VANARAMA PREM: BOREHAM WOOD 0 GATESHEAD 4 Heed-ing back in right direction with goal fest
GATESHEAD ended a run of four straight National League defeats in emphatic fashion at Meadow Park yesterday afternoon.
There was a real quality and quantity to Gateshead’s scoring in North London as Wes York, Luke Hannant, Manny Smith and Jamal Fyfield all found the net as the Heed picked up their first win in seven National League matches.
And after a fairly even opening 12 minutes the visitors took the lead with a goal of real quality from York as he chipped the ball over Wood defender David Stephens before unleashing a fine half-volley into the top right corner of the goal from the edge of the box.
It was a fine goal from the Heed number seven and just moments later Hannant put Neil Aspin’s men 2-0 ahead inside the opening 20 minutes with another excellent strike.
The 23-year-old picked the ball up in space before drilling the ball hard and low into the bottom left hand corner of the goal from 25 yards.
It was a fine start from Gateshead who looked a different side from their previous away trip to the capital last weekend against Sutton United.
The Tynesiders were playing with a real freedom to their game with fastpaced, exciting football and could have been four up by the 25-minute mark.
York came close after being slipped through by Paddy McLaughlin before rounding goalkeeper Grant Smith but was unable to get his shot away with the angle against him.
Soon after, JJ O’Donnell was picked out on the left and under little pressure from the Boreham Wood back-line, released a powerful effort that whistled just over the crossbar from 25 yards.
Gateshead were cruising as halftime approached and yet they almost found a way to gift the hosts a way back Manny Smith turned in a man-of-the-match display at Bromley yesterday into the game following a mix-up at the back.
Heed keeper Dan Hanford came rushing out of his box before mistakenly squaring the ball to Wood attacker Bruno Andrade who was left with a virtually open goal as he went to pass it into the net.
But just as it looked as if Boreham Wood had pulled a goal back, some fine defending from Manny Smith to get back with a crucial, goal-saving interception.
It was a let off for Gateshead, and Hanford in particular, as they kept their 2-0 lead intact as the first period drew to a close.
And while the opening half got off to a flyer, the same could certainly not be said for the second as the shots were few and far between until late on.
It took until the 57th minute for either side to have a shot at goal in the second 45, as Angelo Balanta’s close ranged volley was well handled by Hanford who then launched an attack which saw O’Donnell break away and earn a corner.
From the corner, Hannant picked out fellow goalscorer York who looped his header over the Boreham Wood crossbar.
After that it was the hosts who had a decent spell as they pegged Gateshead back in search of a goal. But Heed stood strong as Hanford was rarely tested and they would soon reap the rewards.
Into the final 10 minutes and it was very nearly 3-0 as substitute Jake Wright squared the ball to Jordan Burrow who forced a fine diving save from Grant Smith as the score remained 2-0.
But very soon it would be three, as from the resulting corner, Manny Smith turned the ball in from close range to effectively seal the three points.
Into added time now and instead of keeping the ball in the corner, Fyfield had other ideas as he cut in from the left before curling a sumptuous edgeof-the-box strike into the far corner of the goal.
It seemed that Gateshead were hosting their own goal of the month competition on Saturday afternoon as the referee soon blew for full-time.
The Tynesiders’ play-off hopes may be over but now they have reached the 70-point mark for the first time since they got to Wembley in 2014 as they now look to end the season on a positive note at home to Bromley next weekend.