Boreham Wood 3 – 1 Eastleigh
Saturday 5th November 2022
LV BET Stadium Meadow Park, Emirates FA Cup First Round
INTO THE SECOND ROUND OF THE EMIRATES FA CUP
The Wood go into the draw for the second round of the Emirates FA cup after beating Eastleigh 3-1 at home thanks to goals from George Broadbent, Lee Ndlovu and Zak Brunt. Wood manager Luke Garrard made only two changes from last week’s defeat to Chesterfield. Jamal Fyfield came into the starting XI late after being out injured for 9 weeks due Dennon Lewis feeling ill, and Lee Ndlovu came in for Tyrone Marsh
First Half
The opening 20 minutes were electric. The Wood looked sharper in the opening exchanges and that showed on the 10-minute mark, when Femi Ilesamni did brilliantly down the left-hand side to drill in a cross which found Broadbent who finished smartly into the bottom right corner from close range.
The Wood continued their pressure after the goal and two minutes later Lee Ndlovu doubled the Wood’s score after a low cross from Danny Newton found Ndlovu and he slotted home past Joe McDonnell with his side foot. However, Eastleigh got themselves straight back into the game on the 17th minute when Brennan Camp played an inviting ball into the area which found the run of Charlie Carter who finished from close range. Carter’s goal injected some energy into Eastleigh’s performance and they even came close to equalise straight after when McKiernan rattled the post from a half volley on the edge of the area. After the first 20 minutes the game settled down and with only a few chances for either side the referee blew the whistle for half time with the Wood leading 2-1 at the interval.
Second Half
The Wood started the second half brightly looking to restore their two-goal advantage. Then on the 61st minute Cameron Coxe was sent down the right-hand side, he did brilliantly to hold up the ball as he waited for players to make a run into the box, he found an inch of space to deliver in a cross along the ground which finds Zak Brunt at the back post. With only the goalkeeper in his sights, Brunt has the composure to take a touch and settle himself before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. The celebrations follow with a Zak Brunt knee slide in front of an erupting North Bank as the Wood restore their two-goal cushion. From there it seemed the Wood would coast their way to the full-time whistle, as they controlled the majority of the game after the third goal.
However, there was another twist to be added to the game when on the 85th minute Tristan Abrahams was brought down by David Stephens inside the penalty area and Eastleigh were awarded a penalty. Danny Whitehall stepped up for the visitors and his penalty was blasted over the bar which meant the Wood were able to see out the remaining minutes of the game comfortably and ensure that we will once again be in the draw for the FA cup second round.
It was a great day for Boreham Wood as our brilliant FA Cup form continues, and it begs the question. We couldn’t do it again, could we?
Eastleigh: McDonnell, Camp, Kelly (Oyunuga 89), Martin, Cartier (Whelan 66), Cisse (Hall 70), Langston, Abrahams, McKiernan, Harper (Whitehall 62), Rutherford (Atangana 89).
Subs not used: Maghoma, Hesketh, Flitney, Ebanks
Boreham Wood: Ashmore, Coxe, Ilesanmi, Evans, Stephens, Fyfield, Payne, Brunt (Ricketts 87), Broadbent, Newton (Elliott 90), Ndlovu (Marsh 72)
Subs not used: Rees, Andrade, Williams, Abayomi, Sousa
Man of the Match: George Broadbent
