Another bright sunny day at Boreham who entertained Stifford Town in the Dave Strachan Knock Out Cup. Stifford have started their campaign very well with two wins from two, scoring five goals without reply, playing one division above Boreham they must have been considered favourites for this encounter.
Boreham were without Neil Charter (Hols), Jay Dale (Absent) and Darren Ince (Work) but welcomed back Lee Simpson and new striker Tom Dosser. Boreham lined up with Magsy in goal, a back four of Cowcher, Simpson, Powell and Parsons, the midfield included Smith, Stammers, Goodchild and Rush with debutant Dosser partnering the Chief up front. The bench again looked strong with Chittock, Bigland and Carter pushing for starts.
Both teams started the game positively looking to take advantage of a decent playing surface, Boreham looked composed in all areas of the field as they looked to impose their passing game on their opponents. Stifford were quiet a physical team and won the majority of the aerial battles in the defensive and midfield thirds, Boreham looked solid even though there were a few changes to the back four.
It was however Stifford who opened the scoring with a neat move down Borehams right on the counter attack, a neat dummy from the left winger resulted in the centre forward breaking into the right channel. The CF managed a neat side foot shot which beat Magsy but rebounded off the foot of the far post, the ball could of gone anywhere but fortunately for Stifford it evaded two Boreham defenders and fell to the right winger who was left with a simple head home to give Stifford the lead.
Stifford should of gone on to dominate the half but Boreham responded with some good football and it wasn’t long before the chances started coming thick and fast. Smith was put in on the left by neat ball from Parsons, Smith played a wonderful cross along the floor six yards out with Dosser looking certain to score, Dosser only managed to place the shot wide with a bobble seeming to cost Boreham this time!
Constant pressure from Boreham resulted in a few corners that Stifford dealt with very well, a forth corner however fell to Goodchild 8 yards out who struck the ball with a left foot volley, the shot looked destined for the goal when the Stifford centre back seemed to stop the ball with his outstretched arm... The referee seemed to miss the handball due to the suns glare and nothing was given, surely it wasn’t going to be one of those days for the boys in yellow and green.....
Boreham continued to dominate the next ten minutes looking for the equaliser, this time Simpson burst forward from centre back beating two players and looking dangerous, he continued to nutmeg the centre back who body checked Simpson to the floor, this led to a direct freekick some 22 yards out. Dosser and Rush stood over the ball but Rush was insistent and played a solid right footed drive towards the far corner, the shot had enough power to beat the Stifford keeper and find the bottom corner, a nice finish from the Rushter, 1-1 and all to play for.....
Boreham were in the ascendancy and were again looking dangerous with a high pressing game, this lead to the third goal of the game when Stifford were forced into an error high up the pitch. The ball broke to Goodchild who nodded the ball forward and crossed with his second touch, the cross found Dosser 16 yards out who forced the ball beyond the Stifford keeper, a neat move and finish from the debutant.
With only a few minutes of the first half remaining it was only Boreham who looked likely to score, another great move led to Dosser striking a sweet volley from ten yards, this time the keeper made a decent save although unlikely that he knew anything about it. The ref called for half time and Boreham went in 2-1 to the good.
The second half started with neither team making any changes, the weather started to impact Stifford with Boreham looking the fitter of the two teams. It was clear that Stiffords best chance of an equaliser was from a set piece as they continued to dominate in the air, several silly fouls from Goodchild and Simpson caused a few ‘heart in mouths’ moments but the defence remained strong and when called upon Magsy was in magnificent form.
Boreham scratched out a few half chances in the second half but were pushed back by Stifford Town who were chasing the equaliser, the pressure however led to very few chances on goal. The major chance of the second half fell to the Stifford central midfielder who leapt like a salmon from a corner and got a powerful header on target, Magsy was there with a fantastic save to keep Boreham ahead.
The remainder of the half was quiet disappointing from both sides, Stifford made a number of changes and Boreham brought on Chitock for Cowcher with ten minutes remaining and looked to keep hold of the lead which would prove enough to reach the next round of the cup. The referee blew the whilst to end the game and Boreham managed their first cup killing of the season, a great result for the boys and one which they thoroughly deserved.
It looks like Silver End in the next round of the cup, one which they are looking forward to.
**Please note that training at St Peters College commences next week (26th September 2012) and all Boreham players should attend, please remember the session cost £3pp/pw so bring your cash!!**
