Specsavers
BSBS
3:00pm - SaturdaySat 28th JanuaryJan 2012
Meadow Park | Att: 413

Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood
1 - 2

Woking
Woking

Cards look to bounce back

Brian Caffarey
9:35am, Thu 26th Jan 2012
Boreham Wood v Woking
3pm on Saturday 28 January 2012

With two defeats in the last three league games, the Cards are going through a difficult patch. They will be very keen to maintain their record of always bouncing back from a league defeat but will be hampered by a mounting injury list, not to mention a Boreham Wood side who have a good home record and are in confident mood following their emphatic 3-0 home win last Saturday over sixth-placed Weston-super-Mare.

WOKING

The Cards are 11 points clear at the top of the table and are still hot favourites to land the title but another defeat would inevitably lead to anxious looks over their shoulders, especially at Dartford, who have two games in hand and who visit Kingfield on 18 February.

Woking will definitely be missing Mark Ricketts and Adam Doyle, who is serving the second part of his two-match suspension. Jay Davies missed last Saturday’s game with shin splints, so must be doubtful, along with Paris Cowan-Hall, who limped off with a recurrence of his hamstring injury, and Dale Binns, who hasn’t played since 1 January.

BOREHAM WOOD

The Wood sit in 13th place with 32 points from 24 games. They have a very respectable home record with seven wins, two draws and three defeats, scoring 21 goals and conceding 14.

Wood benefited from increased investment in the summer and hopes were high for a promotion challenge but, partly as a result of injuries, they had a dreadful start to the season, winning only one of their first nine league games. Things improved markedly from early October with six straight league wins, including victories at home over Dartford and Dover. But recent form has been less impressive, with only one win, last Saturday, in the last seven league games.

There has been a huge number of comings and goings in Ian Allinson’s squad, with a substantial number of loan signings augmenting Wood’s ‘star’ players such as Mario Noto, Luke Garrard, Inih Effiong and top scorer David Bryant and a crop of very promising youngsters, including Charlie Hunter. The loanees at one time included Ollie Palmer and Nathan Koranteng, whilst Sam Hurrell was also with the Wood earlier in the season. Michael Jordan, the ex-Farnborough keeper, is the regular goalie. The Wood have just lost midfielder Daryl McMahon, who was also Assistant Team Manager, who was lured away by an offer from ambitious Eastleigh.

The star of their 3-0 win last Saturday was an 18 year-old from Leyton Orient, Billy Lobjoit, who scored two goals. He is likely to come up against his Orient team-mate Mike Cestor this Saturday.

GETTING THERE

Meadow Park
Broughinge Road
Borehamwood
Hertfordshire
WD6 5AL

Website: http://www.borehamwoodfootballclub.co.uk

By Coach

The Cards Trust coach leaves Kingfield at 12.30pm and costs £13 for members and £18 for non-members. Phone or email (shop@wokingfc.co.uk) the Club Shop today to book your place.

By Car

Exit junction 23 of the M25 and take the fifth exit at the roundabout, heading south (signposted London N and C, Brent Cross) on the A1. After about two miles take Borehamwood exit and then take second exit at roundabout onto A5135 / Elstree Way. Pass through two roundabouts remaining on Elstree Way. At next roundabout take second exit onto Brook Road. Take right onto Broughinge Road, turning right again to stay on Broughinge Road, and the entrance to the ground is then next on your right. There is a large car park adjacent to the ground and local park which you will see on your right before you reach the ground. The AA gives the journey time from Woking as about an hour.

By Train

Nearest station: Elstree & Borehamwood

Take the train to Waterloo and then go by tube to St Pancras International or Kentish Town to pick up the train to Elstree and Borehamwood. Direct trains from St Pancras International go from Platform 1 at 20 minutes and 50 minutes past each hour and take 18 minutes. So, the 13.20 gets in at 13.38, the 13.50 at 14.08 and, cutting it fine, the 14.20 at 14.38.

Walking from the station to the ground takes around 20 minutes. When you come out of the train station, turn right and walk down Borehamwood High Street until you come to McDonalds on your left. Turn left into Brook Road.

Trains back are at 23 and 53 minutes past each hour till 18.53, after which the timetable changes.

