The Week at Wood: Away win at Hampton, Dorchester preview and News Round up

With both teams not participating in the weekends FA Cup features, Wood were on the road last weekend for a re-arranged fixture against Hampton and Richmond Borough.

One of the major plus points of my recent move to South London is that most of the away games are easily commutable from Waterloo, and Hampton was no different. With a door to door journey of just under an hour, my trip to The Beveree was pleasant, quick and thankfully didn’t involve First Capital Connect in any way, shape or form.

The ground itself was a gentle 5 minute stroll from the station, but, me being me, I was still concerned I was going the wrong way (seriously, my sense of direction is so awful that once I had to get a cab, A CAB, from Liverpool Street to Fenchurch Street. That’s not a long journey) so I asked the nearest person who looked like they were heading for the ground if I was going on the same route. Thankfully he was, and as we walked towards the ground we chatted about the game (I think it was obvious I had come from Borehamwood), and he revealed that he was there on a scouting mission for Welling, who were Hampton’s next opponents. We then proceeded to spend the next 40 minutes (up until kick off) chatting about various teams in the league, our sides respective chances and other players who we have seen at this level (there was a surprising amount of vitriol spewed towards Rocky Baptiste at this point). Despite my lack of knowledge (but growing by the week!), I managed to hold my own in the chat and enjoyed a few shared anecdotes. As kick off approached, we parted ways as we had different jobs to do (he scouting, me swearing and occasionally eating) for the next 90 minutes.

The Beveree itself is exactly what you would expect a ground to look like in Hampton. It was charming, with a nice backdrop, and at times you felt as if you were watching a game in a nearby mansions back garden. The main stand was divided into one large stand and one smaller stand put right next to it. I took my seat in line with the half way line, and despite a pillar being a bit in the way, had a good view of the game.

The match itself was very much a ‘smash and grab’, to use a tired football cliché. Wood made one change to the side that beat Dartford, with Charlie Hunter in at right back due to Daniel Brathwate’s knee injury (when I spoke to him at full time he was unsure of how bad it was – insider gossip right there), with Mark Jones switching back to his natural role at left back.

The first half was scrappy at best, marred by, you’ve guessed it – another poor refereeing performance. I won’t go too much into detail here but although this referee looked like Pieruigi Collina, he certainly wasn’t and made some shoddy decisions for both side, most notably in the first half when he booked Justin Cochrane for the heinous crime of winning the ball cleanly in a challenge. That was sadly the main contribution from the skipper, who limped off early to be replaced by Pelly Ruddock, giving an already young side an even younger average age. Ruddock handled himself admirably in replacing Cochrane, using the ball smartly and always looking to get forward.

With the game drifting towards half time, and David Bryant and Mark Jones exchanging words on more than one occasion (Bryant was justly annoyed at a lack of support, Jones was basically calming him down), the ball broke to Nathan Koranteng down the left hand side in space. Bringing the ball forward, Koranteng whipped a perfect ball in, Bryant nipped in with no pressure from the home defence and headed home his 6^th goal of the season, which puts him clear leader at the top of the Wood goalscoring charts. The referee blew up for half time shortly after and Wood were just about value for their lead.

At half time I decided to check out the club house, which had it’s own curry service going, which makes a change from pies and hot dogs (which were also available)! A colleague at work, with whom I would have gone to the game if it had of been on it’s original date, advised me that the local curry house was sensational, but sadly I had a big breakfast and as such didn’t quite fancy a Tikka Massale (not that down for the record books). I settled instead for a pint of Magners (£3.60 a pint at Non League Football? Outrageous) and headed back to my seat, with the drinking regulations seemingly relaxed in this part of the world. I wasn’t complaining.

I needed the drink it turned out, as the second half was far more nervy than the first. Hampton came at Wood for most of the second half, but Wood started brightly with Chez Issac’s long range effort being beaten out by Hampton keeper Mark Lovett. From then on, it was mainly the Elvijs Putnins show, as he kept the hosts at bay with a series of outstanding saves, including one which I have to put down as my save of the season, keeping out Charlie Moone’s rasper that was headed for the top corner with an athletic one handed stop. It was a performance of real assurance (bar one mishap with a passback which was hastily put into touch) from the on loan Latvian, and if it wasn’t for him Wood would have easily lost by at least 3. Bravo Elvijs.

