Match Preview | Cards looking for fourth win in a row to continue superb start

Glen Harrington
8:19am, Sat 12th Nov 2022

Boreham Wood vs Woking
Vanarama National League
Saturday 12th November 2022

Darren Sarll returns to the venue of his first game in charge of Woking on Saturday as the Cards travel to Boreham Wood in National League action.

It was just over seven months ago that Sarll took charge of Woking for the first time and claimed a rare and surprise win at Meadow Park thanks to a Max Kretzschmar penalty. The Cards have progressed rapidly since then and come into this game above their hosts in the league table after picking up 13 points out of 15 from their last five league matches. In fact, Sarll’s side have lost just one of their last ten in all competitions and are enjoying their best start to a season for more than two decades. The Woking boss has spoken about needing to keep the club grounded at still such an early stage of the campaign – but positivity and optimism are high after such an impressive run of results.

On Wednesday evening, the Cards claimed three points in another tricky away trip, winning away at Bromley for the first time since 2011. Reece Grego-Cox and Rhys Browne, both second-half substitutes, scored the Woking goals to take their tallies for the season to eight and nine goals respectively. They were also welcome returns to the squad after both missing the last two games through injury. It means that Luke Wilkinson is the only absentee still in the squad – although new centre-back pairing Scott Cuthbert and Joe McNerney are on a run of three straight clean sheets.

Opposition Watch

Boreham Wood are in their eighth season in the National League following promotion in 2015. Manager Luke Garrard took over the club a couple of months into their first season in the fifth tier and recently celebrated seven years in charge. In that time he has secured two play-off finishes, in 2018 and 2020, losing in the final at Wembley on the first of those occasions to Tranmere Rovers. Under Garrard, the Wood have twice reached the third round of the FA Cup and made the fifth-round last season – beating Wimbledon and Bournemouth before going out to Everton. They finished their last league campaign in ninth place after a poor end to the season.

This season, they again look likely to be challenging for a top seven position, and currently sit in seventh place with 28 points from 17 games – five points behind Woking with a game in hand (which if they were to win, they would be in fifth, one place behind the Cards). Their recent form is poor however with no win in four and just two wins in nine in the league. A lack of goals has held them back, their tally of 23 is the joint-lowest in the league’s top ten, and they have drawn seven games this season. However, their 17 goals conceded is the joint-least in the whole division with Notts County, and they have lost just three times, most recently away to Chesterfield.

Their squad includes many familiar names, including former Woking captain Mark Ricketts, now 38, as well as fellow ex-Cards Dennon Lewis and Bruno Andrade, who recently returned for a second spell at the club after a successful period between 2016 and 2018. Other recent additions include Notts County full-back Dion Kelly-Evans, Grimsby winger Erico Sousa, and two strikers who enjoyed success in National League North last season – Brackley’s Lee Ndlovu and Boston’s Danny Elliott. The former is the club’s top scorer so far this campaign with six.

Recent Meetings

• Boreham Wood 0-1 Woking – 2nd April 2022, National League (Kretzschmar)
• Woking 0-2 Boreham Wood – 11th December 2021, National League
• Woking 0-0 Boreham Wood – 9th March 2021, National League
• Boreham Wood 1-0 Woking – 27th October 2020, National League
• Boreham Wood 1-0 Woking – 30th November 2019, National League

Tickets

Ticket prices are £20 for Adults, Concessions £18, Under 16s £12, Under 12s £6. For more information and to book your ticket please click here.

Match Report | Woking win at the Wood

Connor Laing
12:46pm, Mon 14th Nov 2022

Boreham Wood 0 Woking 1
Vanarama National League
12th November 2022

Woking made it four wins on the spin with a 1-0 away victory against Boreham Wood at LV Bet Stadium Meadow Park on Saturday.

Reece Grego-Cox was the difference between the two teams with a well-taken first-half finish.

Neither team managed to create many clear-cut opportunities aside from the goal, with the Woking defence holding strong in the second period.

