Harold Wood Athletic 3 ACD United 2

Pre Season Friendly, Tuesday 11th August 2020

My sixth preseason fixture ahead of the 20/21 season saw me over at Harold Wood Rec for an all Essex Olympian Football League encounter between Premier Division Harold Wood Athletic Division Three outfit ACD United.

Wood are trying to put a rather forgettable campaign behind them last season which saw them bottom of the pile on goal difference having only picked up eighteen points from their eighteen games played, and it saw a change of management at the end of the season as Kris Taylor decided to move sideways and bring in Alex Goldstone, formerly of Barkingside and Romford of course.

They hosts would have been in the ‘thank goodness the season was null and voided’ camp as they were in serious trouble and would have struggled to have avoided relegation to Division One, so they will be looking to avoid this happening again in the latest campaign which begins next month.

ACD United in contrast had a very good first season in the Olympian League having come across from the Essex Alliance League, and were in top spot having grabbed 43 points from their eighteen games having only lost one of those along the way, but sadly for them they were most likely denied promotion to the Second Division at least when the season was curtailed early in March.

Still, they will be looking to build on that first season in the Division and will no doubt be looking to emulate what they did last season as they look to push up the pyramid, so this certainly promised to be a tough test for both sides here on what was another warm sticky evening.

Wood were out of the traps faster but as the half went on ACD began to get a foot hold in proceedings and created the better chances before they did find the net in the 33^rd minute when a lovely free kick into the box saw a deft glancing header helped onto the goal and in off the post, and the visitors had the lead.

Four minutes before the break though a moment of madness from the visiting keeper gifted Wood a leveller four minutes before half time when a high cross saw him flap at the ball and escape from his grasp, and the Wood attacker had the simple task of ramming home the loose ball into the unguarded net.

This meant the game reached the break all square in what was another hotly contested friendly it must be said.  ACD probably the better side but that keeper error just before the break meant parity in this one.

Half Time Harold Wood Athletic 1 ACD United 1

ACD were caught napping straight away after the restart and fell behind barely a minute into the period when a ball in from the left found an unmarked attacker at the far post and he had the simple job of powering home a header from point blank, and Wood had turned this one around thanks to two goals either side of the break.

It was in this period that Wood threatened to take a strangle hold on the contest and did hit the post, and just past the hour mark they did add a third after yet more calamity from the keeper, as a ball forward saw him come and try and clear his lines with an attacker bearing down on him, but he totally mis kicked his attempted clearance and the attacker had the simple job of side footing home into the empty net, oops.

Very frustrating for the visitors who had played well but made mistakes at crucial times and all three Wood goals could and should have been avoided, but fair play to the hosts who punished these lapses to the max, and they now had a two goal cushion heading into the final quarter of the contest.

ACD to their credit kept playing the way they had been taught, and were soon causing Wood problems again, but despite lots of pressure in the final fifteen minutes they didn’t find a second goal until two minutes from time when a superb cross from the right was headed home brilliantly at the far post, and Wood had to see out the final few moments in the fading light with just a one goal lead.

But they held out and will be encouraged by this win against a very decent outfit who will no doubt be right up there in the Division Three standings again this time round.  A good competitive contest this was though, very enjoyable and plenty of positives for both sides to take from this decent workout.

Full Time Harold Wood Athletic 3 ACD United 2