There were a couple of chances at the other end, the best one falling to Michael Thalassitis, who capitalised on a poor back pass to round the last defender and the goalkeeper, only to put it over with an open goal facing him. In his defence it was from a tight angle and under pressure, but I am sure he would have been disappointed with that one, to put it in the dullest, blandest Alan Shearer analysis.

With Nathan Koranteng coming off with a knock, Jordan Lawal came on and quickly adapted to the pace of the game, making a few good runs and using the ball wisely with Ruddock. With time ticking away a Hampton ball into the box eluded everyone and drifted just wide, as half the players were ready to wheel away in celebration. However, it wasn’t to be and Wood left Buckinghamshire with 3 points and an away clean sheet. A great day out all’s told! My day out finished with another conversation on the way home with the Welling Scout (whose name I didn’t pick up, sadly), offending a few AFC Wimbledon fans along the way. I could do with more away trips like this!

My Man of the Match award is obviously to Elvijs Putnins, who gave his performance of the season and kept Wood in the lead with his stunning saves. Well done that lad. Other shout outs go to Mark Jones, whose experience was invaluable on the day with such a young team, as well as centre backs Charlie O’ Loughlin, who was dominant in the air, and Luke Wilkinson, who read the game well and snuffed out danger well. Their partnership will become key as the season progresses. In midfield, everyone worked hard, and Isasac and Ruddock particularly impressed, the latter in an unusual role in the middle of the park. Nathan Koranteng looked threatening again, and added an assist to his goal against Dartford, and up front both Bryant and Thalassitis worked tirelessly, with the former showing his knack of being in the right place at the right time to nod in the winner and move Wood up to 16^th place.

Wood lined up as follows:

Team: Putnins, Hunter, Jones, Isaac, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Cochrane (Sub – Ruddock 28 mins.), Thalassitis (Sub – Effiong 86 mins.), Bryant, Koranteng (Sub – Lawal 64 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Akinola, Jordan.

This weekend sees Wood travel to The Avenue Stadium and Dorchester Town, in a game that sadly I will not be able to attend as I simply cannot make the journey down there. Dorchester sit just one place above Wood in the league, which adds more importance to the game. To say they have been inconsistent would be an understatement, winning five and losing eight of their opening league fixtures, so maybe a draw is not the best bet tomorrow (or is it?)!

Dorchester have injury worries surrounding their captain Mark Jermyn, who picked up a knee injury in their 3-2 defeat at Welling, and had been targeting this game as his return to the team. Hopefully this game may be one too far for him!

Town’s main goal threat comes from Ryan Moss, who has 4 in the league this season. Moss, in his 3^rd spell at the club, is a ‘very strong, quick target man’, who should give Wilko and Charlie some trouble on Saturday and so the centre backs will need to be on their toes from the first minute (thankfully Wood’s lacklustre starts seem to be fading somewhat). He is joined up front by former Crawley front man Chris Flood, who will look to race onto any knock downs from Moss to exploit his pace.

PREDICTION: With Wood on such a good run, with 10 points from their last possible 12, I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that we will continue this good form with a solid away win. Blue Square Bet has us at 7/4, which must be worth a fiver of anyones money, maybe even mine.

In other news from the club:

• The official website ran an interesting article in regards to the current youth movement at Meadow Park, including an interview with new assistant manager Daryl McMahon. More of this please!

• The Youth Team themselves marched into the first round of the FA Youth Cup where they will travel to hurrock in a game they will fancy winning, This comes after a 2-0 at home to Billericay on Thursday evening.

And that’s about it! Thanks as always for reading, much appreciated. Please continue to share, RT, comment etc. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, and enjoy all interaction with followers, be they wood players or opposing fans!

Until next time…..

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Wood 3 Dartford 1, Part 2 - Youngsters run riot, Possible Turning Point?, Mini Hampton and Richmond Preview, Match thoughts

Onto the game itself…

As I sat and discussed the Chairman’s article with the locals, someone said ‘Oh here he is’ and I was met with the nauseating sight of Teddy Sheringham and what I had assumed was his daughter but turned out to be his girlfriend. He was of course there to see his son Charlie line up as the dangerman for Dartford. I’m delighted to say that I doubt Teddy had too much fun at the game as Charlie and Dartford had a day to forget. With a youthful line up on display, including debutant Michael Thalassitis, who joined the club on loan on Friday from League One Stevenage Town, Boreham Wood were looking to get 3 points on the board and start turning their season around.

