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Northwood 1  Berkhamsted 3

Saturday 18th January 2025

 

NORTHWOOD
     
     
   
1 Hafad Al Droubi
2 Jack Empson (46m)
3 Junior Paiva
4 Balu Makumbi
5 Manny Folarin
6 Jack Smith (46m)
7 Harry McKenna
8 Troy Perez-Duah
9 Alex Cathline (69m)
10 Nnaemeka Anyanwu (74m)
11 Josh Williams
Substitutes
12 Kelechi Etienne
14 Stefan Powell (46m)
15 Aaron Benn (74m)
16 Samuel Folarin (46m)
17 Jon-Jo Bates (69m)
   

Northwood finally returned to The Skyline Roofing Stadium, playing their first home game of the new year. However, they suffered a 3-1 defeat to title-challenging Berkhamsted. The Woods had a rough opening 45 minutes, conceding three goals and not creating much trouble for the visitors. The second half saw a much better showing from the home side, albeit against a side 3-0 up. The Woods generated much more in the second period and were perhaps unlucky to only get one late consolation goal finished by Troy Perez-Duah.

The Woods conceded from an early set piece for a second game on the bounce. This time it was a free-kick delivery by JJ Lacey attacked by Connor Tomlinson. The unchallenged header looped into the left-hand side of the goal. The worst possible start for the home side.

The home side worked hard to try to level the scores. The equaliser almost came through Alex Cathline in the sixth minute after being put through by Harry McKenna. The number 9 shifted the ball past the defender but lost his footing and his left-footed strike did not trouble the keeper.

It was after that chance that Berkhamsted began to control the game, generating chances and forcing decent stops out of home goalkeeper Hafed Al Droubi. The Comrades added their second after a great team move. A ball regained in midfield was switched out the right wing. A neat combination from the Berkhamsted players allowed Lacey to make the run into the box. His cutback fell to Thomas Newman who slotted it into the bottom right corner.

Northwood’s tough start continued when a ball into the box was taken down by Louie Collier who showed great close control to beat two defenders and create the shooting angle. His left-footed strike was well saved by Al Droubi. However, the rebound was smashed into the top right corner by Matt Bateman. The left-footed half-volley attempt flew into the roof of the net, giving Northwood a mountain to climb in the rest of the game.

PHOTOS by James Brown

After a few missed chances by the Woods. It was a collection of errors from Berkhamsted’s keeper Josh Bowler that gifted Northwood their only goal of the afternoon. An initial sliced clearance rolled back to him before passing it straight to the skipper Troy Perez-Duah, whose shot from outside of the box rolled into the bottom left corner of the empty net.

After the match, Northwood boss Gary Meakin was asked a few questions about the game and his overall thoughts on the performance, he said: “We shouldn’t have been in that position [being 3-0 down] in the first place, did we deserve something out of the game? No, but we made it look like we could at the end”.

The gaffer was left disappointed at conceding such a “soft goal” from the “first contact” from a set piece so early on in the game. The early advantage had a part to play in the result. However, there was a chance for Cathline to get Northwood back into the game just minutes later. Meakin said, “Alex had done everything right other than put it in the net, he knows he should score – that makes it 1-1 and it’s a completely different game”. Regarding the second half response, the manager was happy to see the players “keeping [Berkhamsted] honest” rather than “sitting off” and conceding more. The players, who Meakin described as “an honest group” worked hard to keep the score respectable, having put themselves in a tough position in the first half in terms of getting a result.

Northwood did create a handful of chances and almost caused Berkhamsted issues at the end. However, they lacked the finish to put away these moves. Meakin highlighted the difference in the quality of finishing between both teams, saying “I think they scored from their first three shots on target, they would have scored the chances we had and that’s the difference between the two teams at the moment”.

Next up for Northwood is next Saturday’s home game against Hertford Town. Despite the tough result, the Woods will be looking to build on what manager Meakin described as “one of the best performances of the season so far with the ball”. Meakin highlighted that the team’s “identity” is coming through with the patterns of play being created. However, they will be looking to address their struggles in both boxes.

REPORT by Niall Ateia



         
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