National League Sunday roundup: Boreham Wood climb, Morecambe boost survival hopes

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A shakeup to the festive schedule saw six National League games take place on Sunday with plenty of eye-catching results.

Boreham Wood climbed to fourth place in the National League thanks to a 2-0 win over promotion rivals Carlisle United.

Meanwhile, George Thomas scored twice as struggling Morecambe bolstered their survival prospects with a 2-0 win at free-falling Brackley Town.

Here is a full roundup of Sunday’s action.

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Boreham Wood 2-0 Carlisle United

Zak Brunt set the hosts on course to leapfrog the Cumbrians in the table, firing home a first-time effort from the edge of the 18-yard box in the 31st minute.

Abdul Abdulmalik doubled the advantage six minutes later by finishing on the rebound after Matt Rush’s initial effort was saved by Carlisle goalkeeper Gabriel Breeze.

Mark Hughes’ visitors created little in response during the second period as they slipped to a second successive league defeat.

Brackley Town 0-2 Morecambe

Thomas bundled home the opener on the half-hour to set the Shrimps on the way to only their second win in nine, while Brackley’s losing league run now extends to six.

Morecambe had to work hard for the points as the hosts piled on the pressure either side of half-time, Scott Pollock firing just over from close range and Jack Price’s free-kick hitting a post.

The visitors grabbed their second against the run of play in the 68th minute when Ben Tollitt raced forward and found Thomas who made no mistake and sealed his side the points.

Solihull Moors 4-1 Sutton United

Three goals in six second-half minutes propelled Solihull Moors to a 4-1 victory over Sutton in the National League.

Tyrese Sinclair’s header, which drew a brilliant save from Jack Sims, was the best chance of a quiet first half, but the game burst into life in the 49th minute when Will Tizzard opened the scoring for visitors Sutton.

It took Solihull only four minutes to find an equaliser through Darius Lipsiuc, though, and by the hour mark they had a two-goal cushion, with Sinclair putting them ahead and Scott High making it three.

Sutton were reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute when Edon Pruti was sent off and, after Emmanuel Sonupe had seen a goal ruled out for offside, High grabbed his second and Solihull’s fourth in added time.

Gateshead 1-3 Eastleigh

Eastleigh opened up a gap to the National League’s bottom four with a 3-1 win over struggling Gateshead.

The Spitfires began the day only four points ahead of their opponents down in 23rd but extended that to seven, with Gateshead not helped by Fenton John’s dismissal early in the second half.

Josh Lundstram was involved in both early goals for Eastleigh, first crossing for Harvey Saunders to tap in in the 13th minute and then setting up Aaron Blair 10 minutes later.

Frank Nouble pulled one back in the 31st minute, heading in after Max Melbourne’s free-kick had hit the crossbar, but John was shown a second yellow card for diving eight minutes after the break and Paul McCallum made sure of the victory with Eastleigh’s third in the 90th minute.

Braintree Town 0-0 Hartlepool United

A superb added-time save by Hartlepool United goalkeeper George Evans denied Lewis Walker and left Braintree Town only a point above the National League relegation zone after a goalless draw.

Mason Terry, making his first appearance in two months after on-loan Jack Thompson returned to parent club Derby County, had been the busier of the two goalkeepers, denying Tom Parkes and then, after the break, Alex Reid, Adam Campbell and Pharrell Brown.

Reid struck the post late on and team-mate Campbell saw his shot tipped over by Terry.

However, the eighth-placed visitors did not have it all their way in an entertaining second half, with Cameron John heading Sahid Kamara’s effort off the line before Evans kept out Walker to ensure it ended all square.

FC Halifax Town 2-2 Wealdstone

Dom Hutchinson’s late intervention salvaged a point for Wealdstone as he scored and then saw his cross deflected in to make it 2-2 in the second minute of added time of their National League match at FC Halifax Town

The midfielder sparked the fightback with a goal in the 80th minute, just five minutes after the hosts had a potentially decisive third ruled out for offside.

Then he stunned the Shay Stadium when his cross went in off home left-back Thierry Latty-Fairweather.

Halifax appeared to be cruising after Josh Hmami scored a penalty just before half-time and Cody Johnson added the second three minutes after the break.

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