Berkhamsted Town 1

Boreham Wood 4

Pre-season Friendly

Four second-half strikes at Broadwater on Tuesday evening took Wood's goalscoring total to a healthy 16 in the space of eight days, as manager Colin Payne continues to fine tune his squad for the campaign ahead.

Second division Berko were not there to offer Wood shooting practice, however, and made things difficult for Payne's men in the opening 45 minutes, when they could and maybe should have gone ahead.

He said: 'I told the boys beforehand if we get a result here we'll be pleased as Berkhamsted are the closest we'll get to a fellow first division side in our pre-season build-up.

'We didn't play well in the first half, the grass was long on the pitch, which didn't always suit us, and we could have gone behind. At half-time I told them to rectify it and switched to 4-4-2, bringing on Dominic Grime at right back.'

The home side certainly asked a few questions of Wood on a fine and still summer evening, and Noel Imber did brilliantly to tip over Cobb's shot at the climax of a crisp four-man move from Berko.

Andre Delisser again shone, despite the muscular attentions of marker Gallagher. Payne said: 'He's in great form, and has got 50 per cent more confidence than last season.'

Wood went close in the 32nd minute as Neil Baker's deep free kick was flicked on by Otis Hutchings, and Lee Talbot was denied his sixth goal in as many outings by a fine point-blank save by former Wood keeper Shaun O'Connor.

It reflects the management's growing belief in Talbot's ability that he was given a starting berth on Tuesday alongside John Lawford in the Wood forward line. Payne observed: 'Lee's done very well for us and although he may re-sign for Potters Bar, I think that we could be able to offer him something.'

Talbot, a local man, previously spent a season at Wood in the early Nineties and was a regular for Elliot Star.

The visitors also welcomed back skipper Paul Kelly, who has been playing in America, and midfielder Kieran Adams, who has been out since early April with a cruciate ligament injury.

Emerging with a new formation, Wood did not take long to open the scoring after the break.

A 51st minute Grime corner from the right was met by Delisser's head, and Neil Selby applied the finishing touch from close range on the far post.

Two minutes later, new signing Carl Levene demonstrated his awesome shooting power with a spectacular swerving shot from 25 yards that tore into the top corner.

Route one was the preferred method for goal number three as Imber's long clearance was latched onto by Lawford and despatched neatly over O'Connor's head.

Berko captain Paul Lowe restored some home pride from the spot after the otherwise impressive Andy Polston had dragged down Jon Richardson in the 79th minute, but 60 seconds later Lawford restored Wood's three goal cushion.

A satisfactory evening at the office then for Payne and his men, who have only been defeated by Wycombe's first team so far in seven pre-season outings.

Payne said: 'It's all very positive at the moment and I believe our squad now is much better than before.

'I inherited a group of players when I arrived at the club and I had to change some things, but now I feel that we can bounce straight back up.

'I've got a tough week or so ahead as I have to whittle the squad down a bit to fit the budget. Ideally we'll have 16 or 17 contracted players with a few non-contracted ones and juniors in there too. I've got a first choice line-up in my head ,, but this is my team now.

Wood: Imber, Tilbury (Leach, 45 mins); Levene (Clarke, 76); Polston; Baker (Paris, 76); Hutchings (Adams, 76); Delisser (Savage, 87); Savage (Kelly, 45); Lawford (Selby, 36); Talbot (Lawford, 67); Mills (Grime, 45).