Wood got off to a blistering start within 40 seconds, as Chez Isaac, in his first contribution to what would be a man of the match performance, received the ball 35 yards out, looked up and unleashed an absolute howitzer into the top corner, leaving Dartford Keeper Andrew Young helpless as he dived in vain to try and keep out the shot. 1-0 with a Goal of The Season Contender! A fine and unexpected start to say the least.

Unfortunately the lead was only to last 5 minutes, as Dartford equalised due to some shambolic defending from a set piece, with a corner (which was given after a lapse of concentration from Daniel Brathwaite almost led to a goalscoring chance) being allowed to pinball around the box before being fired home by Elliott Bradbrook. The groans of frustration could be heard from the stands as we thought it might be a case of ‘Here we go again’, but thankfully it wasn’t to be.

The next 10 minutes were all Dartrford, and Elvis Putnins was called upon on more than one occasion two keep the scores level. First, he dived low down to his left to keep out a goal bound deflection, and secondly showed both excellent bravery and agility in making a double save from point blank range . Three vital stops which gave Wood confidence and perhaps shook Dartford a little, as they were being repelled by Putnins and his backline, who after a shaky start (sound familiar?) were beginning to hold their own, with O’ Loughlin and Wilkinson imperious at centre back, as well as Mark Jones playing out of position at right back, but coping admirably.

Wood’s second was a product of skill and endeavour. David Bryant, who again ran tirelessly whilst showing some excellent touches and is seemingly coming into his own up front, worked his way through three Dartford defenders, before the ball broke loose to Michael Thalassitis, who showed great composure in front of goal to bury it into the bottom corner for 2-1. A debut goal, and a well deserved one at that. The initial loan period we have is one month, but judging by Thalassitis’ endeavour, skill and finishing ability, Wood will look to keep hold of him for longer. Again, at 18 he is another youngster in the setup, but importantly he is one who is looking to prove himself and give his all for the team (Maybe a certain Mr Effiong could take notice?). Bryant then had a great chance to make it 3-1, with two chances in quick succession, but both were foiled by a combination of goalkeeper and defenders. As the half came to a close, Bryant almost turned provider again for Justin Cochrane, enjoying his second spell at the club and the captain’s armband, but the midfielders shot was deflected just wide for a corner. Wood went into the break 2-1 up and deserving of more, and I must admit I was fearing our prolifigacy in front of goal would come back to haunt us. Still, 2-1 up against the team sitting in second was a good start for me.

Thankfully my fears were ill founded as would put on a dominant display in the second half and never really looked like losing. With Chez Isaac outstanding in the middle of the park, both in defence and moving forward, Wood began to move the ball around freely and create more chances. After Luke Wilkinson failed to capitalise on time and space with a poor shot, Wood went 3-1 up with a moment of quick thinking genius. Nathan Koranteng, who had looked threatening if a little clumsy in the first half, picked up the ball just inside the Dartford area, brought the ball on 20 yards, and with the crowd and Dartford expecting him to cross, caught The Darts cold with a left footed drive which rasped into the bottom corner. It was a great strike and a great moment, as it came by complete surprise and the joy on the scorers face was clear to see for all the fans as he raced to celebrate with his team mates. It was also clear to see the relief from Ian Allinson, who had to have been feeling a lot of pressure with the recent result at Slough and the Chairman’s comments prior to the game.

Save for a worrying moment when Ryan Hayes saw his curling effort hit the inside of the post and roll along the line and out, Wood shut up shop and were very good value for their win. It was a true team performance, which given the noise around the place beforehand was probably the only option. Both O’ Loughlin and Wilkinson excelled at centre back (O’ Loughlin was a big miss in the loss to Slough), both Koranteng and Sam Lechmere ran constantly at Dartford’s defence, causing problems all game. Mark Jones, despite being on his weak side all game, was exceptional and kept the Dartford forwards relatively quiet down his flank, and both David Bryant and Michael Thalassitis (who had a debut to remember) were excellent up front, full of running and ingenuity. My man of the match award was a very close run affair, with Elvis Putnins, who made at least 4 outstanding saves, missing out to Chez Issac, whose all round display was Wood’s best of the season. Getting Wood off to a great start with a wonder strike, mopping up in midfield and always looking to start an attack, the young Watford loanee was fantastic. Well done that lad. The fact that it came in front of Wood’s largest crowd of the season (due to the travelling support) made it all that much sweeter. Not to mention old Teddy.

