National League August review: Wood set the pace, Southend have something to build on
Our first look back at the 2026/27 season: the table, the standouts and what August meant for the Shrimpers.
Ten points from five games. Before a ball was kicked at Altrincham, I would have taken that. After three straight wins, the defeat to Kidderminster and the draw at Woking left us feeling we had let a bit more slip away.
That is where Southend stand after August: seventh, three points off the top and with enough good football to feel encouraged. There are things to fix, especially how we turn first-half chances into a lead we can keep.
Across the division, Boreham Wood set the pace and Matt Rush scored nine times. Promoted Hornchurch won four of their first five. It is early, but there is already plenty worth looking at.
The National League Table At The End Of August
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boreham Wood | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 13 |
| 2 | Sutton United | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 12 |
| 3 | Hornchurch | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 12 |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 11 |
| 5 | Harrogate Town | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 10 |
| 6 | AFC Fylde | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 |
| 7 | Southend United | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 10 |
| 8 | Eastleigh | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 10 |
| 9 | Carlisle United | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 8 |
| 10 | Aldershot Town | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 |
| 11 | Kidderminster Harriers | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 12 | Hartlepool United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 13 | Boston United | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | Worthing | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 6 |
| 15 | Altrincham | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 6 |
| 16 | Forest Green Rovers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 6 |
| 17 | Wealdstone | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 5 |
| 18 | Scunthorpe United | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 4 |
| 19 | Tamworth | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 4 |
| 20 | Woking | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 4 |
| 21 | FC Halifax Town | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 3 |
| 22 | Gateshead | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| 23 | Barrow | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 2 |
| 24 | Solihull Moors | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 0 |
The first table of the season already contains some intriguing stories. Boreham Wood and Yeovil Town both reached September unbeaten after five games.
Only three points separate second from eighth, so the early promotion and play-off picture remains extremely congested.
Boreham Wood Are The August Benchmark
Nobody produced a better opening month than Boreham Wood.
Their campaign began with a remarkable 3-3 draw against Tamworth before Luke Garrard’s side reeled off four consecutive league victories.
They won 3-1 at FC Halifax Town, produced an emphatic 3-0 victory at Forest Green Rovers, beat Boston United 2-1 and finished the month by coming from behind to win 3-2 at Worthing.
Fourteen goals is the best attacking return in the division and 13 points from 15 available makes Wood deserved August leaders.
Southend: ten points, but the last two games still niggle
The Shrimpers began their season superbly.
A 3-1 victory at Altrincham was followed by a 1-0 home win against Scunthorpe United and a 3-1 success at Solihull Moors.
Three wins from three put Southend among the very early leaders before Kidderminster Harriers provided the first setback of the campaign.
Southend led that match at Roots Hall but were beaten 3-1 after a difficult second half.
The month then closed with a 1-1 draw at Woking, Harry Cardwell’s penalty putting The Shrimpers ahead before Aiden O’Brien levelled after the break.
Ten points from five games is still a very healthy return.
More importantly, Southend entered September only three points behind leaders Boreham Wood in a tightly-packed top eight.
Hornchurch Are August’s Surprise Package
If one club has forced the rest of the division to take notice immediately, it is Hornchurch.
Four victories from five have taken the promoted side to third place.
They announced themselves with a 3-0 opening-day victory over Kidderminster, followed it with a win at Barrow and recovered from a heavy defeat at Carlisle by beating Woking and Boston United.
Twelve points from their opening five fixtures is an outstanding return for a club adapting to this level.
Yeovil Finish August Unbeaten
Yeovil Town’s first month was one of consistency.
Draws against Scunthorpe and Carlisle were followed by victories over Gateshead, Barrow and Tamworth.
Ten goals scored, only five conceded and 11 points leaves Yeovil fourth and one of the division’s two strongest unbeaten stories at the end of August.
August By The Numbers
August produced goals at a healthy rate of just over three per match.
Home advantage mattered, but not overwhelmingly: 27 home wins compared with 22 away victories and ten draws.
Players Who Shone
Matt Rush — Boreham Wood
The outstanding individual performer of August.
Rush scored a hat-trick on opening day against Tamworth, twice at Halifax, once at Forest Green, twice against Boston United and once at Worthing.
Nine National League goals before August had even ended gave him a substantial early lead in the scoring race.
Tristan Abrahams — Aldershot Town
Abrahams produced one of the most explosive individual performances of the month with a first-half hat-trick against Harrogate Town.
He also struck against Kidderminster and Eastleigh to finish August with five league goals.
