MK Irish 1 vs Northwood 1

An in-form Milton Keynes Irish side were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw against a formidable Northwood side, which saw Terry Shrieves’ team rise to 14th in the Southern League Division One Central.

Fresh from their wins against Hadley and London Lions, MK Irish started strongly and created the first chance of the game after five minutes when Ryan Smith floated a lovely over-the-top through ball to Owen Brooks, however, the attacker couldn’t get the ball under control, which allowed Northwood to clear the danger.

Mason Spence came back into the side for this fixture and he had his first chance in the match when George Shrieves’ freekick eventually fell to him from close range, but he could not react quickly enough to direct his volley towards goal.

Brooks had his first chance of the match when the ball fell to him just inside the 18 yard box but his shot on the swivel went agonisingly high and wide of Hafed Al-Droubi’s goal.

MK Irish would eventually make their first half pressure count after 26 minutes when Shrieves was fouled on the edge of the box and Mason Spence took on the responsibility, curling an absolute beauty over the wall into the top corner, leaving Al-Droubi rooted to the spot. 

Mason Spence had an amazing opportunity to grab his second of the match when Clinton Zawe picked him out in the box and the Irish captain fired a powerful header towards goal from close range but Al-Droubi did brilliantly to react and tip the effort over the bar to keep his side in the game. 

Northwood’s only chance of note came after 40 minutes when Ademide Baruwa played a well weighted through ball to Dan Williams, who could only fire over the crossbar from a tight angle. 

It was a true testament to a backline of Clinton Zawe, Rev Kalek, Nat Beecher and new signing, Freddy Joyce, that Northwood couldn’t create any real chances of note in the first half, with Joyce being particularly impressive in one of his first matches for the club. 

The second half saw Northwood start to push Milton Keynes Irish a bit more in their hunt for an equaliser and their first strike came from Freddie Ford who swerved a well-hit shot wide from 35 yards. 

Milton Keynes Irish saw shots from George Shrieves and Ryan Smith fly over the crossbar inside the first 15 minutes of the second half but you could sense the tension growing amongst the MK Irish fans as the side searched for that all-important second goal. 

Kyle Boyce was substituted on and almost made an instant impact when he latched onto a quickly taken throw-in and sent a great cross into JJ Meadows but the striker had his effort closed down quickly by a Northwood defender.

Ryan Smith had a decent chance to add to his goal tally after his winning strike against London Lions at the weekend when the ball sat up for him 20 yards on the edge of the D, but the midfielder could only drag his shot wide. 

Northwood created their first big chance of the match with 20 minutes left on the clock when Williams shot from close range but Tom Ladyman did well to get down quickly to block his attempt. 

Harry Coleman came back into contention for the Irish recently and he had a great chance to put the game out of sight when Kyle Boyce played in a teasing low cross but the striker could only stretch his shot against the post. 

Northwood were eventually rewarded for their resolute defensive display with an equaliser when their high pressure forced Kalek into a mistake and Dan Williams struck a powerful effort past Ladyman, who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out from close range. 

MK Irish had two half chances to retake the lead in the last 10 minutes when Boyce headed straight at Al-Droubi and George Shrieves saw a volley fly wide from range. 

The referee gave both sides five added minutes to try and grab a winner but Northwood defended well to continue their unbeaten streak away from home and hold onto a point at Manor Fields.

Milton Keynes Irish will try to get back to winning ways at the weekend when they travel to Rayners Lane, who currently sit at the bottom of the table with seven points.