Northwood FC suffered their 11th defeat in a row this afternoon (Saturday, February 8) against Bedfont Sports – yet there was plenty of fight, determination and passion shown in manager Robert Ursell’s first game.
Ursell, who had two spells for Northwood as a player, watched his new side lose 2-5 at the AcreTweed Stadium but the Woods made it more difficult for their Isthmian League South Central counterparts than the score-line suggests.
The new coach handed seven players their debuts; Charlie Kuehn, Marcelo Graca, Romario Hart and Lucas Toti made their first starts for the club while the Woods also welcomed back Ryan Phillips, Bayley Brown and Craig Carby for their second debuts.
Bedfont gave Ursell anything but a warm welcome into the world of management, gaining a 0-2 lead in just the first eight minutes of the match.
The first goal came in the second minute when Charlie Hayford gifted possession to the away side and Eze Bademosi took full advantage, shooting underneath Chris Rackley to take the lead.
Max Oldham doubled it just six minutes later with another avoidable goal. Oldham shot from outside the area and the ball hit the inside of the post before going in.
The home side did do well to respond swiftly to the second goal and briefly haul themselves back into the game.
Lively striker Romario Hart chased a long ball over the top, forcing Dimitrios Kyriatzis to bring him down in the box – penalty to the Woods. Eric Lopes calmly slotted the ball past the ‘keeper to make it 1-2.
It didn’t take long for Bedfont to take back their two-goal lead though as Darryl Saunders scored their third in the 33rd minute.
The half time score didn’t fully reflect the nature of the match – Northwood did look lively, but the away side had simply been more clinical in the final third.
The Woods showed yet again that they wouldn’t lay down early in the second half, scoring another goal to make it 2-3 in the 50th minute.
Eric Lopes collected a long ball on the right and cut inside, beat Mekhail McLaughlin and curled the ball inside the top left corner to complete an unbelievable goal.
The away side’s attacking players were depraved for the vast majority of the second half, with Northwood pushing hard for an equaliser.
Unfortunately the home side’s efforts were ultimately in vain as Bedfont substitute Nathan Wood scored from 20 yards out completely against the run of play to put the game out of reach 10 minutes before its conclusion.
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