Woking 5-0 Gateshead
Enterprise National League
6th September 2025

Woking hosted Gateshead at the Laithwaite Community Stadium, hoping for a first home win of the season against a side who were coming off the back of a midweek home defeat.

Neal Ardley turned to Josh Kelly, formerly of Maidenhead and Solihull, to make the decisive impact as he made his first start for the Cards, whilst former Woking midfielder Curtis Edwards joined the Heed yesterday and made his debut in the midfield.

On a bright and sunny afternoon in Surrey, Woking almost made a perfect start when a long ball up to Wimbledon loanee Kelly was controlled by the man making his first start for the Cards, but he fired straight at Tiernan Brooks.

They would have the lead after twelve minutes, however, when a long throw was defended suspectly by Gateshead, and the ball fell to Aiden O’Brien who passed the ball into the bottom left corner to cap off a brilliant week for him, as he missed the Cards’ midweek fixture at Halifax due to his wife giving birth.

Ten minutes later, they had a second after a fantastic team move. The ball moved from right to left, as Jamie Andrews ended up finding Tariq Hinds, whose curled finish was inch perfect and nestled in the far corner.

Andrews and Aaron Drewe were linking up brilliantly, and the latter’s ball across goal somehow evaded every Woking player inside the box. They linked up once again after half an hour, this time in reverse as Andrews latched onto a through ball, but was brilliantly denied by Brooks.

Half time: Woking 2-0 Gateshead

Woking hoped to pick up where they had left off in the second half, and another mistake at the back, this time from David Ferguson, saw Drewe pick up the ball and drive a fierce shot across the face of goal.

Brooks was called into action even more impressively when a quite brilliant Woking move ended with Caleb Richards’ low cross finding O’Brien, who was somehow denied at point blank range by the Heed ‘keeper, pushing the ball over the bar.

They had a third on the hour mark when another fantastic ball from Drewe found Andrews inside the box, whose finish on his weaker foot went under Brooks and into the bottom corner.

Timmy Akinola, who departed Gateshead to join the Cards in July, went close with just over twenty minutes left when he was found down the right hand side in acres of space, but his shot went across the face of Brooks’ goal.

There was the icing on the cake and a more popular goalscorer you will not find at Woking, as Josh Osude was played in behind just a minute after coming on and slotted past Brooks for his first professional goal.

Tom Norcott in the Woking goal was finally tested after 79 minutes when Kyle Hurst’s strike from a tight angle was beaten away by the on-loan Reading ‘keeper. Brooks was putting up an impressive fight, and was on hand to deny Drewe from close range after more brilliant build up.

As the clock neared 90, Osude managed to burst down the left hand side and poke the ball past Brooks for his second of the game as the Cards capped off a quite brilliant display.

Woking Norcott, Drewe, Akinola, Odusina, Richards, Andrews, Turner(Osude 71), Timmy Akinola, (Ward 80), O’Brien,(Beautyman 71) , Kelly, (Forster-Caskey 71,), Hinds.

Subs not used: Ross, Okoli

Gateshead Brooks, Johnson, Richardson, Home, Ferguson, Hurst, Edwards, Sheaf, Chapman, Nouble

Subs not used: Shelvey, Williams

Referee: Aaron Jackson

Goals: O’Brien 12, Hinds 23, Andrews 61, Osude 74, 90

Attendance: 2786

Sponsors Man of the Match: Aiden O’Brien