Weymouth Vs Boreham Wood
Isuzu FA Trophy Fourth Round, Bob Lucas Stadium, Saturday 4 January, 15.00 GMT
Welcome back to the cup, Terras fans!
After our bright start under the Warren Feeney era continued on New Year’s Day, with a goalless but entertaining draw away to Wiltshire side Salisbury.
It was a game that Warren viewed as our best under him so far, principally for the defensive display shown as a unit.
But, as is always in football, games come around thick and fast, as this afternoon we take a short break in the league to face second-place Boreham Wood in the FA Trophy this afternoon.
Though Warren has understandably placed our league position as a greater priority, today has been viewed as a “psychological boost” to help continue our already impressive cup run, which has seen away victories to Weston-super-Mare and arch-rivals Yeovil Town.
But carrying on our stay in the tournament will be tough against “The Wood,” who are unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions, winning 10 of them…
HOW TO FOLLOW
We regret to announce that we will not be providing radio commentary this afternoon.
However, listeners can tune into BBC Radio Solent to hear live action of the game; click HERE to access.
Updates will also be provided on social media throughout the game, alongside post-match reaction after the final whistle.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Having faced The Wood only five times throughout our existence, the first being in the COVID-19-hit 2021/22 season, this is hardly a historical contest defined by rivalry.
However, this doesn’t mean that we have our own point to prove in this fixture, with our one draw and four losses in comparison to a far more impressive Hertfordshire side.
The last time we faced each other was in August, our fourth game of the campaign.
Already that match had feelings of “David and Goliath,” The Wood sitting top of the table with seven points, compared to our 24th-place with seven less points!
The game reflected the then-gulf in quality too, as were handed a 3-0 loss, our joint-worst goal deficit this season.
Though for boss Ross Jenkins, this would already be his final win as the Boreham Wood manager.
A subsequent 2-1 loss at Salisbury two days later then began a four-game winless run, which was enough for the now-Oxford City gaffer to be relieved of his duties in mid-September.
In his place came the returning Luke Garrard, back in the dugout after his previous nine-year spell at the club.
Perhaps not the news we wanted to hear given his record in cup competitions with this team, a win away to Bournemouth in the FA Cup three seasons ago still a fresh memory…
FA-TROPHY FACTS
Luckily, our FA-Trophy record is slightly more impressive than our one against today’s opponents, and we only need to look as far as our most two recent results in this tournament as proof…
First was a 3-2 victory away to Weston-super-Mare, who were top of the league at the time.
Whilst we’re sure we don’t need to mention where we were positioned, in simple terms few could have expected the way we started the game.
Goals from Charlie Rowan and Tom Bearwish inside the first 15 minutes gave us an unexpected lead, and whilst the hosts fought back with two goals of their own across the 90 minutes, we had already added a third of our own from Brandon Goodship to seal our place in the third round.
Then came the next game…
If facing title-challengers on their turf wasn’t hard enough, we would be tasked with trying to beat our biggest rivals at their stadium for the first time in a competitive game since Boxing Day 1988.
But whilst Yeovil were in a higher division, we were still bottom of England’s sixth tier, this time without a full-time gaffer to lead us.
Surely we couldn’t repeat an away cup win, right?
But a double from goal-machine Goody, one in each half, suggested otherwise and we did the unthinkable and reached the fourth round, to be played today.
But our home record in this competition is tough to measure, having only travelled for the last four seasons.
Though the second-last FA-Trophy game at the Bob Lucas Stadium resulted in an entertaining win, a 3-2 victory over Maidenhead United being one of the few highlights in a 2020/21 season that was cut short for obvious reasons…
