Ten-man Yeovil suffered a sickening 3-2 defeat to Boreham Wood, with a 92nd-minute goal for the hosts proving decisive.
Jake Wannell had given us the lead – albeit against the run of play – but the advantage was cancelled out by two Zak Brunt goals either side of the break.
Kyle Ferguson was given a second yellow on the hour mark, but substitute James Daly’s beauty looked to have earned the Glovers an unlikely point. That was until Aaron Henry stepped up at the death to steal the win with a fantastic free-kick.
First half
Billy Rowley made four changes from the weekend’s win over Altrincham, with Luke McCormick flanked by Terrell Works and Ryan Jones at the top of the pitch. Finn Cousin-Dawson came in for Josh Tobin in midfield.
The Wood started strongly, and the first of many attacks came inside the opening two minutes. A long throw into the box was recycled and Marley Marshall-Miranda’s shot had to be headed behind by Brett McGavin.
Moments later, Abdul Abdulmalik was left free and when Jed Ward pulled off the save, only the woodwork denied Lewis Richardson from tapping home.
The dampened Yeovil fans on the away terrace could have been forgiven for thinking a long night was in store, but when Rowley’s side finally got forward just before the half-hour mark, they made it count.
McGavin did well to keep hold of the ball in and linked up with Terrell Works, who worked the shooting opportunity and saw his low strike deflected behind. From the resulting corner, the hosts failed to clear and Wannell took advantage with a fine finish.
However, the lead lasted just five minutes. Jed Ward managed to get a hand to Matt Rush’s attempted Peter Dinklage, but with every red and black shirt seemingly in a different postcode aside from Wannell on the goalline, Brunt managed to tap home the rebound anyway.
Ward was tested twice more before the break, first when Abdulmalik pounced on a loose pass and fired across goal. Our number one then had to be alert when a clever free-kick slipped Rush through.
Half time: Boreham Wood 1 Yeovil Town 1
Second half
In truth, Ferguson’s second half was one the defender will want to forget. When he wiped out a Wood player and received his first caution, there was an air of inevitability about the second one soon following.
He did indeed receive his marching orders for a foul on Rush, but not before our back line was robbed again, and Brunt swept home to bag his brace.
Strangely, falling behind in terms of scoreline and number of players actually seemed to awaken Yeovil. When Daly, fresh from the bench, got on the ball, he ran and ran until the shot was on for him, and he dispatched a beauty of a finish in off the far post.
There were even signs that there was more in the game for the Glovers. Wannell’s volley from the edge of the box wasn’t too far off target, and when Daly ran the length of the pitch, skinned his man and touched past goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore, the ball trickled agonisingly wide.
In the final ten minutes, Ashmore – who I think has been Boreham Wood’s goalkeeper since their inception in 1948 – was called into action. Tahvon Campbell’s excellent hold-up play set up Troy Perrett to test the shot-stopper, with Ashmore getting down well to smother the low effort.
Despite the promising signs, when the hosts were awarded a foul right on the edge of the box in added time, there was an almost immediate sinking feeling amongst the travelling support. To be fair, Henry’s free-kick was as well-struck as they come, leaving Ward no chance.
There was no shame in the loss, especially in the circumstances, but that doesn’t make the result feel like any less of a gut punch.
Full time: Boreham Wood Yeovil Town X
Match Details
Venue: Meadowbank
Date: Wednesday 11th February, 7:45pm
Competition: Enterprise National League
Scorers: Jake Wannell (0-1, ’27), Zak Brunt (1-1 ’32), Zak Brunt (2-1 ’52), James Daly (2-2 ’71), Aaron Henry (3-2 ’92)
Pitch: “Like running on ice” according to Billy Rowley pre-match
Conditions: Damp
Attendance: 923(!), [125 Yeovil fans]
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell ’45, Kyle Ferguson ’49
Boreham Wood: None
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Kyle Ferguson ’64 (Second bookable offence)
Boreham Wood: None
Referee: Harrison Blair
Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1? 3-1-3-3? 3-7-0?)
Substitutes: Matt Gould, James Daly (for Sims ’66), Troy Perrett (for Jones ’66), Josh Tobin, Aaron Jarvis, Tahvon Campbell (for McCormick ’83), Harvey Greenslade (for Works ’74)
Boreham Wood: Nathan Ashmore, Cameron Coxe, Femi Ilesanmi (for Joe Newton ’85), Chris Bush, Charlie O’Connell, Zak Brunt, Abdul Abdulmalik, Lewis Richardson (for Luke Norris ’66), Marley Miranda, Ollie Kensdale (for Aaron Henry ’77), Matt Rush
Well done Ollie. A very fair assessment!! One of those nights and an opposition that had a wee bit more in the locker. Daly showed us what he is capable of and the Cardiff lads were a step up. It’s a work in progress – some of the current squad will see the exit come seasons end but in the short term any progress towards goal needs to include a proper striker, please!!!
Watching on the stream , I had our formation down as 5-3-2 , with McCormick and Works the furthest up the pitch , as opposed to up front , and the wing backs playing as full backs . As a result we were playing too deep and had no outlet pass to make . We gave the ball away so many times , and just never seemed to get out of second gear . The only time we showed any pace was when Daly was running at the defence , and scoring a very good goal .
Boreham Wood are always a hard team Yeovil seem to struggle there. A point is a positive