Old Woodhouseians 2XI 4 – 0 HSBC 2XI
Saturday 6 November 2021
After two consecutive league games at home, the 2s were now switching their attention to the cup. HSBC football club were the opposition.
Upon arriving to the ground, the pitch looked like it had weathered the rain badly we had during the week. As we all know, the cup can be very unpredictable coming up against teams from different league set-ups. The Woods had to try and continue the momentum they have built from the last few weeks against a side they did not know much about.
The Woods starting 11 this weekend was as follows:
The ever present Andrew in between the sticks, a back 3 of Ross, Kayode and Conor. The two wing backs were Toby and Jack. The midfield 3 consisted of Dom, Lee and Billy. Ryan was in the 10 and Dunford was leading the line.
The subs for today were Behrang and Ozan.
The game got under way. It was a tense start for both teams with neither side giving too much away. The first shot on target was by the opposition after 20 mins but it was nothing that Andrew couldn’t handle.
The Woods started to get into the game and all of a sudden it was 1-0. Billy stood over a set piece and pinged a 30 yard ball in behind the HSBC defence. Toby latched on to this, took a touch and lashed the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Woods!
Like previous weeks, this goal flicked a switch with Woods starting to play some good football. A few passing moves were made that ultimately didn’t lead to a goal.
As the half was coming to an end, the HSBC side started to put their foot on the pedal and had a quick succession of corners. After the first one was cleared at the near post, the second corner seemed to cause a problem. The ball dropped for the opposition number 5, about 16 yards out and he smashed the ball towards the Woods net. Luckily for the Woods, Kayode had thrown his body in the way and the ball deflected over.
That was the last play of the half.
Like every week, Conor gathered the troops in and gave them a stern talking to. Just like last week, it seemed to have done the job as no later than 3 minutes into the second half, the Woods had doubled their lead.
Billy, with another assist, as he whipped in a corner which was met wonderfully by “The man on fire” Dunford. 2-0 to the Woods.
That second goal seemed to take the wind out of the opposition, but they still posed a threat from set pieces. They whipped in another corner and it was caught square on the head of the centre half. However, it was brilliantly cleared off the line by Toby Burton.
This gave the Woods a quick reality check to kill this game off quickly. That is exactly what happened.
The ball got played in behind and Dunford cut the ball back for Billy to smash into the back of the net! 3-0 to the Woods.
Behrang entered the game to give the Woods a sense of composure and an art in ball retention.
The opposition, realising the game was out of reach, started to put in really dangerous tackles that should have resulted in a few red cards.
The Woods decided to react in the only way they know how. Putting the ball in the back of the net.
Yes, you guessed it. Dunford had got his 16th goal of the season. The ball got fired into his feet, he took one touch and fired it into the net. 4-0 to the Woods.
For the final 10 minutes of the game, Woods started to play keep ball but still fashioned a brilliant opportunity. The ball got played down the left to Toby, who cut in and just before he pulled the trigger, was taken out by the opposition captain. Billy stepped up and whipped the free kick off the outside of the post. So close to a 5th.
And the final whistle had gone. Woods 4-0 HSBC. A well earned clean sheet and on to the last 16 of the cup!
We would like to wish the HSBC football team good luck for the rest of the season.
Now on to the man of the match awards. I tend to give this to two players each week and that hasn’t changed this week.
Before we get into, I would like to say this was a solid performance from all the boys.
Special mentions to Lee, who played out of position today, and Dom, who was making his debut for the 2s.
This weeks joint man of the match is going to go to Billy and Toby.
Billy, on his long awaited return from injury, looked like had been playing week in and week out. Topped with a goal and two assists. Good performance for the lad!
Toby was a constant nightmare offensively and worked his socks off for the team defensively. Was rewarded with a well taken goal.
Old Woodhouseians 2XI 3 – 1 Parkfield 1XI
Saturday 30 October 2021
After a superb victory last week, the Woods were looking to make it 4 from 4 in the league, with Parkfield being the visitors.
This would be the second time the two sides had met already this season, with Woods running out as comfortable 5-2 winners last time.
Surprisingly, the pitch looked good considering the amount of rain their had been in the last week.
