Gary Johnson’s side head to Hertfordshire tomorrow, with a trip to Boreham Wood being the first of two back-to-back away fixtures.
Gary Johnson’s men hit the road tomorrow to face Luke Garrard’s Boreham Wood side, who will be looking to cement their Play Off position as we head into the final stages of the season.
Who’s the Boss?
Luke Garrard was appointed as First Team Manager in October 2015, when he became the youngest boss in all of England’s top five divisions. Garrard had previously spent two years as Ian Allison’s assistant, and at the time of his appointment, Boreham Wood were in their first season in the National League, and it was Garrard who steered The Wood to safety on the final game of the campaign.
The Hertfordshire side made their first Wembley appearance under Garrard’s leadership in the 2017/18 National League Play-Off Final, where his side were overcome 2-1 by Tranmere Rovers, with the season marking Boreham Wood’s highest National League finish to date.
Also under his tenure, The Wood have enjoyed a number of Emirates FA Cup runs, notably last season, when the side made the Fifth Round in a run that included victories over AFC Wimbledon and Bournemouth, before the side were knocked out by Everton in a 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park.
How have they been doing?
Boreham began the season by losing just one of their opening 11 games, including a narrow 1-0 win here at Plainmoor back in August thanks to a Jamal Fyfield goal after just three minutes. Mid October to the end of December saw the Wood go without a win in seven leagues games, though this period also included three wins in the FA Cup against Wealdstone and Eastleigh at home, before an impressive away win at League One Bristol Rovers in the Second Round set up a tie against Accrington Stanley, which they would eventually lose after a reply.
A 2-1 defeat at Barnet on Boxing Day was the last league defeat Boreham would suffer until March, in a run that included five consecutive wins that was only ended by that first defeat of 2023 when they lost 2-0 at Solihull Moors. The Meadow Park club drew 0-0 at home to Play Off chasing Eastleigh on Saturday, meaning they come into this game in 7th place with a record of 16 wins, 14 draws and 8 defeats with 62 points from their 38 games played so far this season.
Player to Watch
Jack Payne arrived at the Hertfordshire side in July, following the mutual cancellation of his contract at League Two outfit Crawley Town. The vastly experienced defensive midfielder arrived at Meadow Park with just shy of 450 senior appearances to his name at a number of Football League sides, as well as time in non-league with the likes of Ebbsfleet and Eastleigh.
Having extended his contract at Meadow Park, Payne has been described as a mainstay for Garrard’s side, and has featured in all of Boreham Wood’s fixtures so far this season, scoring three goals in the process.
A graduate of their Academy, Payne began his career at Gillingham, where he went on to amass over 100 appearances across 5 seasons. For three consecutive seasons Payne was awarded the Young Player of the Season accolade (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11), and was part of the side that won the League Two title in 2012/13.
Spells at Peterborough in the Championship and League One, and a loan stint at Leyton Orient preceded a successful season with Blackpool where Payne was part of the Tangerines side that won the end of season play-offs at Wembley. Stints with non-league sides Ebbsfleet and Eastleigh followed, before the defensive midfielder spent time at Crawley Town, cancelling his contract to join Luke Garrard’s Boreham Wood.
Played for Both
Dan Holman enjoyed a loan spell at Boreham Wood back in 2017 in a switch from Cheltenham Town. The striker more recently spent the 2021/22 season at Plainmoor, which saw him link up again with manager Gary Johnson. Holman made 29 appearances for United last season and scored 3 goals, including a memorable 90th minute winner against Yeovil Town at Huish Park on 2nd January 2022. During his stint at Meadow Park, Holman scored 4 goals, including their late winner against Blackpool in the FA Cup.
The striker had previously been a key component in Gary Johnson’s promotion winning Cheltenham side in 2016, where he scored 16 goals in 18 games to propel The Robins to promotion. Holman began his career at Cogenhoe United, before stints at Oxford City, Long Buckby, Histon, and Braintree preceded his move into the Football League with Colchester United. The forward then spent time on loan at Wrexham, Aldershot, Dover and Woking before signing on at Cheltenham. Since then Holman has featured for the likes of Boreham Wood, Leyton Orient, Aldershot, Brackley and Kettering, before spending last season at Plainmoor.
Previous Encounter
Boreham Wood 0 – 4 Torquay United, 19th January 2021, FA Trophy Fourth Round
Following a goalless first half, it was four second half goals from four different scorers that saw Gary Johnson’s side progress into the Fifth Round of the FA Trophy.
Following a closely battled first half, five minutes into the second it was United’s skipper who broke the deadlock. With deliveries from Kyle Cameron and Adam Randell failing to find a way through a packed goalmouth, the ball fell for Hall who fired a hooked volley into the net.
Gary Johnson’s side then went on to score three goals in the final ten minutes to secure the 4-0 victory. First, some neat passing on the edge of the box between Randell and Ben Whitfield saw the latter feed Billy Waters into space inside the box and strike. Two minutes later it was Randell who fired home from the edge of the D to make it three. Moments later and two minutes from time, Waters laid the ball off to Connor Lemonheigh-Evans from close range for the Welshman to pass the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-0 and round off the sides Trophy progression.
Vanarama National League | Boreham Wood v Torquay United | 28/03/23 7:45pm KO | Official TUFC Radio