Boreham Wood made it seven consecutive National League wins on Saturday with a convincing victory over AFC Fylde at Meadow Park. The result keeps Luke Garrard’s side seven points clear at the top.
Fylde arrived seventh in the table and in decent form, but Wood took control in the first half. Zak Brunt opened the scoring on 31 minutes. Tylor Golden doubled the lead on 40 and Jay Bird added a third shortly before half-time.
Brunt completed the scoring ten minutes after the restart with his second of the afternoon. From there, Wood managed the game comfortably.
Conditions were difficult across the country on Saturday, and Garrard acknowledged that afterwards.
The win continues a strong opening to the season. After 14 league games, Wood have won 12 and drawn two. They have scored 38 goals and conceded 13.
Their only dropped points came in a 3-3 draw with Tamworth on the opening day and a 1-1 draw at Eastleigh in September. Since then they have beaten Harrogate 4-1, Altrincham 3-1, Kidderminster 3-1 and Solihull 3-0.
Harrogate are second on 31 points, with Southend third on 28.
Brunt has been central to Wood’s attacking play. Before Saturday he had registered 14 assists in 13 games, and his two goals added to that return.
The goals have been shared around. Matt Rush leads the division’s scoring charts with nine, and Ben Whitfield has seven. Rush was named the National League’s Player of the Month for August and Whitfield took the award for September.
The current run builds on solid foundations. Wood finished fourth last season with 90 points. They have not lost a league game since a 4-1 defeat at Solihull in April, and they are unbeaten at home since January.
Some early-season projections have them on course for a record points total. With more than two-thirds of the season still to play, though, there is a long way to go. Garrard’s squad will be judged on how it handles the winter months, injuries and the inevitable dip in form.
Wood’s schedule doesn’t ease up. They travel to Woking next, a fortnight after beating them 3-2 in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round. Hartlepool United then visit Meadow Park on Saturday.
Wood go into both games as favourites. The challenge now is maintaining that standard over the weeks ahead.
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