SHOTS BOUNCE BACK!
IT WAS another happy away day for Boreham Wood as they continued their excellent form on the road.
The Wood turned the screw on Macclesfield with two goals in the second half to chalk up their fourth away win of the season.
And manager Luke Garrard said he isn’t surprised at how well his men had performed on their travels.
“We are unbeaten in eight away games now,” he said. “We have played teams in and around the top and the boys have responded very well. I believe the squad we have got here can achieve something better than we did last year. In the second half I asked the boys a couple of questions and they delivered.
“With the penalty, Fitzpatrick came on the pitch and didn’t get accustomed to the game quickly enough, he got himself under the ball and he was playing catch up.
“My only concern was that he was going to give a free-kick but he made the right decision. The boys saw it out superbly, and I felt we could have had a third late on but I’m happy with 2-0.”
The first half contained enough attacking intent, but neither defence had really been unduly troubled. For Macc, Kingsley James and Danny Whitaker went close with efforts from distance, though Grant Smith in the Boreham Wood goal seemed comfortable enough as he watched both shots past the post.
The visitors’ best chance of the first period came when Bruno Andrade’s shot took a deflection off defender George Pilkington, wrong-footing Scott Flinders. The goalkeeper managed to avert the danger, getting a fast hand to the ball and gathering after it looped up perilously close to the line.
Danny Woodards blew an excellent chance to put Boreham Wood ahead early in the second half, evading his marker to meet Andrade’s free-kick, but at full stretch he got underneath his header and cleared the goal.
The game kicked into some semblance of life after that and Flinders had to react brilliantly to get a hand to Morgan Ferrier’s vicious drive, just enough to send it inches over.
When Ferrier turned provider for Daniel Uchechi he couldn’t provide the finishing touch either, with Flinders out quickly to smother the danger.
Twenty minutes into the half Macc boss John Askey made an innocuous-looking substitution, introducing David Fitzpatrick at left-back. Within minutes Fitzpatrick’s pull-back on Ferrier was as cynical as it was stupid and the protests directed at referee Joseph Johnson after he had pointed to the spot were ones of muted acceptance. Kenny Davis stepped up to score and put his side on course for their fourth away win, a victory that was sealed when Woodards headed home Andrade’s corner ten minutes from time. The victory could have been more emphatic, but when Ferrier had a chance right at the death he shot wide. And Macc assistant manager Steve Watson was under no illusions – the Silkmen had been second best in the second half and were deservedly beaten. “We are disappointed. For some reason we looked a bit flat and the performance was below the standards that we have set ourselves this season,” he said. “The only sign of any real pressure from us came after they’d scored. We need to apply that kind of intensity from the start, not just when we’ve conceded. There wasn’t much debate on the penalty about whether it was a foul or not, the only debate was whether it was inside the box.”
STAR MAN: Morgan Ferrier (Boreham Wood) ATT: 1,386 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Joseph Johnson 8/10