Boreham Wood 1 – 1 Barnet
Monday 2nd January 2023
LV BET Stadium Meadow Park, Vanarama National League
STUNG BY THE BEES
It was a point apiece at the LV BET Stadium Meadow Park as Sam Wynter’s late strike cancelled out Danny Newton’s opener to kick off the new year with a draw on derby day.
Newton gave the Wood a deserved lead with a little over a quarter of an hour played when he sent an audacious lob past Laurie Walker to reward his side for their early dominance, but they would pay the price for not taking advantage of their chances when Wynter scored late on to seal a point for the Bees and prevent their opponents from securing revenge after the Boxing Day defeat last week.
The Wood rise one place in the National League table to 13th as a result, and will return to FA Cup action on Saturday with the visit of League One outfit Accrington Stanley in the Third Round, looking to make history for the second season running.
Luke Garrard made two changes to the side that fell to defeat last time out at The Hive, with Lee Ndlovu replacing the suspended Bruno Andrade along with a debut for new signing Chris Bush in defence, which saw a noticeable impact.
The Wood came out the blocks quickest with a golden opportunity after just two minutes, as George Broadbent volleyed a perfectly cushioned pass through to Newton who cut the ball back to Josh Rees to force Walker into the first save of the game. He would be called into action again immediately after with the ball falling to Ndlovu, but Walker pulled off a magnificent double save to deny the rebound and produce a goalmouth scramble as the hosts looked to force the ball over the line, but Barnet were eventually able to clear their lines.
It was certainly a one-sided opening 15 minutes as Barnet struggled to see much of the ball, but despite the Wood dominating possession they were unable to create a clear goalscoring opportunity. They evidently saw a weakness on the Bees’ left-hand side and looked to take advantage with a number of half chances coming from that side, with Ndlovu at the heart of it as he twice turned provider with no success, as well as heading a tame effort straight at Walker.
An opener would soon be on the way though with Newton giving the Wood a deserved lead. The striker found himself one on one with Walker but was unable to beat the Bees stopper who turned away his poor effort, but he recovered well to reach the rebound and send an unstoppable strike beyond Walker which nestled in the far corner.
The hosts had the momentum and continued see the better of things throughout the first half, with Ndlovu teeing up Broadbent on the edge of the box who sent his strike just wide of the bottom corner minutes after breaking the deadlock.
They almost doubled their advantage shortly before the half-hour mark when Rees robbed possession from Barnet in a dangerous area before breaking away and firing a powerful effort which was destined for the top corner, but Walker produced a good save to deny him.
Barnet grew into it towards the end of the half and began to gain some control. They had their best chance on the stroke of half time with Danny Collinge heading over the crossbar from a corner, before a disappointing first half from the Bees’ perspective came to a close.
HT: Boreham Wood 1-0 Barnet
The visitors will have been fired up at the break after an improved end to the first half, and they began the second on top as they looked to find an equaliser. Just like at the start of the first half it took two minutes for either side to go close, with it this time falling to Barnet as Sam Beard hit the post via a deflection.
They came close to a leveller again moments later as former Wood man Idris Kanu ended a superb run into the box with an effort that flew over the crossbar, but they had made an excellent start to the half and looked the most likely to score next.
The Wood were keen to keep a hold of their lead though and remained resilient at the back, with debutant Bush going close at the other end when he headed over from a Rees corner, moments before Broadbent fizzed a dangerous volley into the North Bank.
They came ever so close to doubling their lead when Rees found himself through on goal but he was unable to fire past Walker who pulled off a great save. The ball fell to Newton on the edge of the box who looked to beat the onrushing defender to create space for a shot, but this allowed Walker to recover and gather the ball.
This seemingly spurred the visitors on and they thought they equalised moments later when Wynter headed past Nathan Ashmore, but the flag was up for offside despite the wild scenes in the away end behind the goal.
But Barnet soon found a leveller that did count, with Wynter finishing in almost identical fashion beyond the helpless Ashmore moments after Bush had fired a free kick out of the stadium. A delicious ball into the box was met by Wynter who headed past Ashmore once again, and he made sure to check checking over his shoulder to make sure the flag wasn’t up this time around before wheeling away in celebration, much to the delight of the away fans when the assistant’s lowered flag confirmed it hadn’t.
This proved to be a sucker-punch for the Wood who had led for almost the entire game, but they probably should have had a chance to restore their lead when Broadbent went down in the box under a challenge from Beard, however the referee waved away the appeals much to the disbelief of Broadbent who punched the ground in frustration.
Walker was twice tested late on by Newton and then from Ndlovu as they looked for a second goal, but the Bees stopper had little trouble with dealing with the two attempts.
There was just enough time for substitute Rob Hall to curl an effort wide of the far post, but neither side could find another way through as it ended honours even.
FT: Boreham Wood 1-1 Barnet
Boreham Wood: Ashmore; Evans, Fyfield (Gordon 45’), Bush; Coxe, Broadbent, Payne, Lewis; Rees (Brunt 77’); Newton, Ndlovu
Subs Not Used: Marsh, Williams, Sousa
Goal: Newton 17’
Barnet: Walker; Wynter, Collinge, Okimo, Beard; Gorman (Armstrong 53’), Woods (Hall 63’); De Havilland, Pritchard, Kanu; Moyo (Powell 84’)
Subs Not Used: Azaze, Revan
Goal: Wynter 74’
Star Man: Chris Bush
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