The Woods starting 11 was as follows:
The ever present Andrew in between the sticks, a back 3 of Ross Burton, Jeff Boateng and Lee Houghton. Reidy, Behrang and Isaac started in the middle of the park. Toby and Jack were the wing backs. Adam played in the 10 with James Dunford leading the line.
The subs today were Henry, Conor and Niik.
With both teams lined up and ready to go, there was one thing that was missing…the REF! After 30 mins, the ref finally showed up.
The delay to the kick off had an impact on the Woods, as they conceded within the first 5 minutes. An in-swinging corner from Parkfield was met with a bullet head from their captain! Great header from the lad and Parkfield had taken the lead. 1-0.
Parkfield could have gone 2-0 up. The winger seemingly offside, cut inside and shot past Andrew. This was cleared off the line by Ross. The Woods back line were not happy with the ref.
The Woods after a slow start, began to get the ball down and started dominating the possession. However, they were not creating as many clear cut chances as they would have liked.
The introduction of Henry to the side gave the Woods a much needed bit of quality, which was missing from the opening 20 mins.
After numerous attempts, the Woods finally had a well deserved equaliser. However, the way the ball went into the net was a bit fortunate.
After 4 successive corners, the ball fell to Lee Houghton who crossed the ball into the box. What seemed like a routine catch from the keeper, he decided to let the ball bounce and completely misjudged the bounce. The ball looped over the keeper and into the back of the net. Lee Houghton peeled away celebrating the goal he just scored from 40 yards!
The Woods were now dominating the play and were unlucky to go in with the lead. Dunford was put in the down the side of the CB and forced a brilliant save from the Parkfield keeper.
The ref blew his whistle and the two sides went into the half time break, with the scoreline tied at 1-1.
After a motivational speech from the captain Conor, the Woods were ready and raring to get the second half going.
Within the first 5 mins, the Woods took a deserved lead. Henry, who was causing trouble all game, put the left back on his backside twice before drilling a ball into the box. James Dunford, who had 13 goal in 5 games so far, was on the end of the cross to take his tally to 14 for the season. Dunford acknowledged how well Henry done in the build for his goal so proceeded to clap for him.
The Woods were now seeing the Parkfield lads heads drop and tried to go for the next goal, which would have effectively ended the game.
The Woods put in numerous balls in behind the Parkfield back line but the ref kept giving offside. This was joined by laughs from the Parkfield bench, who quoted “there is no way some of those are offside”
With 30 mins left, Conor and Niik joined the game, replacing Ross and Jack respectively.
With the game slowly reaching its final stages, the Parkfield side decided to push more men forward in hope of getting the equaliser. This meant that Parkfield were open to a counter attack.
And that is exactly what happened.
After over committing on an attack, the Parkfield back line was wide open. After catching a cross, Andrew pinged the ball out to Dunford, who drove forward with the ball. The Woods were 3 on 1 and Dunford crossed the ball to Henry, who fired the ball into the back of the net.
Before the final whistle, the Woods had a few more chances to add to the scoreline but they didn’t. The game ended 3-1 to the Woods, a scoreline that seemingly flattered the opposition.
We would like to wish Parkfield all the best for the rest of the season! Brilliant two games played by both sides so early in the season.
On to the man of the match for today! I think you could make a valid case for every player on this.
A special mention to Jeff and Reidy today! Thought both of them were unlikely not to get this award.
However, the man (or men) of the match, is going to go to Lee and Henry.
Lee put in a solid performance in a completely new position for him. Was first to everything and led the fight back for the Woods.
Henry was a nightmare for the defenders all afternoon. Very impressive performance from the young lad, which was topped off with a well deserved goal.
Old Woods 2XI 6 – 1 London Hospital Old Boys 1XI
SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER 2021
After playing 4 away games on the spin, the Woods 2XI were finally back at Cams. Our visitors today were London Hospital Old Boys.
The Cams pitch was in excellent condition and with good weather, we were in for a good game.
For the Woods starting 11, the ever present Andrew Hill in between the sticks. Playing on the right side of a back 3 and making his full Woods debut was Kayode Smith. Alongside him in the middle of the 3 was Jeff Boateng. The skipper Conor Higgins completed the back line.