Wood lined up as follows

Team: Putnins, Jones, Brathwaite, Cochrane, O’Loughlin, Wilkinson, Lechmere, Isaac, Thalassitis (Sub – Effiong 79 mins.), Bryant, Koranteng (Sub – Beckford 84 mins.).

Subs (Not used): Hunter, Akinola, Jordan.

This Saturday sees Wood travel to Hampton and Richmond Borough for a re-arranged game due to both teams exits from the FA Cup. How embarrassing. I will be making the journey down to the Beveree Stadium for the game, and am very much relieved it’s been moved to this Saturday as the country approaches Winter.Maybe Vince Cable, patron of the club, will be in attendance so I can share my forthright views on his part in the absolute state the country is in. But I digress.

It’s a game Wood will be looking to win, with Hampton sitting bottom of the league with just 6 points after 11 games so far this season. Wood, having shot up to the heady heights of 17^th will surely see last weekends result against Dartford as an opportunity to springbnoard their season and push on. With no injury/team news coming out of Wood, the team that beat Dartford should be more than capable of going down to Hampton and coming back with the three points. Blue Square bet have Wood at slight favourites at 13/10, and I’m going to go with them for an overdue away victory for Wood.

Admission is £11, and the journey is only 40 minutes from waterloo (actually easier for me than going to Meadow Park!), so if you are stuck without something to do, why not pop along? I’ll be the one shouting too much in the away end.

As always, thanks for all support, reads, RTs, shares etc. It is always appreciated, trust me. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, or in the comments section below. Or even at a game, just come up and say hello! All constructive criticism will be met with me rushing to the toilets to have a good old weep.

Until next time…..

WE ARE THE WOOD!

Wood 3 Dartford 1, Part 1: The Chairman Speaks, The Backroom re-shuffles

I bloody knew I should have tipped us to win in the preview blog…

I strolled into Meadow Park last Saturday (after negotiating a disgusting service from First Capital Connect) in a confident mood. Maybe it was because I didn’t have a hangover on a Saturday morning. Maybe it was because I was asked on the way in if I was the physio’s boyfriend (for the record, I am not). Or maybe, just maybe, it was because despite their respective positions in the league I fancied Wood to pick up all 3 points against Dartford.

For the first time this season I purchased a programme. I’m not normally a programme person, in fact I often find them a waste of time (I have been brought up on Arsenal’s ‘tow the line’ approach to programmes where nothing approaching an opinion is allowed in). However, with the recent soundbites of ‘disruptive influences in the dressing room’, I thought I would chance my arm and see if there would be any follow up to this. I was glad I did.

In a two page statement called ‘A Progress Report’ (I believe these appear regularly), chairman Danny Hunter got straight to the point in a manner not normally seen from club chairmen - complete honesty. Selected highlights from the article include:

'With myself and the staff at the club putting so much work into improving things in pre-season, perhaps I have, as Chairman, taken my eye off a few things since, and although I have observed situations of late that haven't been acceptable to bringing success on the field, I haven't dealt with them quickly enough'

'When I read John Mead's recent match report on our performance at Slough last week, it was emotive, provoking and passionate, but it also asked more questions than it answered...which got me thinking that our supporters needed to be kept informed of the clubs problems from time to time, as your understanding is essential. So perhaps what's needed is a dollop of truth, and perhaps it needed to be aired constructively, by myself, to the gaffer and to the dressing room.'

'As such we all had a very positive meeting here at the club on Monday evening prior to their training. We discussed expectations and the clubs ambition, the standards required, the consistency needed at this level and the problems collectively we've encountered this season. We discussed injuries, players making themselves unavailable and certain senior players and staff being disruptive, we discussed indiscipline and with some a lack of desire to progress with us as a football club.

'Apart from perhaps Woking, Dover and Dartford, we can compete with the other clubs in this division on a level playing field. No disrespect intended to Sutton United, Welling Basingstoke, Bromley, Farnborough, Havant, Salisbury, Eastleigh, Eastbourne or even Chelmsford, who I suppose are the next crop of contenders. As long as we are a united club, with a great changing room spirit, we can, with hard work and good players, challenge!'