Luke McCormick — Yeovil Town
McCormick was central to Yeovil’s unbeaten opening month and repeatedly delivered in decisive moments.
His goals helped the Glovers through an impressive August in which they collected 11 points from five fixtures.
Joe Kizzi — Hornchurch
Hornchurch’s early success has not simply been about one forward scoring goals.
Kizzi has been one of the players setting the tone for a promoted side that has immediately looked comfortable competing in the National League.
Leon Chambers-Parillon — Southend United
Chambers-Parillon continued to demonstrate why he is such an important part of Southend’s attacking threat.
He scored on the opening afternoon at Altrincham and again against Kidderminster, while consistently offering direct running and attacking intent throughout The Shrimpers’ first month.
The Shrimpers-online National League Team Of The Month
This is our own August XI, rather than an official league selection. It is based only on National League performances during the month, with players selected in positions that reflect the roles they actually played.
The purpose of the XI is not simply to collect the league’s leading scorers. It is to build a balanced team from the players who made the strongest impact during the month.
That means defenders are judged as defenders, midfielders on their influence in midfield and attackers on what they produced in the final third.
Our August awards
These are The Shrimpers-online’s editorial choices for the month.
Nine league goals in five August matches. There was simply no stronger individual case.
Four wins, one draw, 14 goals and first place. The benchmark for everyone else.
Four successive victories after the opening draw put Boreham Wood top of the league.
August’s runaway leading marksman with nine National League goals.
Four wins from five and third place after promotion. Very difficult to overlook.
Six goals, an opening-day Rush hat-trick and a Tamworth equaliser deep into stoppage time.
Villains Of The Month
Worthing’s Double Dismissal At Tamworth
Our Villain of the Month award is deliberately tongue-in-cheek and based on disciplinary moments rather than labelling anybody personally.
August provided an obvious contender.
Worthing were leading Tamworth deep into their match on 28 August before Jack Wadham and Dom Hutchinson were both dismissed.
Reduced to nine men, Worthing then conceded twice in added time as Tamworth snatched a 3-2 victory.
For sheer match-changing chaos, the Worthing red-card double gets August’s first Villain of the Month award.
Referee Watch
We’re introducing a Referee of the Month award as part of these monthly round-ups, but we are not going to pretend that card totals alone tell us who the best referee has been.
A referee showing six cards may have had an excellent match if all six were correct. Another official may show only one and still have a poor game.
For that reason, August will act as our baseline month.
From September onwards The Shrimpers-online will track referee appointments, cards, penalties, dismissals and notable match-changing decisions throughout the month before choosing our referee winner.
We will also keep a separate eye on the division’s most card-happy officials.
Biggest Results Of August
All National League Results — August 2026
Saturday 8 August
Saturday 15 August
Saturday 22 August
Thursday 27 August
Friday 28 August
Monday 31 August
Those Who Need September To Be Better
Solihull Moors
The most difficult opening month in the league.
Five matches, five defeats, 16 goals conceded and a -11 goal difference.
There is plenty of season left, but September needs to bring points quickly.
Barrow
Barrow reached the end of August without a league victory.
Two draws have produced only two points and leave them 23rd.
Gateshead
One victory and four defeats has left Gateshead inside the bottom three.
Their four goals are also the joint-lowest attacking return alongside Woking.
Player Of The Season So Far
1. Matt Rush — Boreham Wood
At the end of the first month, there really is no debate.
Nine goals in five National League matches gives Rush both our August Player of the Month award and the first lead in The Shrimpers-online Player of the Season race.
September will tell us whether anybody can begin closing the gap.
Club Of The Season So Far
1. Boreham Wood
Unbeaten, top of the table and leading the league for goals scored.
The first month belongs to Boreham Wood.
Ten points, and two lessons to take into September
Three wins to start, then a defeat and a draw. Ten points from five is a return I would have taken before Altrincham, even if the last two results have taken a little of the shine off it.
Kidderminster showed what happens when we let a lead slip; Woking left us wishing we had used our first-half chances better. Neither cancels out the good work, but both give Dyer something concrete to address.
Boreham Wood are the side everyone is chasing, with Matt Rush scoring nine before the month is out. Hornchurch deserve their share of the attention too: four wins after promotion is some introduction.
For us, the gap to the leaders is only three points. That is close enough to feel encouraged and far too early to get carried away. Yeovil come to Roots Hall next, unbeaten and a point above us. There is our first September test.
Up the Shrimpers.
What’s your take?
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