The wing backs were Jack Andrews and Toby Burton. In the middle of the park was Reidy, Ross Burton and Ryan. Behrang was in the hole and Dunford led the line. The subs were Simon, Niik and Ozan.
After a below par opening 10 minutes, the Woods needed something to spark them into life. Please step forward Behrang.
Behrang collected the ball 35 yards from goal and drove towards the goal. He laid it down the line to Dunford, who crossed the ball where Behrang was lurking to top poke the Woods into the lead. The magic man had got the opening goal!
It was like a switch was flicked because the Woods started to play some great football. Jeff Boateng giving the ever calming presence to the boys as he started to get the ball down. The midfield 3 of Ross, Reidy and Ryan also started to pop the ball about and open up the pitch for our wide players.
Shortly after, the Woods had made it 2-0. This might be hard for some people to believe but Conor Higgins was on the scoresheet again. Higgins rolled back the years as he burst down the left side, played a one-two with Jack Andrews, and rifled the ball into the back of the net. Brilliant finish from the veteran!
Now the Woods were starting to pop the ball about, with Niik entering the game. Niik injected some much needed energy into the Woods side!
The opposition were starting to get tired and Dunford started to sense he could get himself on the scoresheet again this week. And just like that, the Woods had made it 3-0.
The lively Jack Andrew was buzzing around the right back and managed to nick the ball and play the ball through to Dunford, who slotted it past the keeper and into the net.
The Woods were playing some lovely football at this point and the debut man Kayode Smith was eager to get himself on the scoresheet. After a 20 pass move, Kayode beat his man and drilled a low shot into the side netting. Very unlucky from our new signing.
With 5 minutes of the half left, Dunford doubled his tally for the day. The ball was perfectly slide in behind from Toby Burton, who had unleashed Dunford one on one with the opposition keeper. Dunford, who has a history of missing the easy chances, calmly rounded the keeper and slotted it into the empty net.
The half time whistle had gone and it was 4-0 to the Woods.
After dictating the game for the last 30 mins of the first half, Ross came off for a breather and Ozan was introduced.
Moments later he had put the ball into the net. A corner was whipped in and fell to Kayode Smith, who laid the ball off to Ozan to fire into the bottom corner. Lovely finish from last seasons best newcomer. The Woods now were 5-0 up.
The skipper Conor Higgins then departed the field and Ross entered the game again, also collecting the captains armband in the process.
Toby Burton then started to pull out his party tricks. He collected the ball deep inside the Woods half and started to drive at the opposition players. After nutmegging 1 of them and flicking the ball over 2, Toby was suddenly at the edge of the box and laid off to the impressive Ryan, who shot was deflected for a corner.
Simon now entered the game and was straight into the action, playing a one-two with Reidy and starting another attacking move.
For the 3rd time this season, Dunford was about to score a hat-trick. After a bursting run from Toby Burton, he unselfishly laid the ball back to Dunford to tap into the net. That’s another match ball for the man who is on fire!
Fair play to the opposition, they did not give up all afternoon and thoroughly got their reward when they got a late consolation goal. The ball was whipped in from the left hand side and the striker top poked it on to the post and past Andrew.
That was it. The game has finished 6-1 and the result has pushed the Woods to the top of table.
We would like to wish London Hospital Old Boys good luck for the rest of season!
Now on to the man of the match. This weeks one is difficult so would like to give honourable mentions to Ryan and Reidy, who were immense in the middle of the park.
However, this week we have a joint man of the match – Kayode Smith and James Dunford.
Kayode Smith was solid on his full debut and was an ever present attacking threat! Vocal and colossal in the challenge. Brilliant performance from the new boy!
James Dunford scored a hat-trick again so it’s difficult not to give him this joint award. The boy is on fire!
Southgate Olympic IV 2 – 2 (4 – 2 A.E.T) OLD WOODS
Saturday 23 September 2017
A 3pm kick off time for a cup game wasn’t ideal, due to the fact Alex Labey had to get to Bournemouth for a piss up straight after the game, and with the potential for extra time and penalties, the team were given strict instructions not to lose or go to extra time…things didn’t quite go to plan.
