Boreham Wood F.C.

Boreham Wood Football Club is a professional football club based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Meadow Park. Established in 1948, they are known as "the Wood" and have a local rivalry with St Albans City.

Boreham Wood F.C.
Full nameBoreham Wood Football Club
Nickname(s)The Wood
Founded1948 (1948)
GroundMeadow Park, Borehamwood
Capacity4,500 (1,700 seated)[1]
ChairmanDanny Hunter
ManagerLuke Garrard
LeagueNational League
2019–20National League, 5th of 24
WebsiteClub website

History

The club was established in 1948 as a merger of Boreham Rovers and Royal Retournez, and began playing in the Mid-Herts League.[2] In 1951 they joined the Parthenon League, and finished as runners-up in 1953–54 and 1954–55 before winning the title in 1955–56.[3] After finishing as runners-up again in 1956–57,[3] they joined the Spartan League.[4] They finished as runners-up in 1963–64 and again in 1965–66,[4] after which they switched to Division Two of the Athenian League.[5]

The 1968–69 season saw Boreham Wood win Division Two, earning promotion to Division One. The following season they finished as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division.[5] After the division was disbanded in 1973, the club were placed in Division One for the 1973–74 season, in which they were league champions and reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, eventually losing 3–0 at Southend United.[5] At the end of the season the club joined Division Two of the Isthmian League. They won the division in 1976–77 and were promoted to the renamed Premier Division.[5] The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–0 in a replay to Swindon Town after a 0–0 draw at home.[5]

The club remained in the Premier Division until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1981–82 season, in which they finished bottom of the table.[5] In 1994–95 they were Division One champions, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. The 1996–97 season saw them reach the second round of the FA Cup for the first time after they beat Rushden & Diamonds 3–2 in a first round replay. In the second round they lost 2–1 at Luton Town. In the same season they also won the Isthmian League Cup.[6] They repeated their FA Cup feat the following season, beating Hayes in the first round before losing 2–0 to Cheltenham Town in a replay.[5] In 1998–99 they reached the first round again, losing 3–2 at home to Luton.

After being relegated in 1999–2000 they won Division One at the first attempt to make an immediate return to the Premier Division.[5] However, they were relegated again at the end of the 2002–03 season, although the season did see them reach the FA Cup first round again, where they lost 5–0 at Torquay United. After one season in Division One North (and another FA Cup first round appearance, a 4–0 defeat at Blackpool), they were transferred to Division One East of the Southern League.[5]

After winning Division One East in 2005–06, a season in which they also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, losing 3–0 on aggregate to Woking, the club were promoted to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. A fourth-place finish in 2009–10 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, and after beating Aveley 1–0 in the semi-finals, a 2–0 win over Kingstonian in the final resulted in promotion to the Conference South.[5] The 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons saw the club reach the FA Cup first round again, losing at home to Brentford and away at Carlisle United in a replay.[5] In 2014–15 Boreham Wood finished as runners-up in the Conference South. In the subsequent play-offs, they beat Havant & Waterlooville 4–2 on aggregate before defeating Whitehawk 2–1 in the final to earn promotion to the renamed National League.[5] Their first season in the National League saw a tenth FA Cup first round appearance, ending with a 2–1 defeat at home to Northwich Victoria.[5]

In the 2017–18 FA Cup Boreham Wood beat Football League opposition for the first time, defeating Blackpool 2–1 at home in the first round.[7] In the second round they lost 3–0 at Coventry City. The club went on to finish fourth in the National League at the end of the season, qualifying for the play-offs. After beating AFC Fylde 2–1 and Sutton United 3–2, they lost 2–1 to Tranmere Rovers in the Wembley final. In 2019–20 the club finished fifth and again qualified for the play-offs. After defeating Halifax Town 2–1 in the quarter-finals, they lost 1–0 to Harrogate Town in the semi-finals. The club reached the first round of the 2020–21 FA Cup, in which they defeated League Two club Southend United 4–3 on penalties after a 3–3 draw.[8] They went on to beat Canvey Island 3–0 in the second round, earning a third round tie with Millwall.

Ground
Main article: Meadow Park (Borehamwood)

The club initially played at Eldon Avenue until moving to Meadow Park in 1963.[9]

Current squad
As of 4 February 2021.[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ENG Nathan Ashmore
2 DF  ENG Danny Woodards
3 DF  ENG Femi Ilesanmi
4 MF  ENG Mark Ricketts (captain)
5 MF  ENG Tom Champion
6 DF  GUY David Stephens
7 MF  ENG Piero Mingoia
8 MF  ENG Gus Mafuta
9 FW  ENG Kabongo Tshimanga
10 MF  ATG Keiran Murtagh
11 FW  ENG Corey Whitely (on loan from Newport County)
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 DF  ENG Jamal Fyfield
14 DF  ENG Krystian Pearce
15 FW  ENG Matt Rhead
16 DF  ATG Zaine Francis-Angol
17 GK  ENG Ryan Huddart
18 FW  ENG Shaq Coulthirst
19 DF  ENG Kane Smith
20 MF  IRL Adam McDonnell
21 GK  ENG Martin Brennan
22 FW  JAM Junior Morias (on loan from St Mirren)
23 FW  ENG Tyrone Marsh

Management staff
Position Staff
Manager Luke Garrard
Assistant Manager Vic Akers
Assistant Manager Cameron Mawer
Goalkeeper Coach Martin Brennan
Club Therapist Adam Woodrow
Club Therapist Angelika Brown
First Team Analyst Elliot Allum
Kit Manager Loretta Browne

Source:

Honours
  • Isthmian League
    • Division One champions 1976–77, 1994–95, 2000–01
    • League Cup winners 1996–97
  • Southern League
    • Division One East champions 2005–06
  • Athenian League
    • Division One champions 1973–74
    • Division Two champions 1968–69
  • Parthenon League
    • Champions 1955–56
  • Herts Senior Cup
    • Winners 1971–72, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19
  • Herts Charity Cup
    • Winners 1980–81, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1989–90
  • London Challenge Cup
    • Winners 1997–98

Records

See also
  • Boreham Wood F.C. players
  • Boreham Wood F.C. managers

References
  1. Preview: Rovers prepared for opener Forest Green Rovers F.C.
  2. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p269 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
  3. Parthenon League 1951–1966 Non-League Matters
  4. Spartan League 1955–1983 Non-League Matters
  5. Boreham Wood at the Football Club History Database
  6. A Brief History of the Club Boreham Wood F.C.
  7. MATCH REPORT: Boreham Wood 2–1 Blackpool Blackpool Gazette, 4 November 2017
  8. Boreham Wood 3–3 Southend United BBC Sport, 7 November 2020
  9. Boreham Wood Pyramid Passion
  10. WOOD FINALISE 20-MAN PLAY OFF SQUAD Boreham Wood FC
  11. Morgan Ferrier apologises to Boreham Wood after transfer saga The Non-League Football Paper, 25 July 2018

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