Yeovil Town secured back-to-back wins on Tuesday evening with a victory over Boreham Wood at Meadow Park.
Three first half goals through Rhys Murphy, Reuben Reid and Josh Neufville built a comfortable lead for Town, but the hosts still had a part to play in this affair.
Coming out for the second half with real belief, Luke Garrard’s side struck twice but it was not enough to turn the game around for the South Hertfordshire side.
Darren Sarll made one change to the side which beat Altrincham at Huish Park on Saturday. After his goal from the substitutes’ bench, Rhys Murphy returned to the forward line to partner Reuben Reid.
The rest of the team comprised of Adam Smith in goal, with Carl Dickinson, Max Hunt, Billy Sass-Davies and Alex Bradley starting in defence.
It was a midfield diamond once again, as Jimmy Smith began deepest, with Josh Neufville and Tom Knowles adding width and pace to the side. Albi Skendi started in his regular position at the tip of the midfield diamond.
The visiting Glovers began with real intent and enjoyed a lot of pressure down the left flank, with Murphy and Neufville drifting into the position to find themselves in acres of space.
It was through that left hand side where Yeovil would make the best chance of the opening ten minutes as Reid played the ball across goal to find Skendi but some last ditch defending denied the Albanian his sixth goal of the season.
However, it wouldn’t be long before the Glovers struck ahead, as Murphy scored a sublime goal on 15 minutes. After turning the Wood defence inside and out, the Yeovil number nine found himself through on goal and fired beyond Nathan Ashmore to claim the lead.
The goal did spark some life into Boreham Wood, with Kabongo Tshimanga firing wide on 30 minutes, but Sarll’s side did well to marshal the hosts throughout their periods with the ball.
When Yeovil attacked, it was with pace and vigour, eventually winning a penalty following Neufville’s driven run into the area. Reid stepped up and emphatically hammered home his first goal in green and white since returning to Somerset.
As the half entered its closing stages, the left flank would prove deadly once again as Neufville found the back of the net himself. Cutting in onto his right on 41 minutes, the Luton loanee fired an effort on goal, and with the help of a deflection, gave Yeovil a three-goal advantage.
The second half was played in polarising fashion to the first, with the hosts bringing the game to Yeovil.
Garrard’s side got off to the best possible start, after winning a penalty, former Glover Tshimanga stepped up and converted from the spot to reduce the deficit.
After the goal, the game largely became a midfield battle, with heavy challenges flying in from both sides. Such was the nature of the game that Sass-Davies was forced off through an injury, with Skendi moving into the defence to cover for his absence.
As the minutes ticked on, nerves began to build for fans watching at home as Boreham Wood enjoyed longer spells of possession.
The hosts’ pressure eventually told once again on 78 minutes as Gus Mufuta fired a free kick into the top corner to set up a grandstand finish at Meadow Park.
On 86 minutes, the hosts were a matter of inches away from a miraculous comeback, after Tshimanaga struck the crossbar, all Femi Ilesanmi had to do was hit the target, but he spurned his effort over the bar.
With the minutes ticking away, Yeovil became more assured in possession, limiting the hosts to long ball football as it became last chance saloon.
Ultimately, Yeovil’s stunning first half performance was enough to secure back-to-back victories ahead of a trip to title challengers Hartlepool United.
Yeovil Town: A.Smith; Dickinson, Sass-Davies (Dagnall), Hunt, Bradley; J.Smith, Knowles, Neufville (Worthington), Skendi; Reid (Quigley), Murphy.
Bookings: Neufville. Knowles, Dickinson, Murphy, Skendi, A.Smith
Subs not used: Kelly, Warburton