A classic tale of two halves (or four halves) to be totally accurate followed, on a typically grey Saturday afternoon at the Clowes sports ground.
The match started well for Woods, not troubled by the many long balls launched forward by Southgate, neatly dealt with in the air by Day. Doherty was on form with his tackles making one especially good block at the edge of the box. As planned Woods were keeping possession well, and using the width of the pitch and deploying our flying wingers Jay and Ade to great effect.
Following some excellent build up play from the midfield the ball made it back to edge of the box, Taylor calmly curled the ball, great chance, but the keep saved it. Adebisi took the resulting the corner from right side of the pitch; Labey made a late run to front post and met the low cross with a guided left footed volley which went under the keeper.. 1-0! (First goal for Woods).
Woods kept up the intensity with some good tackles and sensible football, creating a few more chances. Again Adebisi doing well, playing Labey in down the right wing who knocked in round the keeper but could quite finish or cross due to tight angle, should have probably been 2-0.
Another chance, probably the best move of the game; a string of one touch play from Young, to Labey who found Walker up front, out to Ade back to Walker who attempted a flamboyant volley… So close, good effort. Could have been 2-0 again.
Approximately 30 minutes in, thinking of a quick change to try maintain our lead as their right winger was causing us some problems, Southgate entered into a street fighter come hunger games style brawl amongst each other after a player had walked off the pitch and some arguments between them. Meanwhile Georgiou made way for Mang at left back. The referee sorted the madness out and game on.
Back to our usual game, with Olowojoba and Adebisi switching wings, a chance came for Olowojoba who finished nicely. 2-0!
Half time
Things somehow didn’t start of well despite a very positive half and team talk. The opposition probably hyper on adrenaline following their escapades starting putting pressure on the back four. A switch of their winger to central midfield made the difference, a good player a bit trickier to deal with. Holding out for next 20 minutes, Southgate broke though. 2-1!
A few chances for Woods down the wings again, Olowojoba clean though on goal unfortunately tried a little trick and didn’t pull off. Should have been 3-1.
With tired legs came mistakes and simple passes and control became increasingly difficult, Dankwah was on at half time making some decent passes but quickly tired, Labey’s knees about to give in and the pressure still piling on. Southgate broke through again took a pot shot and deflected in off Jeff’s (third) leg. 2-2!
Full time.
Extra time.
Extra time started as the last half did, pressure on the Woods, tiring and struggling to maintain possession. The winger come centre mid from Southgate taking long shots from all over the pitch coming close a few times.
After a little more promising possession play, Turner did a typical Fifa 2017 error and passed the ball straight to the opposition, an easy finish 3-2!
In a final push to equalise, a change in formation; 3 at the back and 2 upfront with Labey pushing forward to try and pile on extra pressure. Jeff wandered forward in the last couple minutes to help but Southgate broke and scored in last minute to make it 4-2.
Overall an excellent first half, much like the first game of the season, but lack of fitness and composure in second half and final third. Disappointing result, with some excellent play but requires some resilience in second half to hold on to our leads.
Alex Labey
MoM: Alex ‘Backseat BJ’ Day for winning so many headers.
Squad: Turner, Docherty, Day, Boateng, Georgiou, Labey, Young, Adebisi, Taylor, Olowojoba, Walker, Mang, Dankwah
Scorers: Labey, Olowojoba
OLD WOODS 1 -1 Old Ignatian III
Saturday 29 October 2016
The Woods went into this league game looking to put the disappointment of last weeks cup loss behind them. They started with a very unfamiliar team (due to people running late!) with Alex in goal (yes, I know!!!) a back four of Guildea, Chris, Lysander and John. Jimmy, Labey and Duggan in the midfield with Chase and Connor out wide leaving Ola up top. Bully and Andrew arrived later.
The unfamiliar Woods team were clearly unsettled from the start as in the first minute Old Ignatian were given a penalty from a handball. The Old Ignatian striker stepped up and despite his best effort Alex was unable to keep it out (but he did get a hand to it).
The Woods were clearly unsettled but started to battle back. The first half was over pretty quickly and that allowed the woods to put some things right.
