The 25/26 season finally kicked off and the Wood's juniors were playing the beautiful game once again!
Bwood2000 1-3 Bengeo Tigers
Football is back, and no tougher way for the U16 girls to kick off the new campaign than an opening day fixture against reigning league and county cup champions Bengeo Tigers.
The visitors were the quicker team to settle, getting to grips with the hard pitch, and with pace on both flanks testing our defence early on.
Decent chances game and went at both ends before Bengeo took the lead on 11mins. A smart through ball and close range finish doing the damage.
The rest of the first half was fairly even, with Bengeo enjoying better possession, but few clear chances. One very clear chance fell to a Bengeo player 8 yards out which was met with an incredible save up onto the bar by Nisa.
The first half ended 1-0 to the visitors which was deserved, but the Wood were certainly not out of the contest. We needed an early goal in the second half and sadly for us it went the other way, with another clinical strike from Bengeo making it 2-0. As we were still recovering from that Bengeo made it 3-0 with a superb long distance strike finding the top corner.
With a lack of options on the bench, and minimal pre-season training in some of our legs, it would have been easy for the Wood to write this game off but that is not our way. We fought back to gain a foothold in the game, and pulled a goal back on 75mins with a great strike of our own from Scarlett. At the other end, Abi made two incredible recovery challenges to prevent two certain goals. A few more half chances came and went, but no further goals and the match ended 1-3 to the visitors.
Despite the loss there were many positives to take from this performance. Minutes in the legs for all of the girls, brilliant attitude and work rate throughout and some glimpses of the football we know we are capable of playing. New signing Martha was a constant threat in attack, and Jess and Gabriela both stepped up superbly in midfield.
With some players back next week, and more training and matches together this group will be back up to speed and winning games in no time at all.
Player of the Match was Jess. She ran her socks off and showed calmness and class on the ball when we needed it most.
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Our U15 girls were tasked with a very tough start to life back in D1. We faced St Albans City who have been the standout team in the county for the last 5 years. On a beautiful day at Pursley with the sun beating down the Wood girls were ready to rock & roll!
The match started at a frenetic pace with both teams trying to gain dominance, St Albans pegged us back a little territorially but we looked the most dangerous going forward.
Star striker G9 supported by flying wingers Lonaldo & new signing Maisie. Together these three caused panic and chaos in the oppo defensive line whenever we attacked.
Lightning fast Maisie was making her competitive 11 aside debut for the Wood, she has electric pace, a very keen eye for goal and an ability to see what’s best for the team; add a high energy work rate that’s infectious and you can see why big things are predicted for this girl. The back four of Elsinho, Ava, Poppy S and Theaya kept St Albans at bay with Ave in particularly feisty form, fighting the St Albans No9 for every blade of grass and winning every battle. The back four were ably helped by Yvie, Isabella & Riss.
The first goal was to come quite early, the dominant Poppy S won the ball on the edge of our area, she played a ball out to Lonaldo who controlled looked up saw G9 and then released a ball over the defence for G9 to chase. Gabby beat 3 defenders to the ball drove into the box and tried to slide one to the keeper's left. The St Albans keeper made an excellent diving save but as good players do Maisie was backing up G9 and was in the right place to tap home and open her account proper for the Wood: 1-0.
The rest of the 1st half was an arm wrestle with our midfield of Skipper Annie, Poppy N and schemer Aanya having a ding dong battle with their opponents trying to wrest control of the game, with chances for both sides coming and going and both keepers - Emily for us - making great saves.
St Albans equalised fortuitously just before half time with the girls struggling to clear our lines; when we eventually did with some very tidy midfield play the ball came straight back at us with interest. A long hoofed clearance from St Albans looped over everyone and was misjudged by Emily as it just went over her head. HT 1-1.
The second half was much of the same, Skipper Annie covering every blade of grass.
Sophie came on to try and add her excellent eye for goal, as did Yvie to try and tighten up our defence and to use her excellent passing range with Isabella & Riss adding their speed and tenacity.
St Albans were to score next with a cute ball played inside our FB and a calmly slotted finish by the winger. They then got a quick fire third which was almost a carbon copy of the first, aided by the defensive maelstrom of 3-4 players being out of position; a simple cross back across our goal and a tap in for an unmarked St Albans player.
The girls then forgot what they are made of and dropped off for a few mins, but we were not done. A change of system to 4-4-2 to try and put more pressure on the oppo’s defence seemed to work. Maisie and Aanya combined and got the ball to G9 and she beat her marker for fun, out paced the defence and slotted past the excellent St Albans keeper 2-3 and game on!!
20 mins to go, more changes from the Wood bench to bring more attacking threat as we may as well have lost 4-2 going for it at that point. The girls tried and ran their hearts out but the St Albans GK was to pull off another goal bound save and keep her team the 3 points; 2-3 the final score.
A disappointing result as we didn’t feel outplayed or out fought but that is D1 football and you have to take your chances; on the bright side we created plenty of those and now on to next week and Goffs in the cup. 💪💪
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Meanwhile, our U11 Girls moved from quarters to halves and the larger size 4 ball as they took on a handy and physically advanced Welwyn United side. For them, the new season kicked off bright and early on a sunny Saturday morning, and the girls were buzzing with excitement. The girls knew their stamina and persistence would be tested by the longer periods and reduced rest periods —but from the very first whistle, they showed no fear.
