Despite seeing out the contest with nine men, Shane Baptiste’s side come away from the Woodside Stadium with all three points, thanks to a winner from defender Kahlil Kirwan-Meade with around fifteen minutes to go.

The hosts were always expected to be a tough opposition for last season’s runners’ up on the opening day, and that proved to be the story of the match, as for the majority of the first half, Benfleet camped inside their own half with The Woods struggling to break them down. On the 42-minute mark, David Gokou and Enock Sognaile superbly linked up down the left, but Micah Jackson couldn’t keep his effort below the crossbar so we went into the break on level terms.

However, a dubious decision from the referee in first half added time meant that Woodford wouldn’t head into the interval with an equal amount of players on the pitch as their hosts. Captain James Jewers was shown a straight red card for a supposed elbow, leaving the Woodford dugout and fans stunned.

As the players appeared back onto the field of play for the beginning of the second half, manager Baptiste opted to make a change, bringing on Billy Karby for Sonny Shilling, allowing the visitors to regain control in midfield, which they had lost due to Jewers’ dismissal. Despite having a man less, the boys in yellow and blue dominated for lengthy periods in the second half. But, they did have debutant goalkeeper Manny Agboola to thanks, as he made a stunning one-on-one stop just three minutes shy of the hour mark.

With the clock ticking away, a long throw from Sam Owusu was flicked on by Dion Johnston, before being scrambled into the back of the net by Kahlil Kirwan-Meade from six-yards out, as The Woods went ahead with less than fifteen minutes to go at the Woodside Stadium. A massive goal from the defender would be enough for The Woods to secure all three points on the opening day of the season, and send the travelling supporters back to London with smiles on their faces.

Starting XI: E. Agboola (GK); Johnston, Kirwan-Meade, M. Agboola, Soganile (Benoit - 87’); Jewers (C), Owusu; Shilling (Karby - 46’), Jackson (Harding - 63’), Gokou; Protic (Balev - 59’).

Unused substitutes: Painter