Both Andrew and Bully came on allowing Alex come come back into defence and pushing John further forward. The Woods were already looking more comfortable spreading the ball well and creating chances.
After a few missed opportunities Ola was put through and slotted the ball past the keeper excellently.
The Woods were searching for a winner but they left it all too late and it wasn’t to be there day. Final score 1-1!
Alex ‘Backseat’ Day
Squad: A Hill, A Day, L Bryant, C Achilies, J Warner, C Cooney, J O’Shea, M Duggan, O Olaofe, M Guildea, J Young, A Labey, C Wilson\
Scorer: Olaofe
MoM: Day – for going in goal when needed (deal with it)
Enfield Old Grammarians II v OLD WOODS
Saturday 22 October 2016
The Woods went into this cup game knowing that it was going to be a tough match as they visited a team four divisions above them.
They lined up with Ryan in goal, a back four of John, Jason, Chris and Alex. A midfield trio of Jimmy, Bully and DC which left Conner Lewis and Aziz making up the top three. This left new boy Lysander on the bench.
The Woods started brightly and made it known to the opposition that they were going to play the way they liked and keep the ball on the floor. This created a few early chances as the Grammarians defence was looking shaken by the pace of Lewis and Aziz. This is where the opener came from when Lewis was played through by Jimmy and calmly slotted it past the keeper. 1-0 Woods!
The Woods then kicked on as Aziz was found on the edge of the box, drove past a defender and slammed the ball into the back of the net via the post. 2-0 Woods!
Despite the difference in leagues the Woods were looking impressive with and without the ball as Jason and Chris reunited their defensive partnership by keeping the Grammarians strikers frustrated. However, the Grammarians did get a goal back before half time via a free kick which led to the follow up being put past Ryan (not through his legs this time!) 2-1 at half time.
The second half started as the first ended with the Woods wanting to play football while the Grammarians were sticking to their long ball game. The game was starting to get scrappy and that suited the Grammarians as they got their second goal via a header from a free kick. 2-2.
The Woods were still holding their own and playing some good football while looking for a winner but today wasn’t their day as Grammarians winger picked the ball up on the edge of the box and scored a screamer to win the cup tie.
Despite coming so close the Woods will be disappointed, however there were many positives to be taken from today’s performance. It was a great team performance but the man of the match has to go to Bully for pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Squad: R Turner, J Warner, J Olaofe, C Achillies, A Day, J O’Shea, J Young, S D’Castro, A Hussain, C Cooney, L Entwistle, L Bryant
Scorers: Entwistle, Hussain
MoM: Bully – A bulldog in the middle of the park, Woof!!
Southgate County II v OLD WOODS
Saturday 15 October 2016
After two weeks of cup games the Woods were back in action in the league and faced a short trip to play Southgate County. The Woods lined up with Ryan (Close your legs) Turner in goal, a back four of Guildea, Dean, Chris and Alex with a familiar midfield trio of the Jimmy, John and Bully leaving Mason and George out wide and Ola up top.
The game started very scrappily with both teams failing to take control of possession. It became clear to the Woods early on that Southgate’s plan was a long ball up to their big striker and the defence managed to block that threat out well.
Around 20-30 minutes in the Woods started to get their foot on the ball and create some chances. The midfielders were beginning to run the game and Southgate were having to work hard to win the ball back. This however didn’t lead to a goal and it was 0-0 going into the break.
The Woods made a few changes at half time which led to Dan making his Woods debut and DC returning to second team action. The Woods also made a tactical change and switched to 4-4-2 and this worked very well putting the Southgate defence under pressure early on.
The break came when the ball fell to Jimmy who reacted well to a shot that was initially saved by the keeper by guiding the ball in to the side netting. 1-0 Woods!
This only proved to encourage the Woods to push on for another goal and it came from a counter attack. Ryan came out to clear up a potential dangerous ball over the top and then passed it out to Alex who then played a ball down the line for Ola to run onto who was hacked down in the box for a Woods penalty. Up stepped Jimmy to get his second of the game, 2-0 Woods!
The Woods were looking comfortable until a late break away from Southgate led to Ryan standing with his legs spread wide apart inviting the striker to meg him (it would have been harder to miss) and he easily completed this. Despite Ryan’s best attempts the Woods held out for the final couple of minutes to get another crucial 3 points to send them in the right direction in the league.
