped free kick from outside the box on the angle flying beyond Wright, grazing the forehead of defender Niran Butler on the way through.

Westfield to their credit stuck to their task and they were rewarded with a goal on 70 minutes as Woods failed to properly clear their lines, Hill seeing his rasping shot rebound off the crossbar with substitute Ross Murdoch following up to convert.

Northwood made a couple of substitutions as the fresh legs of Alex More and Yiannis Constantinou replaced Lomas and Helmore with the contest moving into its latter stages. And More had a hand in Woods’ fourth goal when he made a foray down Westfield’s right flank before squaring to Ibie, who was upended by Kai Davis, Jackson stepping up to dispatch the 90th minute penalty to complete the scoring, making it six goals in all competitions for the forward.

There was still time for Northwood to introduce 18-year-old Will Robinson, son of former Woods favourite Colin “Geordie” Robinson, for his first taste of senior football as a replacement for Ibie, the perfect end to an excellent evening for the visitors – the win, the sixth in nine games, taking Woods past Westfield and into 11th place in the table.

Report by ROBIN PIPER



         
MENU