Opposition Overview: Boreham Wood
Chris Millington’s Solihull Moors side will welcome high-flying Boreham Wood, led by manager Luke Garrard, to Damson Park in their latest game of the ongoing 2026/27 Enterprise National League campaign. The Moors will be seeking another three points, as a win would see them climb the table while building momentum for the weeks ahead.
The Wood are among the favourites to earn promotion to League Two, and they recently broke the National League record for a player sale when they sold Abdul Abdulmalik to Swedish side Djurgardens IF for £1.5 million plus add-ons. This beat the original record held by Jamie Vardy, who joined Leicester City from Fleetwood Town for £1 million back in 2012.
This is a club with plenty of history; Boreham Wood were established as a football club upon their foundation in 1948. Fast forward to the early 1970s, which saw them, under the leadership of Chairman Bill O’Neill and manager Mickey Hunter, win consecutive promotions from the Athenian League before they were successfully elected to the Isthmian Football League by the start of the 1974/75 season.
By the time that the 1976/77 campaign came to an end, they had comfortably won the Isthmian League Division Two title, doing so by a considerable margin of 16 points. After that promotion, they were able to enjoy a five-year spell in the higher division, the Premier Division, over the course of the remaining years of the 1970s and into the early years of the 1980s.
They then frequented this division for several years over the course of the 1990s, with the Chairman now being Phil Wallace, with manager Bob Makin occupying the dugout as the boss of The Wood.
Unfortunately for Boreham Wood, they would go on to be relegated in 1999/00 under Chairman Danny Hunter, who remains in this post to this very day as of 2026. They did manage to bounce back immediately, spending only one season before securing promotion again. They then earned promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division after being crowned as the Champions of the Isthmian League Division One in 2000/01.
Then, by the time that 2004 came around, The Wood were now competing in the Southern Football League for the very first time in their history after the football league pyramid was restructured by the English FA.
They competed in Division One for a couple of seasons before winning the title in the 2005/06 season, before then navigating their way back to the Isthmian League Premier Division for the 2006/07 campaign. They got all the way to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy in the previous season, beating Aveley 1 – 0 before going on to win the trophy after beating Kingstonian 2 – 0.
And, under the management of former boss Ian Allinson, they got themselves a place in the Football Conference South for the 2010/11 campaign. They initially struggled in their first-ever campaign in the sixth tier of English Football, but they were able to navigate themselves up the table and were able to secure what was a respectable 14th place finish.
8th place was secured in 2011/12, before they then finished 9th in 2012/13, with them being disappointed after enjoying a great start and occupying the play-off spots in March 2013 before then suffering a downturn in form that saw them miss out on having the chance to earn promotion.
The Herts Senior Cup was won in 2013/14 after beating their local rivals Bishops Stortford on penalties in a hotly contested final. However, they did have an average league campaign that saw them settle for what was a 13th place finish in the end.
After an expansion of their home stadium in 2013, that saw them start building a new 870-seat West Stand that was completed in May 2014 for three quarters of a million pounds, and it was officially opened by the legendary manager Arsene Wenger. They faced Arsenal’s first team in a friendly in July 2014 in front of a big crowd of 3,400.
2014/15 saw them narrowly lose out on the Conference South title to Bromley, which saw them have to settle for a play-off campaign that at least saw them have another chance of securing promotion. After beating Havant & Waterlooville in the two-legged semi-final, they then beat Whitehawk at Meadow Park to earn promotion.
They had secured their place in the National League, the highest tier of non-league football, for the very first time in what was their 67-year history at this point in time. They narrowly avoided relegation in 2015/16, but their safety was secured in the end by late season wins over Aldershot, Guiseley, and finally Welling United in what were the final three games.
The Wood then had what was a much improved campaign in the National League in 2016/17, finishing 11th. Then in 2017/18, they beat an EFL club for the first time in the FA Cup, doing so after beating Blackpool 2 – 1 after going a goal down back on Saturday 4th November 2017. In the league, they managed to finish as high as 4th, reaching the play-offs, with them having the chance for promotion to League Two.
After victories against AFC Fylde and Sutton United, they had secured themselves a place at Wembley with a chance of a historic promotion. Then, unfortunately for The Wood, they failed, and they missed out on promotion after losing narrowly 2 – 1 to Tranmere Rovers.
They then suffered what was a decline in their fortunes in the following season, the 2018/19 season, finishing in 20th place, but they did at least manage to reach the First Round Proper of that season’s FA Cup.