This was another good performance from the Woods who managed to break down a very solid defence. Man of the match has to go to Jimmy who played well both in the middle and out wide on the left of the midfield while also grabbing both goals.
Old Blues II 1 -2 OLD WOODS
Saturday 8 October 2016
The Woods found themselves traveling far and wide to a place called Richmond (look it up on a map and yes it is nowhere near north London!) for an AFA Cup game against Old Blues.
The Woods set up with Ryan in goal with a back four of Craig (Youngy/Mini Bully/Bully’s son), Jason, Chris and Alex. Jimmy, John and Bully in the centre of midfield with Jack and Mason out on the wings leaving Ola up top.
The Woods started well, keeping the ball across the back of the defence and linking well with the midfield. We started to find a few gaps and Ola, Jack and Mason were scaring the Old Blues defence with some great runs. This continued throughout the first half and Ola was played through on goal and took his chance brilliantly. 1-0 Woods!
The Woods started with the same team in the second half (due to not having any subs) and continued to control the game. Ola was having a blinder up front holding of two giant defenders and kept getting himself into some great positions.
Old Blues threatened to get back into the game and found themselves given a penalty on around the hour mark. Up stepped the penalty taker and Ryan pulled off a great save and an equally impressive second stop to keep it 1-0.
The runs made from the front three was beginning to become too much for the Old Blues defence and Ola found himself through again and the result was the same. Goal, 2-0 Woods!
The Woods began to tire but dug deep to keep out an Old Blues all out attack formation but they managed to grab a goal with 5 minutes remaining from a corner. The Woods managed to regain their composure and see out a great 2-1 win. This was a relief to all the lads as nobody fancied extra time after knowing how far we all had to get home.
Not one player had a bad game today but Ola, Jack and Jason had particularly great games. However, the man of the match has to go to Ryan after saving a penalty and making many more impressive saves right when the Woods needed him. On we march to the second round!
Alex ‘Backseat BJ’ Day
Squad: R Turner, C Achilles, J Olaofe, A Day, C Bull, J Young, J O’Shea, J Warner, J Pugh, M Taylor, O Olaofe
Scorer: O Olaofe 2
MoM: R Turner – Great performance between the sticks!
OLD WOODS 3 – 0 Queen Mary College Old Boys III
Saturday 17 September 2016
After a great preseason which saw the 2s beat two teams in divisions above them the season was about to begin.
Woods started with a new formation that was tested out in the previous friendly with Ryan in goal, a back 3 of Luuk, Labey and Chris with Alex and Craig in the wingback positions in a “typical” Italian style. The midfield consisted of Jimmy, Bully and John in the middle with a front two of Lewis and Mason. Deano (chanted in the style of Bully) and Ola were on the bench.
The game started slowly with both teams trying to take control of the game. After 20 minutes the Woods were starting to spread the ball well and find a few gaps in a solid Queen Mary side. 0-0 at half time.
The second half saw Deano and Ola feature in their typical centre back and centre forward roles and the Woods were in full flow keeping the ball and making the opposition work hard. This was telling after 15 minutes into the second half when Ola was played through and chipped the keeper from the edge of the box. 1-0 Woods!
The Woods were in full control of the game and could sense another goal coming and it did. After some great battling in the middle of midfield the ball fell to jimmy who struck a sweet shot that deflected off a defender into the back of the net, 2-0 Woods!
Shortly after that Mason also scored a very mediocre goal to put the Woods 3-0 up and in complete control of the game.
It was a great win and a very strong team performance from the Woods but the stand out man from today was Chris Achilles at the heart of defence.
The match was also preceded by an impeccable minutes silence for David Goldring.
Alex ‘Backseat’ Day
Team: R Turner, A Day, L Batuseen, C Achilies, A Labey, C Bull, J Young, J O’Shea, J Warner, L Entwistle, M Taylor, D Docherty, O Olaofe
Scorers: O Olaofe, J O’Shea, M Taylor
MoM: Chris ‘Staggs’ Achillies – Alpha Stag…
