Kingstonian 1-1 Boreham Wood
WOOD WORK TO MAKE DRAW

Kingstonian's victory over Boreham Wood at Broughinge Road in November was the first in a run of eleven matches (prior to this meeting) where Wood have failed to score maximum points. Somehow that run was extended to twelve in a game which they should have put beyond doubt within six minutes.

No sooner had the match started than the pattern for the afternoon was set. A long ball upfield found Corey Browne who shot smartly, but just wide. The five minute mark was met with a cross from Browne, after beating Leon White on the left, being pulled back to Paul Lamb, stood on the edge of K's box. His shot beat Lance Key but just clipped the top of the crossbar to bounce over and away.

Yet the reprieves didn't continue. Wood captain Lee Harvey sent a long ball down the right to Brian Jones, he squared to Browne who was stood on the edge of the box and he made no mistake. The score was one-nil, and K's were thankful for that.

The relentless start from the visitors had to run out of steam, and thankfully it did. White almost proved more effective up front than at the back when he made the most of hesitation in the visiting defence to toe-poke the ball wide after Tim Sills had knocked down a Craig Rocastle free-kick.

Photo: kingstonian.net

Sills had a chance of his own not long afterwards when another free-kick was chipped in by Rocastle. The striker showed his aerial prowess by winning another flick on above Harvey, Sadler miscued his shot but the ball bounced back to Sills who sent a spectacular over-the-shoulder volley just wide.

Lance Key showed, yet again, that he is the only reason that Kingstonian are a top-half team this season. In a bizarre incident the game was stopped when Sills went down injured, and as is the current fashion the game was re-started with a less-than-competitive drop-ball. Browne got to it before Dave Clarke, and his stabbed pass found Gary Dixon in acres of space ahead of the non-existent defence. Key came out, stood up tall and just managed to get his foot to the ball to clear before the shot came in. When will Peter Barnsby be back.....?

What proved to be K's best spell of the entire match came in the last fifteen minutes of the first half. The "excitement" strangely began with a spectacular Mark Jones run from deep inside his own half. He managed to run all of fifty yards, and he managed the whole thing without once having the ball under full control. When he was finally brought to a stop he was so by a poor challenge from Dave McDonald. Jones wasn't happy and picked himself up to face up to the transgressor in an eye-to-eyenipple confrontation. The referee stepped in, stopped laughing and then produced a yellow card for McDonald.

The resultant free-kick saw Noel Imber produce his first save of the afternoon as he stopped Sills' header. Yet he could do nothing to prevent the equaliser shortly afterwards.

Dave Sadler took off on a run on the left and made his way deep into the visitors' box. A superb tackle from Harvey won the ball right on the goal-line, but Greg Ball had been providing proficient support and nipped in. His touch sent the ball rolling off towards the edge of the pitch, but before it could reach the line Harvey stuck out a leg. Ball fell, more in hope than expectation one presumes, but referee Mr Tim Ingram surprised everybody by awarding the penalty-kick.

Photo: kingstonian.net

After some "debate" Ball managed to pick himself up to claim the ball. The shot went straight, Imber dived aside and Ball had his thirteenth goal of the season (above).

The half-time break saw he introduction of Danny Bolt in place of the slightly ineffectual James Pinnock. There was minimal excitement just afterwards when somebody claimed that Bolt had made a challenge. The fuss died down when the true identity of the tackler was revealed - Greg Ball. Some people just never learn.....

The half actually began in the same way as the first. A cross from the right was met by Browne, but another poor finish saw the easy chance headed wide. The pattern was repeated time and again as the visitors headed seemingly inexorably towards the win. Indeed, Browne came close to reclaiming the lead on numerous occasions. He shot across goal after being played in by Steve Sinclair, and Key made a fingertip rescue when Brian Jones - after a terrible piece of defending from Mark Jones - crossed from the right.

Tim Sills finally got into the action by heading a free-kick onto the bar. Sadly it was the bar defended by the puzzled Lance Key.

Photo: kingstonian.net

The introduction of Bashiru Alimi for Craig Rocastle brought some much needed bite to the K's midfield, and it brought for some much needed entertainment for the crowd as they witnessed Rocastle storm down the tunnel in disgust - whether at himself for his poor display or Sedgley for advertising his poor display by taking him off is unclear.

Alimi combined with Ball on the left to present an opportunity to Sadler, but his shot went hugely wrong as it was skied towards the left edge of the area. Still, Ball was in place to bring it down which he did well before being kicked in the backside by Garry Wotton. The flag had been up for offside though, so apparently he was allowed to do that.

K's did manage to create one more real chance though, but Sills got his measurements as wrong at the right end as he had at the wrong. Bolt sent in a corner from the right and Sills met the ball six yards out at the far post. His header beat the goalkeeper but it smashed against the bar and down.

There was just time for Key to pull off another fantastic double save, this time from Sinclair and substitute James Bunn, before the whistle went to bring proceedings to a halt. A draw was probably not a fair result. Boreham Wood had by far the better of the chances, and on another day would have won by a fair margin. The reason they didn't is down to one player: Lance Key. He's good he is.