Led out by captain Juniper, Borehamwood hit the ground running. Their organisation was a joy to watch, with the ball confidently played out from the back. Juniper was quick to test the Welwyn keeper with a long-range effort, before Daisy delivered one of her trademark right-foot crosses that almost found the net.
Gracie stamped her authority in midfield with blistering runs and precise passes, while Maisie and Amber held firm in defence. Amber, tasked with marking a tough opponent, was fearless in the tackle and rock-solid at the back.
The breakthrough came when Daisy’s fierce strike was spilled by the keeper, leaving our number 9, Elsie, perfectly placed to slot home the opener. Soon after, Juniper saw another shot saved, and Gracie took a knock that gave Tippi the chance to enter the fray. Tippi instantly made her presence felt, linking play beautifully.
Elsie almost doubled her tally before Juniper, showing dazzling footwork down the left, hammered in a shot that was palmed away only for her to calmly tuck away the rebound. Maisie’s strength and determination in defence drew huge cheers, while Olivia in goal showed nerves of steel with some fearless stops to deny Welwyn’s attacks.
Borehamwood’s third goal was a moment of magic. Elsie produced a clever flick, spun her marker, and fired home from a tight angle - pure brilliance. Gracie, dusting herself off, returned to the pitch with renewed energy and pace down the wing.
The second half began with the same intensity. Gracie’s quick feet set up Elsie, who coolly slotted home for her hat-trick and Borehamwood’s fourth. Juniper then dropped into central midfield, orchestrating play with maturity beyond her years.
Emily took over in goal and immediately showed her class, pulling off back-to-back saves that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the WSL. Daisy’s dangerous crosses continued to cause havoc, one of which almost gave Elsie another goal with a volley that whistled just over.
As the game wore on, Borehamwood somehow found another gear. Amber stepped forward into an attacking role with confidence, driving down the wing and linking brilliantly with teammates. Elsie was unstoppable, adding two more goals in quick succession. The first was all about being in the right place at the right time, while the second was one for the highlight reels: a sharp turn, a driving run, and a sensational finish from the tightest of angles. Daisy wasn’t about to be left out of the scoring. After rattling the post earlier, she coolly finished off a flowing move sparked by Tippi’s run through midfield, taking our tally to 7.
The final whistle blew, and these magnificent girls had left everything on the pitch. Every single player contributed to a superb team performance full of energy, skill, and spirit. Their stamina and togetherness were the difference, and their never-say-die attitude was truly inspirational. A perfect start to the season—well done, girls!
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Our U9 Boys are chomping at the bit but, have to wait a little longer with their season starting next weekend, while our U16 Boys put an early marker down with a super 5-2 home win against Wheathampstead Sharks sending them to the top of their division.
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Our U18 Boys also faced Wheathampstead, this time away, playing 90 minutes for the first time competitively against a team a year older than them. No easy task and Wheathampstead started strongly launching long balls into the Wood's box which were attacked well by the centre back trio of Captain Ifeacho, Manning and Hones. In return, the Wood looked lively up front and it was Fearon-McDonnell who slalomed into the home box before curling a sumptuous effort past the despairing keeper's hand and into the far right corner.
Last season's top scorer Silva was looking lively and raced through to beat the keeper to the ball and slide home his first, before a period of Wood indecision and fatigue saw the concession of a cheap goal from a failed attempt to clear a corner. Unbowed, the boys responded brilliantly with Fan surging forward before picking out Silva, burying home unerringly for a 1-3 half time lead. The half closed out with Carlow making an unbelievable tackle to regain possession before sending a cruise missile whistling narrowly past the right hand stanchion.
The action recommenced and Carlow showed an admirable team ethic to drop back into defence as the team required. However, the lack of a proper pre-season was showing in many of the performances now and it was a sluggish Wood period that saw another horrible goal conceded, with countless attempted challenges and clearances missed. It seemed Wheathampstead were building up a head of steam to draw level but, the Wood players rolled up their sleeves and got down to work.
Makamian detonated a tackle bomb, which seemed to free him to play a superb closing period with perceptive passing, turnovers and what appeared a stone wall penalty appeal that the ref chose to turn down. Green and McGuinness were equally energetic, ratting around the opposition players to force errors and regain control, while Montgomery enjoyed an excellent closing spell in the holding role, winning multiple challenges and headers as well as looking after his passing. Marshall enjoyed another steady game in goal but, was helpless as the opposition striker licked his chops just two yards out with the goal at his mercy. Collier, enjoying a solid match, thought otherwise and moved like the Flash to somehow block his shot and send it away from harm; a contribution every bit as valuable as scoring one.
All this served to motivate the entire team and everyone finished strongly with the Wood close to extending its lead many times through Ifeacho, Green, Makamian and Fearon-McDonnell. The final whistle blew and a valuable three points were secured by a Wood team that will play better but, were prepared to graft and scrap to get what we hope will be a title run up and running. MoM went to Manning, who in common with his defensive partners, put himself on the line countless times to keep the ball out, whilst also demonstrating genuine top quality on the ball.