Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Boreham Wood.

The Opposition

Boreham Wood bounced straight back to the fifth tier with a 1-0 victory over Maidstone United in the National League South Play-Off final, with key man Charles Clayden producing the crucial blow over the Stones to seal a swift return to a place they had spent the last decade in, prior to relegation in 2023/24.

Club legend Luke Garrard returned to the dugout at Meadow Park to replace Ross Jenkins in September 2024, having departed the Wood at the end of the previous season, and guided them back to the National League alongside a reliable group of players consisting of captain and Player-Assistant Manager Jack Payne, goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore and long-serving players Femi Ilesanmi, Cameron Coxe, Chris Bush and Érico Sousa.

Having kept the bulk of their quality from their relegation season, including Clayden, Kwesi Appiah, Tom Whelan and Charlie O’Connell, the Wood continued to bolster their ranks throughout the campaign with the likes of Abdul Abdulmalik, Jon Benton, Callum Reynolds, Josef Yarney and Matt Rush joining the club, and became key figures as they secured their place in the fifth tier for the 2025/26 season.

Boreham Wood were condemned to the play-offs after missing out on the title due to an indifferent run of form midway through the campaign, but gained momentum during the final stretch with five wins from their last five games, and secured their place in the semi-final with a dramatic 4-3 win over Dorking Wanderers in the eliminator round that saw them come back from 3-1 down with ten minutes to go, including a 96th minute winner from Ilesanmi – who had scored an own goal just 15 minutes prior.

This was followed by a winner from former U Rush away at Torquay United to seal their place in the final, with Clayden putting them in the National League with a brilliantly-struck effort just two minutes after half time, with some trademarking defending from Garrard’s side getting them over the line at the death.

Garrard has since been tasked with building a side capable of once again maintaining their National League status and pushing on, with key men Appiah and Whelan both departing alongside the long-serving Tyrone Marsh, while David Agbontohoma, Josh Hare, Mo Sagaf, Jayden Richardson and Yarney have all joined them in the departure lounge.

The Wood have brought in a host of quality this summer though, making Junior Dixon’s loan move from Birmingham City permanent, and following that up with the additions of Tom White (Morecambe), Luke Norris (Tranmere Rovers), Aaron Henry (Charlton Athletic), Joe Newton (Solihull Moors) and Jeff King on loan (York City), before kick-starting the season with defeat against Rochdale, but they have since gone unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions.

The sides last met in Sutton’s title-winning campaign in 2020/21, with Boreham Wood the ones to make the journey from one end of the Thameslink to the other – a goal in each half from Louis John and Will Randall gave the high-flying U’s a well-deserved 2-0 win at Gander Green Lane.

The Manager

Luke Garrard

Luke Garrard has an association with Boreham Wood that goes all the way back to 2005, and barring a five-year spell as a player and a two-month spell as a manager, has remained at Meadow Park.

Hailing from nearby Barnet, the former defensive midfielder came through the ranks at Tottenham Hotspur as a trainee, but after being released as a schoolboy, made his professional debut for Swindon Town with whom he joined as an apprentice.

He later went on to have spells in non-league with Bishop’s Stortford, Boreham Wood and Northwood, before becoming a popular figure at AFC Wimbledon between 2006 and 2010.

Making over 100 appearances for the club, Garrard played consistently during his spell in South London, before returning to Boreham Wood on loan in order to aid his recovery from a season-ending injury.

He made the switch back to Hertfordshire permanent in 2010 and spent five years at Meadow Park as a player, appearing almost 150 times and helping them gain promotion to the National League at the end of the 2014/15 campaign, with victory over Whitehawk in the play-off final.

The following season saw him make his transition into management though, becoming the youngest manager in England’s top five divisions when he replaced Ian Allinson, who resigned from his post in October 2015.

Garrard has since cemented his status as a Wood legend, guiding the club to survival in their maiden campaign in the fifth tier, before twice guiding them to the play-offs in 2018 and 2020, notably reaching the final in the former with a 3-2 victory over Sutton in the semi-final, before losing to Tranmere Rovers at Wembley.

His magnum opus will surely be the 2021/22 campaign though, which saw the Wood overcome Wimbledon and AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup Third and Fourth Rounds, before falling to a 2-0 defeat against Premier League side Everton at Goodison Park.

While he then guided the Wood to the play-offs again at the end of the 2022/23 season, late goals from Aden Baldwin and Jody Jones saw them eliminated against eventual winners Notts County in the semi-final, and preceded a dismal campaign which saw them relegated the following season, ending a ten-year spell in the National League, and resulted in Garrard’s exit at the end of the season, having announced his departure in April.

However, despite the Wood set to embark on a new era under former Watford midfielder Ross Jenkins, Garrard returned to Meadow Park in September 2024, and finally added a promotion to his CV when wins over Dorking Wanderers and Torquay United secured their place in the play-off final, where they triumphed over Maidstone United.

Photo Credit: Elliot Jacobs // Boreham Wood Football Club

One to Watch

Luke Norris

Experienced striker Luke Norris joined Boreham Wood in the summer from Tranmere Rovers, and has already notched four goals from his first three games.

A product of the Brentford academy, Norris had spent time in the youth setups of Luton Town and Hitchin Town prior to his move to West London, and he spent four years at Griffin Park where he appeared a handful of times for the first team.

Loan spells at Boreham Wood, Northampton Town and Dagenham & Redbridge saw him gain experience before departing Brentford permanently in 2014 in favour of a switch to Gillingham, where he appeared 70 times across a two-year spell.

Further stints at Swindon Town, Colchester United, Stevenage and Tranmere Rovers saw him rack up over 250 appearances in the Football League, and he notably fired hometown club Stevenage to promotion as runners-up in 2022/23, in which a season which he was also named the club’s Player of the Season after top scoring with 14 goals.

Despite this, Norris made the switch to Tranmere in 2023, returning to League Two where he remained for two years, before dropping into the National League this summer.

Having been released from Tranmere back in May, the 32-year old made the move back to Hertfordshire when he joined Boreham Wood two months later, and has enjoyed an excellent start to life at Meadow Park, helping them rescue a 3-3 draw at Carlisle United with two goals before firing home a brace, this time a match-winning one, against Braintree Town.

Photo Credit: Leonie Citron // Boreham Wood Football Club

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Last Time Out

Boreham Wood were held to a goalless draw at the Prestige Group Stadium, with a determined performance from ten-man Hartlepool United limiting them to a point in County Durham.

A slow opening 15 minutes saw Matt Rush go closest, being found by Luke Norris, who, with his back towards goal, found the former Sutton man whose shot straight down Harvey Cartwright’s front was palmed away.

The Pools then saw a couple of chances fall their way through Danny Johnson and Cameron John before Norris forced an excellent stop from Cartwright, who got low to deny the striker’s curled effort from range, before also denying Érico Sousa shortly before the break.

Sousa was denied again after the interval, this time by Jermaine Francis, before the hosts were forced into a superb defensive display after Max Kouogun was sent off, being deemed to have taken down Rush as a last man just outside the box following a long ball.

This led to a barrage of pressure being piled on by the Wood, with Norris unleashing a low shot that was stopped by the legs of the Cartwright, and although former U Besart Topallaj came close late on for the Pools, the referee soon called a halt to proceedings with the score level.