Langford triumph after trailing three times

The SSML Division One fixture kicked off on the already very heavy pitch with the rain beating down. Woodford were pressing forward from the start with Homans putting Hamdan through one on one with Lawrence, the keeper saving with his legs.

At the other end Thompson tripped Reds forward Sean McMonagle who somehow stayed on his feet and was denied a penalty. Then 15 minutes in, Hamdan chipped a ball forward which Stewart glanced into the net with his head to put Woodford ahead.

The lead lasted just four minutes, when Ryan Nicholl passed the ball to McMonagle who clipped a pass to Vooght who rounded the keeper to equalise.

Then a defensive error by Langford allowed Elenya to shoot back over the stranded Lawrence’s head into the empty goal.

The Reds again showed resilience and came back; in the 34th minute Murray took a free kick to Pateman who placed the ball in front of McMonagle, whose volley rocketed inside the far post to make it 2-2.

The pitch was now very muddy making dribbling and turning difficult. Woodford’s Rowe crossed and hit the far post; Stewart was the first to react by tapping in the rebound to restore Woodford’s lead.

From the restart Woodford attacked, but Langford gradually gained more of the possession and made this count, when after 49 minutes a Ryan Nicholl free-kick was met just inside the far post with a diving header by Sean Murray 3-3.

The pitch by now was well saturated making good football difficult, but to the credit of both teams, they coped well. Langford made the better chances but neither side managed to fashion a good scoring chance.

Then in the 72nd minute McMonagle burst into the Woodford penalty area, and was blatantly bought down by Thompson. Up stepped Sean Murray to take a very confident penalty, placing the ball very firmly to the keeper’s left 3-4.

Langford had the best of the closing minutes but failed to add to their goal tally.

Langford’s next match is at home to Broadfields United on Saturday, February 27, 3pm kick-off.

Langford: Adam Lawrence, Dean Walton, Ross Scotney, Luke Nicholl, Sean Murray, Ryan Nicholl, David Tembua, Stephen Brooks, John Vooght, Sean McMonagle, Lee Pateman.

Subs: David McGuinness, Nathan Mallett (used), Matt Kenneford (used), Ben Stocker, George McMillan.