Woking arrived at the Jakemans Community Stadium on the back of just one win in five, a run that resulted in the departure of head coach Neal Ardley over the weekend, with the club sitting only five points above the relegation zone,writes Benn Whittle at the Jakemans Community Stadium.
In contrast, Boston United entered the contest in strong form, unbeaten in six under Paul Hurst and sitting just ten points adrift of the National League play-off places, with hopes of mounting a late charge.
Firing Out The Blocks
Woking came out of the blocks fastest. Harry Beautyman struck from the edge of the area, shooting just wide after a brief moment of pinball following a long throw. Woking’s pressure soon paid off. They went 1-0 up through Fulham loanee Oliver Sanderson, who scored his eighth of the season by smashing the ball past debutant Dan Cameron.
After Boston’s first spell of pressure, Woking’s Tim Akinola was shown a yellow card in the sixth minute. Soon after, winger Ken Aboh, who had returned to the starting lineup in place of Gregory Sloggett, created Boston’s first real opportunity, driving a hard low shot narrowly wide of the target.
Boston striker Tom Cursons proved a handful after a scrappy few minutes, giving defender Olatunji Akinola a nightmare, giving the Pilgrims a free kick on the edge of the area, where the delivery into the box prompted mass appeals from Boston for a penalty after a foul on defender Jake Rooney.
After great work from the forward line, which saw Cursons send Frankie Maguire in on goal, where the ball ended up at the feet of Jordy Hiwula, who had half the goal to aim at, before great defending from Chinwike Okoli denied Hiwula his fifth goal of the season with a well-timed sliding challenge.
Woking asserted their dominance just after 30 minutes into the game, where their patient defensive play allowed ex-Sunderland striker Aiden O’Brien to lay the ball off to Beautyman, who delivered a fantastic cross into Sanderson, whose header was just past Dan Cameron’s net.
Boston played fantastically down the left with Matty Carson, giving Aboh a chance in the 18-yard box. He couldn’t sort his feet in time. The ball landed fortuitously at the feet of in-form Cursons, who smashed it past William Jääskeläinen for his seventh goal in seven games.
Despite Boston controlling much of the first half, a swift counter-attack allowed O’Brien to pick up the ball on the right flank. He cut inside and struck a low effort that took a decisive deflection, wrong-footing the unlucky Cameron and finding the net.
A Second Half Of Patience
Woking began the second half on the front foot, having introduced Albanian midfielder Roy Syla at the break in place of Timothy Akinola following his first-half booking. The visitors controlled the early exchanges, and a positive passage of play led by O’Brien carved out a half-chance for Sanderson. The move resulted in a corner, from which a shot from the edge of the area drifted narrowly wide of Cameron’s goal.
What followed was a 15-minute spell that ebbed and flowed without either side creating a clear opening, as the contest became increasingly scrappy.
Paul Hurst then turned to his bench for the first time, replacing Jordy Hiwula with Brighton loanee Luca Barrington. Shortly after, sustained pressure down the Pilgrims’ left produced a decisive moment. Excellent work from Oisin Gallagher and Jordan Richards allowed them to win back possession, creating space for Maguire on the right side of the area. After earlier rattling the crossbar, Maguire made no mistake on 62 minutes, cutting inside onto his left foot and emphatically firing into the far corner.
The next ten minutes saw the game descend into a scrappy and fragmented contest, with both sides appearing wary of committing too many bodies forward.
Boston enjoyed the better of possession during the following spell, though without a real cutting edge. A sustained period on the ball kept Woking largely penned inside their own half, with the Pilgrims’ left flank again posing problems. Carson delivered another inviting cross that found debutant Barrington, but his header drifted narrowly wide of the target.
The remainder of the match followed a similar pattern, with neither side able to impose sustained quality in a tense and cautious encounter. For managerless Woking, a point will represent a satisfactory outcome for interim boss Craig Ross. Boston United, meanwhile, can also take encouragement from the result, with the National League play-off places still within touching distance for the Pilgrims.