United returned from Colliers Wood with the match points and in doing so extended their unbeaten league start to the season to ten matches to move into fourth place in the division two points behind leaders Penn & Tylers Green.
After a goalless first half where the home team created more goalscoring opportunities the story of the match was the introduction of Woodley’s substitutes, three of who provided assists for the goals.
Despite the hosts having the advantage of kicking down a slope in the first half, it was Woodley who made the better start moving the ball around well and using wide players to good effect in a half that was played at a quick tempo. However, despite their possession the visitors gave home keeper Jack Powell little to worry about.
Much of Colliers’s play involved the lively and dangerous Eli Willams on the right wing who saw a shot go wide of Joe Hill’s right hand post and then require Hill to use his feet to block another shot from the same player.
Hill was called onto make a crucial close range save in the thirty second minute from Conor Turner after more good play by Williams who three minutes later saw Hill tip his (Williams) shot over the crossbar. This was followed shortly afterwards by Hill again saving for a corner kick while good work between Dylan Clark and Troy Williams shortly before half time saw Wood clear the ball and leave the first half goalless.
The introduction of man of the match Nico Cammock at half time had an immediate effect. A long Woodley throw from the right into the home penalty area saw the ball cleared to Harvey Collins on the edge of the box, The midfielders lobbed pass to his left found Cammack whose shot across goal was parried into the path of Williams to score into the side netting from close range three minutes into the half.
The lead was persevered two minutes later courtesy of a Colliers shot, following a cleared corner rebounding back into play from Hill’s cross bar. Ten minutes into the half Collins and Cammock again combined to find Williams who lifted the ball over the crossbar from close range. Clark’s free kick to the far post evaded Williams and Kieran Maylen while Williams lobbed the advancing Powell, who was outside the penalty area, only to see the ball go over the goal.
Williams did get a second goal his efforts deserve in the sixty ninth minute. Cammock put low cross into the penalty area, which substitute Jude Van Spall back-healed into Williams’ path for the forward to shot low inside the diving Powell’s right hand post.
Woodley was now comfortably controlling the match which saw another substitute Kaylum Barlow shot at Powell from the edge of the penalty area and it was Barlow, who having received a pass in the penalty area, from a further substitute Lucas Wilkinson, fed the ball to Clark to shoot low to Powell’s right as the game was approaching second half added time to complete the scoring.
Hill, Hok, Clark, Simpson (Chengun), Maylen, Debayo (Wilkinson), Fanstone (Cammock), Collins, Williams, Shehu (Barlow), Parkes (Van Spall)