ADMISSION PRICES

Adults: £12
OAPs/U16s: £6

LAST TIME OUT

Woking 0 Boreham Wood 0
20 August 2011

The Cards went into their third game of the season on the back of a resounding away win over Sutton and a somewhat fortunate home defeat of Hampton and Richmond. With both Adam Doyle and Alan Inns missing, Garry Hill drafted in Mike Cestor on loan to partner Joe McNerney in central defence.

Boreham Wood had several early chances, with the powerful Inih Effiong putting the Cards’ defence under considerable pressure, but ‘man of the match’ Andy Little was up to the challenge. The Cards’ best chances in the first half fell to Gez Sole, who scooped over, and to Elvis Hammond, who was foiled by the Wood keeper, Putnins, who was also in excellent form.

The Wood started the second half brightly, with both Effiong and ex-Card Sam Hurrell testing Little. Garry Hill re-shuffled, bringing on Jay Davies for Sole and, later, Wayne Gray and Paris Cowan-Hall for Hammond and Dale Binns. Cowan-Hall came closest to winning the game for the Cards, blasting over when through, but the Cards were grateful to Little for a superb save at the end and also survived an almighty goalmouth scramble.


Come on, you Cards!

NB. Don’t forget that the Cards are at home to Dorchester Town on Saturday 4 February.

Cards battle to important win

Brian Caffarey
9:09pm, Sat 28th Jan 2012
Boreham Wood 1 Woking 2
28 January 2012

This felt like an important win for the Cards, preserving their 11-point lead over Dartford and maintaining Garry Hill’s record of always bouncing back from a league defeat. It was a hard-won three points, though – not secured until Moses Ademola’s strike in the 83rd minute after the Wood had equalised Elvis Hammond’s first-half opening goal.

Garry Hill was clearly intent on going for win, starting with a line-up that included new loan signing Mo Shariff wide left, with Moses Ademola on the right and Wayne Gray and Elvis Hammond inside them.

Woking made a scrappy start on a bumpy pitch, conceding quite a few free-kicks in dangerous positions through clumsy challenges. One of these infringements required Aaron Howe to pull off a fine save, tipping Mario Noto’s strike over the bar as it headed towards the top corner. Noto went close again from the resulting corner, volleying wide.

The Cards began to get their passing game going around the quarter of an hour mark, opening up the Wood defence several times, with shots coming in from Ademola and Hammond as well as a Joe McNerney header from a corner.

At the other end, however, an Alan Inns lunge in the box looked perilously close to conceding a penalty.

Keiran Murtagh – looking much more like the creative, authoritative player whom we saw last season – began to exert his influence on the game,ably assisted by Mike Cestor. It was Cestor who ended a fine Woking move with a cross-cum-shot which bounced off the corner of the bar and post before, in the 23rd minute, the Cards got their noses in front.

Michael Jordan, the home keeper, looked as though he, rather than Hammond, would be the first to a ball played through to the right of the area but he seemed to hesitate, perhaps distracted by one of his defenders. Hammond pushed the ball past him and then had the relatively simple task of side-footing the ball into the open goal.

Boreham Wood quickly sought to get back on equal terms, compelling Woking to concede two more free-kicks in dangerous areas before a shot from Noto was deflected to Howe.

Woking’s next decent chance fell to Gray in the 33rd minute but, having picked up a nice ball from Murtagh, he chose a line on goal which enabled a Wood defender to block him off, with no hope of the referee agreeing to his pleas for obstruction.

A minute later Cestor went on a superb run into the box but neither he nor Ademola could get a proper sight of the goal and the move ended with a Hammond shot which was deflected comfortably into Jordan’s arms.

The Woking pressure continued with Murtagh pinging a fine crossfield pass to Ademola, whose shot was deflected for a corner. Although that came to nothing, Ademola was soon centre stage again, firing a ball dangerously across the face of the goal.

The quest for a now-deserved second goal then produced some clever interplay between Murtagh and Hammond on the edge of the box but the former wanted an extra touch before shooting and was dispossessed.

The remainder of the first half was uneventful, with only a weak shot from Jack King posing any sort of threat to the Wood goal.

Half-time: Boreham Wood 0 Woking 1

Woking started the second half very brightly and it looked as though a second goal would surely follow speedily. Gray almost bundled in a Murtagh cross; Ademola blasted over from inside the box; Gray was just foiled as he latched onto an Inns headed through ball; Joe McNerney’s effort was just blocked; and the best chance of all fell to Gray, putting a left-footed strike over the bar after Jordan had spilled the ball at his feet from a corner.

