It was a big day for our U16 Boys as they faced Hitchin in the premier Herts FA County Trophy. Hitchin went unbeaten in their league last season and had enjoyed another five straight wins this season in Div 1 of the Mid Herts league; they turned up exuding the confidence such excellent runs engender. However, the Wood were in determined mood themselves and having played a who’s who of top opponents in recent times, were able to forgot about their opponents and just concentrate on the job at hand and what they needed to do individually and collectively, with everything else falling nicely into place if this was achieved.
Thereafter, the boys were very good indeed, with the midfield in particular raising levels to swamp Hitchin almost immediately. Central to this was MoM Da Silva, playing deeper and involved fully from the off, releasing Silva who served notice of what was to come with a sharp shot parried by the away keeper. Soon after, the lively Wood wingers combined with McGuinness sending in an excellent cross that was cooly dispatched back post by Makamian, only for the away linesmen to flag for a highly debatable offside.
Undeterred, the boys piled forward and Da Silva was upended in the box for a penalty he was to take; the keeper guessed correctly but, Silva was on hand to bury the rebound home with his usual standing foot! Shortly after, Da Silva won a header centrally that released McGuinness; he raided forward before feeding Silva, spinning his man then finishing in style.
Fan, enjoying another excellent game, won the ball in midfield before linking up with Silva and then dispatching the purest left foot shot into the right hand stanchion of the goal and it was 4-0 at half time when Silva curled home from a cleverly flighted free kick he had won himself. A brilliant half of football which effectively broke the back of the contest.
The second half saw Green take up the cudgels from Da Silva and he played in the same vein; popping up all over the midfield, winning the ball and displaying a wide range of accurate passing, while Pop was industrious and competitive in defence. Nevertheless, Hitchin pulled one back from the penalty spot despite an incredible save from Elboukhari and what looked like an outstanding saving tackle from Captain Boshjaku. However, Ifeacho scampered down the wing soon after before delivering a superb cross for McGuinness to arrive back post like all good wingers, slamming home for 5-1. Boshjaku and McGuinness then combined to send Silva away, his jinking run ending in a spectacular 4th goal of the game for him.
The Wood had time for one more very good goal; technical combination play from the midfield of Fan, Crucefix and Green fed Silva who dummied for Da Silva to slide home for number 7. A late consolation goal from Hitchin left a slightly bitter taste as five Wood players failed to stop the surging winger but, all in all it was a very solid performance and the boys move forward to face Berkhamsted Raiders Red away in the 2nd round of this prestigious trophy.
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After coming out 3-2 winners against Hemel Athletic last week, our U15 Boys played another tight match against this opponent, the match ending 3-2 to Hemel this time around. The boys continue to make good progress and look forward to a home match against Bushey and Oxhey Kestrels next.
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The indomitable U14 girls had no game again this week after our opponents pulled out. This would have been our 3rd week stood down but we managed to arrange another friendly this time against our new friends at Luton Town Ladies. We played this very talented U13 side today in a very tight affair at our new surrogate home ground in Potters Bar.
The game got off to a frenetic start with both teams fighting to gain control and to win the battle for control of the ball, this ended up being about 50/50 in the end. Today’s POM Lucy was in imperious form, the kind that makes her a joy to behold on the pitch; at times unstoppable & unplayable. Aided by the drive and skill of skipper Annie and schemer Aanya this midfield 3 is a tough ask for most teams but Luton where up to it today with their fantastic No6 a real standout performer.
The back four of Yvie, Ava, Poppy S & Theaya had their hands full with the pacy and direct Luton Town forwards and we witnessed some great 1v1 battles. Luton tended to attack for the most part down their right hand side and Isabella came on to add her pace and tenacity there, competing well and blocking this avenue to Luton in what was her best performance to date.
Elsie, Lola and No9 Poppy N had a battle on their hands against a quick and tough Luton back 4. Hazel, Kara and Pheidi came on to try and change the game a bit which their constant running did.
Emily one of our 2 magnificent GK’s had an excellent first half and her speed off her line helped the defence out on numerous occasions. Emily mopped up the danger in her own standout performance of the season so far. We went in playing on the hill 0-0 and fancied our chances of getting the win in the second half. Luton Town also had the same idea and came out on fire in the second half, the game was becoming an arm wrestle again with neither side giving quarter.
It looked like it would be a mistake from someone that would cause the winner of this game with the 2 evenly matched sides slugging it out and that was to be the case and the mistake was from the Wood management team as we made our subs with 18 to go and we only sent 10 girls back out onto the pitch; Luton took full advantage and scored when we only had 3 defenders on!!
We decided we needed to add some missing pace to our front line, so we switched Lucy up front and it wasn’t long before she was stretching Luton and pulling a great save out of the Luton keeper. Lucy beat two markers for skill, pace and strength and then fingertips denied the deserved equaliser. Aanya stung the GK’s hands with a late free kick and in the resulting melee we hit the bar and couldn’t convert.
The final whistle came and it was a 1-0 loss to a fantastic Luton side but football really was the winner today in what was an excellent match between two good sides. We hope to get a return game with Mark and his great bunch of girls in the not too distant future as we both benefited from the action today.
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Our U10 Girls were back in action at Pursley, this time against a handy Hitchin Belles, who were also a very tall and powerful looking side. It was captain Daisy who took the lead this week. Walking Borehamwood out to a very confident start to the game, with power plays and an early shot from Elsie to keep Hitchin on their toes.
Leah and Sienna were human shields at the back, deflecting Hitchin’s strong attackers and keeping the balls flying off to the sides. Tippi’s passing was something to be amazed at and with a swift ball through to Daisy, Borehamwood was on the score sheet! Polly kept the pace going with her typically buccaneering and brilliant runs.
In the second quarter we saw Amber and Anisia in defence with their determination to keep out Hitchin’s flying attack. Another few goal chances came from Elsie and Daisy, and Ruby was so close to scoring another one for the Wood too. Ruby’s incredible runs were great to watch throughout; she just never gives up. While between the sticks, keeper Emily made many great saves on a slick, slippery surface where ball handling was a real challenge. Wood warrior!
Maisie took her up front duties very seriously and kept attacking the Hitchin defenders with determination throughout. She definitely did her 10k steps! With grit and determination, the third quarter saw Elsie have another strong strike only to miss the post by an inch! It was captain Daisy who came flying in from the right to score a whopping goal just inside the box - the crowd went wild!
However, the defenders didn’t have time to waste and it was straight back to business with Sienna and Leah clearing balls every which way, Anisia launching big clearances down the field and Emily on high alert, all meaning Hitchin were going to have to work very hard to breach this formidable rear-guard action! At the other end, Tippi had two strong attempts at goal that only just got caught by the Hitchin stopper.
The final quarter saw Ruby rocketing up the wing desperately trying to find Tippi, Elsie and Maisie up front. Amber worked hard as always as one of our prominent defenders. She never shies away from a tackle that girl! And with continued great clearances from Leah and Sienna we were able to defend all chances in the final quarter. Anisia kept the pressure on throughout and Emily made multiple confident saves.
The girls learnt so much today, showing great strength and determination as a team to never give up. Defending against some physically bigger opponents was nothing for Sienna who won our player of the match with her continued and vital clearances, while it was Daisy’s determination and great finishes that earned her a well deserved player of the match from Hitchin.
We are all so immensely proud of how they have progressed with amazing runs, passes and finding that space. The crowd were electric which always helps and coach Emma absolutely smashed her very first game. Thank you to everyone for their support but thank you girls for inspiring us every week and showing us what true team work and spirit really is. WOOD ARMY!