'Yes, those clubs get 300 more than us, but that's 25 times a season, and this equates, at a rough £10 split, to around £70,000, which we can and do make up elsewhere. It's simple.'

'...we have a profitable club, we are also desperately trying to progress and we are ambitious enough to have a go!!'

'Quite rightly this week has seen some soul searching, certainly from myself, so I hope that everyone can now accept that we can all do a lot better from top to bottom with a clear resolve to improve things across the board.'

Quite the statement (and this was the abridged version) I think you’ll agree. Let’s look at some of the key points and ramifications:

‘Perhaps I have taken my eye off the ball/haven’t dealt with problems quickly enough’

Straight to the point – things had begun to fester at Boreham Wood, and the chairman has admitted that he has maybe not been as close as he should have been to nip this in the bud. The acknowledgement is the key part. No head in the sand here.

‘which got me thinking that our supporters needed to be kept informed of the clubs problems from time to time, as your understanding is essential. So perhaps what's needed is a dollop of truth, and perhaps it needed to be aired constructively, by myself, to the gaffer and to the dressing room.'

Two points here – firstly, the fans could be doing with being updated on a more regular basis, particularly with the high turnover in players we have had this season. It’s a tough job with a seeming revolving door at times at Meadow Park, but a few lines on the website or even a weekly re-cap of comings and goings wouldn’t go amiss (particularly for those of us who like to write about the team) . Secondly, I wasn’t too sure about the whole dishing out the truth message coming from Hunter himself, but in any case it seemed to do the trick on Saturday. I just hope that it doesn’t become too regular an occurrence!

‘We discussed injuries, players making themselves unavailable and certain senior players and staff being disruptive, we discussed indiscipline and with some a lack of desire to progress with us as a football club’

This is where the real changes started to be seen – it seems as if Darren Currie, who came to the club in the summer from Rushden as player/assistant manager, was the negative and disruptive influence in the dressing room, as he has been replaced by Daryl McMahon as assistant manager! Again, no statement has been made from the club regarding this, but it was a quick transition as I found out by looking at the squad page of the programme! Obviously I have no idea about the goings on behind the scenes when it comes to these matters, but his reaction to being taken off at Chelmsford (one which I mistakenly took for passion) was in hindsight an obvious example of his disruptive influence. As for players making themselves unavailable – Stephen O’ Leary being the obvious example, not showing up against Staines and then not being seen again, I can appreciate that it can be hard at times for players with other commitments be it work or study, but for those who flat out refuse or do not even show up, the club is far better off without them. It seems a hard line approach is now in place at Wood, with hungry young players looking for their chances to shine in the first team. With only 4 certain starters in the team, competition is rife and players cannot afford to be in any ways not giving 100%.

'Apart from perhaps Woking, Dover and Dartford, we can compete with the other clubs in this division on a level playing field. No disrespect intended to Sutton United, Welling Basingstoke, Bromley, Farnborough, Havant, Salisbury, Eastleigh, Eastbourne or even Chelmsford, who I suppose are the next crop of contenders. As long as we are a united club, with a great changing room spirit, we can, with hard work and good players, challenge!'

'Yes, those clubs get 300 more than us, but that's 25 times a season, and this equates, at a rough £10 split, to around £70,000, which we can and do make up elsewhere. It's simple.'

'...we have a profitable club, we are also desperately trying to progress and we are ambitious enough to have a go!!'

This was a very interesting few paragraphs, as it’s not often you see a chairman come out and explicitly talk about financial matters, especially when it comes to how better off you are than a lot of your rivals! Whilst I don’t think it will do Hunter’s reputation amongst rival fans much good (and I suppose if you make comments like these you are hardly likely to care), it does give Wood fans reassurance that Wood can and will compete with the majority of the league. I know the injuries have been talked about again and again, but it has been very cruel this season, and with a full squad to pick from I’m sure we would be pushing at least the play offs now. With key players returning at Christmas and with the club seemingly turning a corner, this could be the start of something good at Meadow Park. It’s just a shame that we have to rely on outside business interests and not people through the gate to help us compete…..

All of this made for fantastic and encouraging reading before the game, which I will be reviewing in Part 2 of this blog (I didn’t want to smother you with 10,000 words) along with a preview of Wood’s trip to Hampton and Richmond this Saturday.

Until then….

WE ARE THE WOOD!