County take on Boreham Wood for the first time ever on Saturday, as we make the long trip south to Hertfordshire and to Meadow Park looking to regain our place in the play-offs.
After disappointing defeats in our last two games to Chorley and Aldershot, the Hatters will be looking to avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time since March-April 2016, when we were beaten by North Ferriby, AFC Fylde and Lowestoft Town.
After those consecutive defeats, County find themselves in joint-eight place – with an identical record to Dover after the opening 11 games of the season – but only outside the play-off places on goal difference. Victory on Saturday could see the Hatters rise as high as fourth in the table, although defeat could see us drop down to 13th.
Boreham Wood’s Season So Far:
After making it all the way to the Play-off final two years ago before losing to Tranmere, last season was one of disappointment for the Wood, who spent most of it fighting relegation – eventually finishing the campaign in 20th place, just one place above the drop zone.
Looking to avoid a repeat this season, Boreham Wood have since strengthened their squad with the addition of six new signings.
Amongst those new signings were front-men Kabongo Tshimanga and Tyrone Marsh, signed from Oxford City and Macclesfield Town respectively, and they have proven to be an instant success, with 10 goals between the pair already (Six for Tshimanga, four for Marsh).
Marsh may be recognisable to those eagle-eyed Hatters out there – the former Dover man once found the net at Edgeley Park for Macclesfield, in a pre-season friendly back in 2017 – a game that County went on to win 5-2.
It’s been a mixed start to the campaign for the Wood so far under the stewardship of 33-year-old Luke Garrard (the youngest manager in the top five divisions of English Football), as they currently sit in 16th place.
With a record of three wins, three draws and five defeats from their opening 11 games, they currently find themselves on 12 points, five behind County in the fledgling table – although an identical goals for and against record to the Hatters hints at an evenly matched contest on Saturday.
Boreham Wood’s last home game saw them impressively defeat Dover 3-1 – a win that was extraordinarily their first at Meadow Park in 2019; their last home victory before then coming against Barnet last Boxing day.
Head to Head:
As previously mentioned, Saturday’s game will be the first ever competitive meeting between the two sides – although new signing Joe Leesley did play 90 minutes at Meadow Park for Harrogate last season – claiming two assists in a 4-2 away victory.
With a new ground to tick off the list, and the chance to bounce back from the last two results, Saturday’s game promises to be another exciting ride on the roller-coaster that is the National League. See you there!
