A relatively nearby tie for us, at only 32 miles, to support “Stannerly” in the 3rd Round proper.

On a bleak and chilly day, whilst dry on arrival, the rain was forecast.

We were surprised by the standard of facilities at Meadow Park, presumably assisted by financial input from Arsenal, whose Ladies use the ground for WPL matches.

That said, the away fans only had access to a single burger van and no bar facilities so the pre-match drink was coffee all round, and the away end was also open to the elements…

The match kicked off and Accrington had most of the early chances, perhaps unsurprisingly as “The Wood” is now the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.

Accrington had a new striker making his debut, Aaron Pressley, son of (not Elvis) Steven, a hard-nosed Scottish defender who had a long career spanning from Rangers in the early nineties to Falkirk almost twenty years later.

The deadlock was broken after only six minutes when Boreham Wood failed to deal with a long throw and Everton loanee Ryan Astley poked the ball in for his third of the season.

Boreham Wood reached the fifth round last season and was soon more than a match for their league one opposition, though no further chances were created in the first half for either team.

Another half-time coffee and a 7/10 pie and we were fortunate to be able to shelter in a stand from the now drizzle that was turning to rain.

The second half started more brightly for The Wood, who, with a lot of vocal support, were looking the more likely to score the next goal. Lee Ndlovu and Danny Newton both came close, but it wasn’t until the 78th minute that they finally got their reward when Femi Ilesanmi found Ndlovu in the area to cement his position as their top scorer of the season so far.

Then the rain really came down.

So a replay next week, who’s doing the 376-mile round trip to Accrington then boys??