After picking up their first win in 6 National League matches at the weekend, Aldershot Town return to the EBB Stadium on Tuesday to host the National League’s ‘form’ side, Boreham Wood.
Luke Garrard’s ‘Wood are unbeaten in the league since 26th October 2019 – that’s 15 games in total, including their last 8 away!
Their last defeat was in the same month that The Shots drew 0-0 at Meadow Park, with Wood down in 14th place at the time – they now sit 3rd!
Shots Squad:
Danny Searle does have a mounting injury list, with Lewis Kinsella (knee) joining Robbie Tinkler (knee) and Mo Bettamer (Ankle) on the sidelines. On a more positive note, defenders Alex Finney and George Fowler both returned and managed 90 minutes at York Road on Saturday. Searle has also bolstered his forward options with the signing of forward Gyliano Van Velsen, on loan from Crawley Town for one month initially. Van Velsen came on as a second half substitute at Maidenhead and will be hoping to make his home debut on Tuesday evening.
Opposition:
Name:
Boreham Wood FC
Founded: 1948
Nickname: The Wood
Manager: Luke Garrard
Stadium: Meadow Park
2018/19 Final National League position: 20th
Current National League position: 3rd
Recent History:
Promoted via the play-offs from National League South in 2014/15, The Wood’s first season in Non-League’s top tier saw them avoid relegation in dramatic style by winning their final three games. That allowed them to build further and the work they put in paid dividends with a top-half finish in 2016-17. The following season, The Wood improved further, finishing in 4th place and going on to make the Promotion final, only to lose out to Tranmere Rovers. However last season, they flirted with relegation, ultimately finishing in 20th place, one place outside the drop zone. This season, after a pretty average start, they went (and are still on) a long unbeaten run, which currently sits at 15 matches! They have the joint best defence in the division and have scored in their last 10 away matches, including at least two per game in their last six away from Meadow Park!
The Gaffer:
Luke Garrard became the youngest manager in any of England’s top five divisions when he was appointed as the boss of Borehamwood aged just 30 in October 2015. A former Wood defender, Garrard started out as a trainee with Spurs before moving on to Swindon Town where he spent three years between 2002 and 2005. He spent time on the books of Bishop’s Stortford and Borehamwood upon leaving The County Ground and then moved on to AFC Wimbledon in 2006 for a four-year stint and over 100 appearances. He initially returned to Borehamwood on loan in 2009/10 before making the reunion permanent that summer, making 100+ appearances before succeeding Ian Allinson in the Meadow Park hot seat. In 2017-18, he steered the club to their highest ever finish (4th place) and to the play-off final at Wembley. Last season was a challenging one for Garrard Wood narrowly avoided relegation. This season they have bounced back strongly under his leadership and currently sit 3rd.
Boreham Wood Squad:
Garrard kept eleven of last season’s playing squad and has, so far, brought in nine new faces. In goal, Ryan Huddart has since departed to Bromley, with the highly rated Nathan Ashmore joining from Ebbsfleet United. Familiar names staying put in North London included; Mark Ricketts, Tom Champion, David Stephens, Keiran Murtagh, Jamal Fyfield and Sorba Thomas. Wood strengthened their ranks with the likes of former Shots midfielder Adam McDonnell and most notably, strikers Tyrone Marsh Macclesfield Town) and Kabongo Tshimanga (Oxford City) both of whom are absolutely flying, with 14 and 15 goals respectively in all competitions. More recently, Garrard brought in striker Ade Yussuff (who once scored a hat-trick against Shots for Barrow) on loan from Blackpool and midfielder Adam May (another former Shots loanee) from Portsmouth, on loan to the end of the season. Last week he added further fire power to his squad by signing the unattached former Lincoln City and Billericay Town target man, Matt Rhead.
Referee:
Tuesday’s referee is unconfirmed at the time of publication.
Commentary:
There will be live BBC Surrey Sport coverage of the game on Saturday afternoon, with Rob Worrall and either Mo Bettamer or Robbie Tinkler. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 7:35pm for full match commentary. To interact with the commentary team, tweet @RobShot66.