The result means the Cards remain in fourth while the hosts drop to eighth in the Vanarama National League.

Sarll made one change to his side with the injured Ricky Korboa making way for the returning Grego-Cox.

It was a very quiet first half overall from both sides, at least in terms of creating chances, but the game was decided in the space of two first-half minutes.

Firstly, it was the hosts through Cameron Coxe who had the first chance of the game when his left-footed shot cutting in from the right was well-held by Craig Ross in the 13th minute.

It was from this chance that Woking worked the ball up the other end to create the goal. James Daly, as James Daly does, put some pressure on the on-rushing Nathan Ashmore in the Boreham Wood goal, causing him to fail to clear his lines properly. This left Daly to retrieve the loose ball and lay it back to Grego-Cox who perfectly executed a finish into the left-hand-side of the goal from 20 yards out, with the goalkeeper in no man’s land.

The visitors started to create a few half-chances towards the end of the half, but it was mostly uneventful going into the break.

Half-time: Boreham Wood 0 Woking 1

Woking raised the level a little bit in the second half, as did the hosts, but stellar defensive performances all round kept The Wood at bay.

A series of half chances came and went throughout the chance. Some from set-pieces such as Joe McNerney’s header from a Josh Casey set-piece in the 69th minute.

James Daly had a good attempt in the 74th minute, a low drive from the left-hand-side which was well-held by Ashmore.

Despite one or two dangerous crosses from both sides, there weren’t too many more opportunities of note in the match as Woking professionally saw out the victory.

Full-time: Boreham Wood 0 Woking 1

The Cards’ next test comes in the Emirates FA Cup as they host Oxford United in the rescheduled tie on Wednesday 16th November.

Boreham Wood: 1 Nathan Ashmore ©, 3 Femi Ilesanmi, 8 George Broadbent, 9 Lee Ndlovu, 11 Danny Newton (14 Danny Elliott 67’), 12 Jamal Fyfield, 15 Dennon Lewis, 17 jack Payne, 20 Zak Brunt (10 Tyrone Marsh 62’), 22 Cameron Coxe, 24 Kyron Gordon

Unused subs: 4 Mark Ricketts, 7 Josh Rees, 18 George Williams
Bookings: Jamal Fyfield 37’, Femi Ilesanmi 39’

Woking: 13 Craig Ross, 3 Josh Casey ©, 4 Scott Cuthbert, 5 Joe McNerney, 9 Reece Grego-Cox (14 Rhys Browne 65’), 8 James Daly, 10 Padraig Amond (29 Jake Vokins 81’), 12 Dan Moss, 17 Jim Kellerman, 23 Jermaine Anderson (2 Kyran Lofthouse 65’), 24 Rohan Ince

Unused subs: 15, Bryant Bilongo, 18 Jack Roles
Goals: Grego-Cox 14’
Bookings: Rohan Ince 47’, Kyran Lofthouse 72’

Referee: Alan Dale
Attendance: 1011 (252 away)
Man of the Match: Scott Cuthbert

Boreham Wood LINEUP
1	Nathan Ashmore
22	Cameron Coxe
3	Femi Ilesanmi
12	Jamal Fyfield
24	Kyron Gordon
17	Jack Payne
20	Zak Brunt ('62)
8	George Broadbent
15	Dennon Lewis
9	Lee Ndlovu
11	Danny Newton ('67)
BENCH
4	Mark Ricketts
7	Josh Rees
18	George Williams
10	Tyrone Marsh ('62)
14	Danny Elliott ('67)

WOKING LINEUP
13	Craig Ross
12	Dan Moss
3	Josh Casey
4	Scott Cuthbert
5	Joe McNerney
24	Rohan Ince
17	Jim Kellermann
23	Jermaine Anderson ('65)
8	James Daly
9	Reece Grego-Cox ('65)
10	Padraig Amond ('81)
BENCH
29	Jake Vokins ('81)
15	Bryant Bilongo
2	Kyran Lofthouse ('65)
18	Jack Roles
14	Rhys Browne ('65)