In 2019/20, they were enjoying a great campaign under current manager Luke Garrard, and finished in 5th place before the season was curtailed due to the pandemic. Unfortunately for the club, the play-offs were cancelled.
The 2020/21 campaign also saw disruption due to global events, but the season was still completed, with them ending up in 14th place whilst going on a memorable FA Cup run that saw them go all the way to the Third Round Proper, where they took on London-based Millwall.
Boreham Wood were able to finish in 9th place in 2021/22, and they also reached the fifth round proper of the FA Cup for the first time. They only lost 2 – 0 to Premier League club Everton away from home at Goodison Park after having already beaten the likes of AFC Wimbledon and Coventry City.
2022/23 saw them end up in the National League playoffs once again after what was an impressive campaign for The Wood. They lost in the semi-finals after being beaten by Notts County thanks to a late winner for The Magpies in order to make it 3 – 2 in extra time away from home at Meadow Park.
2023/24 was a low point that saw them finish in 21st place and get themselves relegated back down to the National League South after a stay of nine years in the fifth tier. Then in 2024/25, they took the first opportunity that they were offered to return to the National League, with them doing so via the playoffs, beating Maidstone United 1 – 0 at the aforementioned Meadow Park, following what was a winning goal from Charles Clayden. They had returned to the fifth tier at the first time in years.
The 2025/26 was, of course, their first season back in the National League, and it was an excellent one that saw them finish all the way up in 4th place, which secured them a place in the playoffs once more.
They had another chance to gain promotion to League Two, but after dramatically beating Carlisle United 2 – 1 in the semi-final with a Zak Brunt goal, they were beaten 3 – 1 on penalties by Rochdale at Wembley. What made things worse for Boreham Wood was the fact that they had been leading 2 – 0 with just over 20 minutes remaining.
2025/26 still saw them win some silverware when they lifted the National League Cup after beating West Ham’s Under 21s 7 – 6 on penalties after drawing with the Hammers 2 – 2 after extra time.
In the current 2026/27 Enterprise National League season, they will be competing for promotion once more under the management of Luke Garrard, and they will be hoping that they can earn themselves a place in League Two once the season comes to an end in May 2027.
In the opposition dugout – Luke Garrard
Current Boreham Wood boss Luke Garrard is enjoying his second spell with The Wood, with the club returning to the club on 13th September 2024, succeeding Ross Jenkins. In his first season back, he led them to a 5th place finish with 86 points, winning the playoffs in order to earn a place back in the National League at the first time of asking.
Last season, they had a 4th place finish with 90 points, securing the playoffs and a chance to get promoted to the Football League. They lost 3 – 1 on penalties in the Final against Carlisle United at Wembley, and this season they will be looking to go one better by securing promotion to League Two.
Garrard’s previous spell in charge of Boreham Wood spanned over the course of 9 years, from 14th October 2015 until his dismissal following defeat to Southend United on 2nd April 2024, which left The Wood still threatened with relegation.
In his initial spell, there were several highlights. In his third season, they got to the National League playoffs for the first time in their history, losing to Tranmere Rovers. They did, though, beat a Football League side for the first time, beating League One Blackpool 2 – 1 in the first round proper of the FA Cup.
Then in 2021/22, they reached the fifth round before being beaten by Everton. They had beaten AFC Wimbledon and Bournemouth along the way. They then made the playoffs once again in the National League in 2022/23, losing in the semi-finals to Notts County in extra time.
Garrard also had a playing career that lasted for 13 years, with his last club being Boreham Wood, with whom he would have his first spell in first team management. He also played for the likes of Swindon Town (2002 - 2005), Bishop’s Stortford (2005), Boreham Wood (2005; Loan, 2009 – 2010; 2010 - 2015), Northwood (2005 - 2006), and also AFC Wimbledon from 2006 to 2015.
Key Player – Matt Rush
Boreham Wood’s key player so far this season is arguably their forward Matt Rush, who is their top goalscorer this season in the 2026/27 National League so far with no less than 9 goals scored so far, as of the time of writing.
Rush joined The Wood back on 31st December 2024 after being recalled from his loan with Maidstone United. He has so far played for the likes of Southend United (2019 - 2022), Great Wakering Rovers (Loan, 2019), Harlow Town (Loan, 2019), Tonbridge Angels (Loan, 2021), Chelmsford City (Loan, 2022), Braintree Town (2022 - 2023), Aveley (2023), Maidstone United (2023 – 2024; Loan, 2024), and Sutton United in 2024.
Opposition Overview written by Adam Holt
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