Goals, Hat-Tricks and Drama Across the National League
Boreham Wood keep setting the pace, Southend’s unbeaten run comes to an end, Woking hit five and Sutton produce a remarkable comeback on another eventful National League weekend.
The National League rarely needs much encouragement to produce an eventful Saturday, but the final weekend of September delivered goals, hat-tricks, red cards, comebacks and significant results at both ends of the table.
Southend United’s five-match unbeaten league run came to an abrupt end at Roots Hall, while leaders Boreham Wood strengthened their position with another convincing victory on the road.
Woking hit five at Carlisle United, Aldershot Town put five past Tamworth and Sutton United somehow recovered from 3-1 down against ten-man Forest Green Rovers to take a point from a six-goal thriller.
There were also important victories for Altrincham, AFC Fylde, Harrogate Town, Yeovil Town, Scunthorpe United, Wealdstone and Worthing on a Saturday packed with stories throughout the division.
Boreham Wood keep setting the pace
Boreham Wood continue to lead the way after returning from Solihull Moors with an impressive 3-0 victory.
Ben Whitfield was again at the heart of things for Luke Garrard’s side. After Boreham Wood had controlled much of the opening period and Zak Brunt had struck the crossbar from a free-kick, Whitfield finally broke Solihull’s resistance shortly before half-time.
There was little respite for the hosts after the restart. Whitfield struck again almost immediately, finishing from Marley Marshall-Miranda’s pass to give Wood breathing space.
He could even have completed a hat-trick after Jay Bird was brought down inside the area, but Max Metcalfe saved the resulting penalty.
Bird eventually added the third himself with around a quarter of an hour remaining as Boreham Wood completed another convincing afternoon’s work.
It leaves Wood continuing to set the standard at the top as September draws to a close.
Barrow bring Southend’s unbeaten run to an end
Southend United went into Saturday’s game against Barrow AFC on the back of two victories and five league matches without defeat, including the previous weekend’s extraordinary 6-1 win at Gateshead.
This time it was the Shrimpers on the wrong end of a high-scoring afternoon.
After a goalless opening 45 minutes at Roots Hall, Rekeem Harper put Barrow ahead early in the second half before Seb Thompson’s deflected long-range effort doubled the visitors’ advantage.
Ryan Colclough won and converted a penalty to give Southend hope, but Darren Oldaker’s unfortunate own goal restored Barrow’s two-goal cushion.
Leon Chambers-Parillon struck during added time to make it 3-2 and briefly give the home support hope of an unlikely recovery, only for former Shrimper Dan Mooney to respond at the other end and complete a 4-2 Barrow victory.
It was only Southend’s second league defeat of the campaign, but another reminder of just how quickly things can change in the National League.
Marquis hat-trick inspires five-star Woking
One of the most eye-catching results of the afternoon came at Brunton Park, where Woking produced a devastating second-half display to beat Carlisle United 5-2.
Shadrach Ogie gave the Cardinals an early advantage before Chinwike Okoli’s own goal quickly restored parity.
The sides went into half-time level at 1-1, but that scoreline gave little indication of what was to follow.
Matt Ward restored Woking’s lead three minutes after the restart before John Marquis took over.
Marquis scored from open play to make it 3-1 and then converted two penalties to complete his hat-trick and put Woking five goals to the good.
Regan Linney pulled one back for Carlisle late on, but by then the damage had long since been done.
Sutton fight back against ten-man Forest Green
If Carlisle provided the biggest away scoring performance, Sutton United and Forest Green Rovers supplied perhaps the afternoon’s most dramatic comeback.
Forest Green appeared to be cruising when Jayden Clarke gave them an early lead and half-time substitute Oli Ewing doubled it shortly after the restart.
Then the afternoon changed.
Freddie Sass received a second yellow card just minutes after the second goal, leaving Forest Green to negotiate most of the second half with ten men.
Brandon Njoku reduced the deficit for Sutton, only for Kyle McAllister to respond almost immediately and restore Forest Green’s two-goal advantage at 3-1.
Even then it was far from finished.
Charlie Carter produced a superb finish to drag Sutton back into the contest before former Forest Green striker Temi Babalola headed home at the back post to make it 3-3.
There was almost another twist at the death, but Forest Green goalkeeper Ethan Ross produced an important late save to prevent Sutton completing the comeback.
Five-star Shots punish Tamworth
Aldershot Town had effectively taken control of their meeting with Tamworth before many supporters elsewhere had settled into their Saturday afternoon.
Brody Peart opened the scoring inside two minutes and the Shots never looked back.
Michee Efete added a second before Marcus Dinanga made it 3-0, and Efete struck again shortly before half-time to send Aldershot into the interval four goals ahead.
Dinanga scored his second shortly after the restart to make it five.
The only significant setback for Aldershot came when Kiki Oshilaja received a second yellow card late in the game, while Ben Acquaye’s stoppage-time effort provided Tamworth with a consolation.
A 5-1 victory nevertheless represented an emphatic afternoon for the Shots, with Efete and Dinanga both finishing with two goals.
Another painful afternoon for Gateshead
Gateshead will be glad to see the back of the last two Saturdays.
A week after conceding six at home to Southend United, the Heed travelled to Wealdstone and were beaten 4-0.
The scoreline does not tell the whole story of the opening exchanges. Gateshead had opportunities and forced Dante Baptiste into action before Wealdstone struck against the run of play through Olufela Olomola.
Luke Norris doubled the advantage from the penalty spot before half-time.