Then, in the 55th minute, came the sucker punch. Woking failed to clear their lines in a Wood attack. The ball was crossed smartly from the right and Noto, attacking the far post, was there to ram it home for a wholly-unexpected equaliser.

The Woking players must have been only too well aware that Garry Hill’s order of the day was a win, not a draw, and strove to restore their lead. Hammond shot crisply, whilst a flowing move out of defence involving Adam Newton and Ademola saw Murtagh launch a fine strike from thirty yards out which flew narrowly wide.

McNerney went even closer in the 65th minute when, meeting a Murtagh free-kick, he flicked the ball with his boot off the inside of the post, only to see it go across the goal and away.

It was not entirely one-way traffic, with Wood’s nimble forwards always looking as though they might benefit from a quick counter-attack. Fortunately, the offside flag thwarted them on several occasions and there was some good covering by Mike Cestor in particular.

There was controversy in the 70th minute when Wood’s Charlie O’Loughlin, booked fifteen minutes earlier, scythed down Hammond right in front of the Woking dugout. Another yellow card looked inevitable but the referee merely issued a warning to the fortunate Wood defender, who proceeded to thwart the next Woking attack.

Garry Hill threw on Luke Medley for Mo Shariff – who had managed to get into the game a little more in the second half – followed, a few minutes later, by Josh Griffiths for Gray.

The vital winning goal came in the 84th minute as Woking attacked down the left through Cestor, Murtagh and Medley. It was the on-loan Kidderminster striker who crossed well for Ademola to hammer home from close range.

Woking were able to play out the rest of the game, including four minutes plus of added time, in relative comfort, with the ball mainly being kept out of harm’s way in the Wood half, although there was understandable nervousness among Woking fans on the few occasions when the home side managed to get forward. The final whistle was greeted with relief and joy by the many Woking fans who had made the trip to support their side.

Sitting near the Woking dugout, I was in no doubt that Garry Hill and Steve Thompson were very keen indeed to ensure that the Cards pocketed three points from this game. Woking certainly deserved to win on the balance of play and probably ought to have made it a little easier for themselves by grabbing at least one more goal from the chances they created. A definite plus was the display of Keiran Murtagh in midfield, who orchestrated most of the best moves, but there were solid displays from the rest of the side too, in particular Mike Cestor. Let’s hope that they can build on this important win with a really convincing performance at home next week when they face Dorchester Town.

Boreham Wood: Jordan, Sankofa, Jones, Garrard, O’Loughlin, Beckles, Hunter (Lechmere 75), Cox, Bryant, Noto, Lobjoit

Unused subs: Hutton, Wilkinson, Brathwaite, Akinola

Booked: Bryant 35, O’Loughlin 55

Woking: Aaron Howe, Adam Newton, Joe McNerney, Keiran Murtagh, Alan Inns, Mike Cestor, Wayne Gray (Josh Griffiths 83), Jack King, Moses Ademola (Derek Duncan 90), Elvis Hammond, Mo Shariff (Luke Medley 74)

Unused subs: Jay Davies, Andy Little

Booked: Alan Inns 70, Joe McNerney 85, Josh Griffiths 90

My MOTM: Keiran Murtagh (pictured)

Attendance: 413
Boreham Wood LINEUP
1Michael Jordan
2Osei Sankofa
3Mark Jones
4Luke Garrard
5Charlie O'Loughlin
6Omar Beckles
7Charlie Hunter ('75)
8Sam Cox
9David Bryant
10Mario Noto
11Billy Lobjoit
BENCH
12David Hutton
14Sam Lechmere ('75)
15Luke Wilkinson
16Daniel Brathwaite
17Simeon Akinola
WOKING LINEUP
1Aaron Howe
2Adam Newton
3Joe McNerney
4Keiran Murtagh
5Alan Inns
6Mike Cestor
7Wayne Gray ('82)
8Jack King
9Moses Ademola ('90)
10Elvis Hammond
11Mo Shariff ('74)
BENCH
12Jay Davies
14Derek Duncan ('90)
15Luke Medley ('74)
16Josh Griffiths ('82)
18Andy Little

Boreham Wood 1-2 Woking (Garry Hill Interview)

Elvis Hammond Interview

David Richardson
7:46pm, Sat 28th Jan 2012
Interview with Elvis Hammond following Woking's 2-1 victory at Boreham Wood today.

Elvis Hammond:








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