U14 Boys are going along very nicely indeed and sit first in the WFL Blue Division after being promoted last year. The boys turned their attention to the Challenge Cup today when hosting Hinton and recorded a fine 5-0 victory as they cruised into the next round.
The boys played some great one touch football with Smith scoring a peach before setting up Parratt to finish in style. Sutherland drilled home after a visionary pass from Staszewski, while Chen supplied the bullets for Sheppard to fire home a quality brace.
Adom oozed class throughout the match and secured MoM, while the Wood army went home thrilled and entertained! The boys face Northwood in the 2nd round of the League Cup next week and in this form, will be gunning for the next round!
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U13 Boys played a really good opening half against HMH going in 1-1 at half time after O' Rourke finished superbly to grab his second of the season. Inexplicably, the boys were just not at it second half and ended up losing the match by a margin; hugely disappointing after such an excellent performance just earlier.
There were positives from the day and as the lads apply themselves for the whole game as they did first half today, their rewards will surely come.
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U15 Boys faced reigning league and cup holders St. Albans City away, knowing a win would propel them to within reach of their opponents, currently sitting atop of the league. The game was, therefore, a huge opportunity for the Wood but, many of the boys seemed pensive prior to kick off and didn't appear to be working themselves up for a big performance.
Inevitably, the Wood's start was one of the worst from this team ever, conceding twice quickly from the first whistle and the lack of effort, energy and enthusiasm from so many of the players was very disappointing indeed. Reinforcements were needed urgently and the boys coming on helped stem the flow, tackling and heading with far more urgency as the Wood went about turning the game. Green made an instant impact up front, setting up Ifeacho, who levelled the game with two tremendous goals. This Wood stalwart now has 8 goals in 7 league matches, is one of the league's top scorers and rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the best strikers in Herts.
Going in level at half time, the boys had shown massive character to come back from such a damaging start and attacking down a considerable slope second half, seemed destined to go on and win the game. With the rain coming down hard though, playing conditions were worsening and the next intervention seemed likely to swing momentum decisively. In such circumstances against quality players, you just can't give away cheap free kicks and not eventually pay a price and the Wood did just this, falling a goal behind.
Despite this, Crucefix was putting in a good shift on the right midfield as was Boshjaku at centre half, and with 20 minutes to go, the game was still in the balance. However, the fight seemed to have gone out of the team and belief drained away as further basic Wood errors saw St. Albans pull away and easily secure the points.
With the rain teeming down, the team talk was deferred to another day but, Manager Makamian did say this: 'MoM today was shared by Manning and Ifeacho who both gave it everything for the entire time they were on the pitch and did their utmost to help to drag their team back into a game that really mattered. Not enough of their team-mates can say the same today and, quite frankly, went missing when their side needed them most. Our side needs players with big ambitions who are willing to go the extra mile to secure both individual and collective success and with the County Cup next week against Kings Langley, everyone will have the opportunity to put things right, with no excuses given or accepted."
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Our U13 Girls return to action after a break next week so it was just our incredible U9 Girls in action today on a windy morning over at London City Strikers.
Led out by Captain Polly, the girls got off to a great start and played the better football in the first quarter. Polly used her strength and skill to run rings around the opposition's defence, whilst Emilia was speeding down the wing, always ready to receive the ball. On numerous occasions you could see the opposition dizzy by the speed of our attacking.
Leah St and Tippi paired up nicely and, despite being against a physical team, gave as good as they got. Both were given the freedom to push forward, tracking back when needed. Emily had a very busy game and made some remarkable saves that would have beaten Engalnd's Mary Earps! Gracie helped out with goalkeeping duties as well as outfield, proving that she can lend her hand to any situation.
As the game went on the Wood changed things up. Amber came off the bench and took up her usual stronghold defensive role; she played brilliantly and made some vital clearances. Juniper joined the team and made an immediate impact with blistering runs through the centre and within five minutes had hit the post. This really boosted confidence and the girls pushed forwards with real urgency, so much so that Polly also hit the post soon after. The crowd were going crazy and a goal was on the cards.
It was time to bring on Ruby, and she didn’t let us down. She supported the forwards and the defence, and like last week, used her footbal brain to change the game. Around the halfway mark of the game, Polly picked up the ball from just outside their box, took a couple of touches, looked up and saw the smallest of gaps; with a thunderous shot she blasted the ball into the bottom left corner. It was an absolutely fantastic goal! Emilia nearly added to the scoresheet too. She had the ball at her feet, took on one player, then another and was just about to release a lethal right footed shot when she was tripped over by the opposition. Emilia went flying and gasps were heard around the ground. When the stretcher was being called, she got straight to her feet, dusted herself down, gave the crowd a nod as if to tell everyone she was ok and carried on like a pro!
There were similarities to last week's game going into the last 5 minutes. The opposition were flagging, but the mighty Wood played with as much, if not more energy than the first 5 mins. The crowd were going wild. The final whistle blew, and what is admirable about the girls is they all left the pitch with massive smiles on their faces. PoM went to Polly who was relentless today, leading by example throughout, and who celebrated by sharing her sweets with her team-mates and coaches! One key take-away was that the Wood out worked the opposition with everyone putting in a big shift; no greater sign of a successful team in the making.