Jack Wells-Morrison made it three shortly after the restart and Jack Cook completed the scoring late on as Wealdstone celebrated their first home league victory of the season.
For the Stones it was a hugely encouraging afternoon. For Gateshead, ten goals conceded across successive league Saturdays tells its own story.
Scunthorpe hit back as Hartlepool’s difficult run continues
Hartlepool United actually struck first at Scunthorpe United, with Will Harris putting the visitors ahead after 27 minutes.
The advantage lasted only three minutes.
Pat Jones levelled for Scunthorpe before Oliver Norwood completed the turnaround on the stroke of half-time.
Kyle Hurst added a third just three minutes into the second period and substitute Hugh Parker headed home Scunthorpe’s fourth later in the half.
The 4-1 defeat made it four consecutive losses for Hartlepool, while Scunthorpe recovered impressively from falling behind.
Altrincham continue impressive run
Altrincham’s momentum continued with a convincing 3-0 home victory over Hornchurch.
The visitors kept the Robins out for most of the opening half, but Sam Taylor finally broke the deadlock in stoppage time with his first Altrincham goal.
Charlie Kirk followed with his first for the club early in the second period, producing a clever finish after Kahrel Reddin’s cross found him at the back post.
Jimmy Knowles made it three just a few minutes later.
Altrincham then saw the game out while protecting their first clean sheet of the campaign, making it three consecutive victories and six wins from their last seven.
Harrogate finish strongly against Eastleigh
Brad Dolaghan struck twice as Harrogate Town recorded an emphatic 4-1 victory over Eastleigh.
Dolaghan opened the scoring after only six minutes before Jordan Cousins equalised for the Spitfires midway through the first half.
Dolaghan restored Harrogate’s advantage shortly before the interval, and the contest remained relatively close until the final stages.
Bailey Hobson gave Harrogate breathing room with a long-range effort before substitute George Thomson added a spectacular fourth late on.
Powell makes the difference for Yeovil
There was considerably less goalmouth activity at Aggborough, where Yeovil Town edged Kidderminster Harriers 1-0.
Both sides had opportunities. Ryan Jones struck the post for Yeovil during the first half, while goalkeeper Jos Barker was required to make important saves at the other end.
The decisive moment arrived during the second half when Slavi Spasov released substitute Johl Powell through the Kidderminster defence and Powell kept his composure to finish beyond Jack Wint.
Yeovil protected their advantage through the closing stages to leave Aggborough with all three points.
Mayor magic earns Fylde another away win
AFC Fylde continued their impressive form away from home with a 1-0 victory at Boston United.
Boston created enough opportunities to make it an uncomfortable afternoon for the visitors, but Fylde goalkeeper Zac Jones repeatedly stood in their way.
The game’s only goal arrived six minutes after half-time when Danny Mayor found the net from distance.
Boston’s task became even more difficult late on when Jake Rooney received a second yellow card, leaving the Pilgrims to finish with ten men.
Fylde held on to record a third successive away victory.
Worthing’s winning run continues
Worthing made it three league victories in succession with a 2-1 home success against FC Halifax Town in the first meeting between the clubs.
Joe Cook headed Worthing in front from Jordan Young’s corner inside seven minutes, although Will Hugill quickly brought Halifax level.
Young restored the hosts’ advantage before half-time when Cory Adjetey-Brew’s effort took a touch from the Worthing forward on its way into the net.
Halifax’s hopes of finding another equaliser suffered a major blow when substitute Dylan Crowe was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Worthing could not find a third, but they saw out the closing stages to continue their strong run of form.
Saturday’s National League results
- Aldershot Town v Tamworth5–1
- Altrincham v Hornchurch3–0
- Boston United v AFC Fylde0–1
- Carlisle United v Woking2–5
- Harrogate Town v Eastleigh4–1
- Kidderminster Harriers v Yeovil Town0–1
- Scunthorpe United v Hartlepool United4–1
- Solihull Moors v Boreham Wood0–3
- Southend United v Barrow AFC2–4
- Sutton United v Forest Green Rovers3–3
- Wealdstone v Gateshead4–0
- Worthing v FC Halifax Town2–1
Numbers of the weekend
What does it mean for Southend United?
For Southend, Saturday provided another reminder of the relentless nature of the National League.
The Shrimpers had travelled to Gateshead a week earlier and produced one of their most memorable away performances in years, scoring six times before half-time on their way to a 6-1 victory.
Seven days later, Barrow arrived at Roots Hall and became only the second side to beat Southend in the league this season.
Boreham Wood’s victory at Solihull means the leaders continue to set the pace, while a number of clubs around the leading positions are putting together impressive runs of their own.
There is still a long way to go, but the opening weeks have already shown how quickly the National League picture can change.
Latest fixtures, results, league table, club information and statistics are available throughout the season in our National League Football Hub.
Visit the National League Football HubA weekend that had almost everything
Perhaps the most striking thing about Saturday was the variety of the stories.
There were emphatic victories at Aldershot, Carlisle, Harrogate, Scunthorpe and Wealdstone. There was a six-goal comeback thriller at Sutton. Boreham Wood continued their impressive start at the top, while Southend discovered how quickly momentum can be interrupted.
Elsewhere, Yeovil and AFC Fylde showed that a single goal can be just as valuable as five, while Worthing and Altrincham continued to build increasingly impressive runs.
And there is little time for anyone to dwell on what happened.
The National League programme continues in midweek, bringing another opportunity for the picture to shift before everyone does it all over again next Saturday.
National League Sunday will return next weekend, when The Shrimpers-online brings together the major stories from the midweek and Saturday action across the division.
