After receiving a bye in the 1st round, our U18 Boys faced a tough test in the 2nd round of the Herts FA County Trophy against Watford Stags, a side that had won the U16 version of this competition last season. Stags were in confident mood having strengthened pre-season and having already thrashed the reigning U18 League Cup holders the other week. The Wood would need to perform well to progress.
Stags started fast and launched a number of long balls and throws into the Wood box, a source of problems for the team in previous seasons. However, fresh off a clean sheet last week, keeper Elboukhari and the centre back trio of Crucefix, Carlow and Captain Ifeacho, were in very determined and focused mood, repelling the aerial attacks again and again. The midfield five of Ryan, Fan, Manning, Parsons and Makamian were equally up for it and quick to get stuck in, as were Collier and Silva up front.
The guys put in a mighty shift to take the steam out of the Stags' attacks, restricting them to long distance pot shots, and then launched their own attacks up the hill, Crucefix's accurate free kick resulting in a solid header from Ryan that was saved. Thereafter, an excellent passing moved kicked off by Carlow from back to front, saw Fan release Silva, his shot saved. Ryan then fed Silva who beat the away defence all up before firing goalwards, the away keeper again excelling to keep it out.
The half ended with the Wood in the acsendancy and with the second half to come playing down the slope, the boys looked confident as they headed out again.
The breakthrough inevitably came after Hones, enjoying a strong performance on the wing, crossed into a good area after Silva had won the ball well. Parsons was on to the loose ball and dropped his shoulder as he surged into the box, selling dummies like Mothercare. His blocked effort fell close to Silva but, his touch to pluck it out the sky and then bury it home on the volley in one movement was very special even for a guy with so many wonder goals to his name over the years.
Now the Wood were on the front foot and they surged again, Crucefix first to the ball and lofting a dangerous ball forward. While others were static, Collier moved like a blur, appearing out of nowhere at pace to lob the keeper with a delightful finish that hurt the away team badly.
Elboukhari then pulled of a key save to deny a well struck away volley which laid the foundations for an outstanding team goal that started deep in the Wood's half. Makamian's quality pass set Silva away and he jinked past a couple of defenders to release Fearon-Mcdonnell. Both he and McGuinness put in a hard, valuable shift second half and they combined superbly to present Silva with an opportunity to shoot. His strike was pure but, saved by the away keeper. However, Makamian's antenna and positioning in the box is improving game by game and he swept home left footed for his 3rd in 2 matches, to effectively end the tie.
The boys saw out the remainder of the match to record another very pleasing clean sheet and their reward is an away fixture against AC Finchley North from the WFL in November, while Parsons secured MoM with an eclectic and highly effective display on the left wing.
Today's performance was a very good team effort combining stength, desire and skill, and the lads appear to be evolving into a cohesive unit. We return to league action next week and aim to build on what has been a solid start to the season.
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In more County Trophy action, our U17s dispatched Harvesters North after an exciting 3-3 draw saw the Wood run out winners following a penalty shoot out!
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Borehamwood U18 Girls Hit Seven in Cup Thriller Against Hitchin Belles!
Borehamwood 7-2 Hitchin Belles
On paper, a glance at the league tables might have suggested that our cup tie against Hitchin Belles would be a formality. The final scoreline of 7-2 might also suggest a one-sided affair, but the reality was very different. Hitchin made it a real contest for much of the first half before The Wood’s quality eventually shone through.
The visitors started brightly, making life difficult for us all over the pitch, and took the lead with a long-range strike.
We responded well, with Abi latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Scarlett before driving home to level the scores. However, we had barely finished celebrating when Hitchin restored their advantage with another excellent strike from distance.
On 28 minutes, Abi struck again to bring us level, and from that point onwards we began to take control. The Wood were purring, moving the ball beautifully and pinning the visitors back in their own half. A succession of corners towards the end of the half eventually paid dividends, with Liya collecting the ball on the edge of the box before producing a superb dipping effort into the top corner to give us a 3-2 lead at the break.
At half-time, the message was simple: be patient, trust the football, the goals will come, and avoid giving the visitors any easy opportunities. The girls did exactly that.
On 70 minutes, Liya produced another moment of magic, this time from around 25 yards, sending a sweet strike into the top corner to extend our lead to 4-2. Five minutes later, Martha made it five, rifling home from the edge of the box with a powerful finish that gave the goalkeeper no chance.
There was still time for two more goals to put the gloss on the scoreline. Abi completed her hat-trick by rounding the keeper and slotting home, before Lily Van Thal tapped in from close range. Both goals were neatly assisted by Player of the Match Amie, who capped an excellent all-round performance with two important contributions in the final third.
While the final scoreline makes for impressive reading, this was far from a perfect performance. Hitchin made a real game of it for the opening 30 minutes, and we had to work hard to find our rhythm. Once we did, however, the quality of our football came to the fore and the goals began to flow.
With a couple of late dropouts forcing us to shuffle the defensive line, huge credit must go to the entire back four. They defended the box brilliantly and showed great composure and ability when playing out from the back against a good high press. To top it all off, right-back Liya chipped in with two outstanding goals!
Nicole also deserves special mention for recovering superbly after a tricky start, growing in confidence as the game progressed and showing why she is proving to be such a great addition to the side in goal.
In the middle of the park, Martha, Scarlett, Jess and Amie put in strong, combative performances, setting the tone and keeping the ball moving well. Out wide, Liv, Milly and Lily Van Thal caused problems throughout, stretching the Hitchin defence and providing plenty of attacking threat.
And up front, Abi once again led the line superbly. Another hat-trick takes her to 10 goals in four games, including her second treble in just four matches. That is some return!
Player of the Match: Amie
An excellent performance from Amie, who was outstanding on the ball wherever she was asked to play. She showed real flair, excellent awareness and a great eye for the right pass, while also contributing two assists to round off a thoroughly deserved Player of the Match display.
Next up, we travel to Ruislip for what is always a tough away fixture. We go into the game unbeaten so far this season, with three wins and a draw to our name, and will be looking to carry this momentum into our next challenge.
Up The Wood!