Brentford's first test of pre-season comes away at National League side Boreham Wood, as the Bees prepare for the Premier League Summer Series.

Five days before the club head to Washington DC for the pre-season tournament, Thomas Frank's side will make the trip across London to Meadow Park.

This is the third summer in a row we have faced the Wood, who reached the play-off semi-final last season.

The opposition

Boreham Wood ready to bounce back after play-off heartbreak

In 2014/15, Boreham Wood reached the highest level of the non-league pyramid for the very first time with promotion from the Conference South.

They only retained their spot in the National League by the skin of their teeth, though. Two points separated them from Halifax Town in 21st.

The desire to never let a similar situation darken their door seems to have injected a fuel that shows no sign of running out. The itchy feet they have had for much of Luke Garrard’s time in charge just will not go away.

His first full season as manager - after hanging his boots up to replace Ian Allinson in October 2015 - saw the Hertfordshire club record a respectable 11th-place finish, but that only served to set a benchmark to build from.

In November 2017, the Wood beat Blackpool 2-1 in the first round of the FA Cup. Never before had they beaten Football League opposition. Coventry were victorious in the second round meeting, but it did not matter - history had been made.

Garrard’s men almost made it to the EFL themselves at the conclusion of that campaign, too. Having finished fourth, they beat AFC Fylde 2-1 in the play-off eliminator, and held off a late fightback to beat Sutton in the semi-final, only to lose 2-1 to Tranmere in the final at Wembley.

Boreham Wood finished fifth on points-per-game in the Covid-disrupted 2019/20 campaign, during which chair Danny Hunter admitted to having re-mortgaged his house to help the club deal with the financial effects.

Again, they reached the play-off semi-final, this time seeing off Halifax in the eliminator, but they could find no way past Harrogate.

A 14th-place finish the following year suggested a lingering hangover and they finished ninth in 2021/22, seven points off the top seven.

But the latter season saw them advance further in the FA Cup than ever before, with wins against AFC Wimbledon in the third round and Bournemouth in the fourth, before a 2-0 defeat to Everton in the fifth. The financial benefits of such a run will no doubt have offset the disappointment of another year without troubling the play-offs.

That changed last term. In a season where Wrexham - and their Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - dominated the headlines, Boreham Wood finished sixth and reached the National League play-offs for the third time in eight seasons.

As has been customary during that time, they made it through the eliminator unscathed; Lee Ndlovu’s double in a 2-1 win over Barnet made sure of that.

But despite leading favourites - and eventual winners - Notts County 2-0 at half-time in the semi-final, two goals from Aden Baldwin and a Jodi Jones winner in the 120th minute shattered their hearts.

Speaking to the club’s official YouTube channel after full-time, a visibly emotional Garrard said: “It’s upsetting - it kills you. I’m absolutely devastated.

“We’ve got to build on something now. We’ve probably got the best core we’ve had starting an off-season and we need to ensure we add quality to that group and make sure that we’re not the bridesmaids in the semi-final eliminator next year.”

To write off Garrard and Co now would be foolish. Fuelled by emotion and the ghosts of seasons gone by, Boreham Wood will be hell-bent on setting the record straight this term.

In the dugout

Luke Garrard

Luke Garrard is three months away from reaching the eight-year anniversary of his appointment as Boreham Wood manager, but his association began long before October 2015.

A north Londoner born and bred, he started out at Tottenham Hotspur and made his professional debut during a three-year spell at Swindon Town.

In 2005, he dropped into non-league and spent time with the Wood, as well as Northwood and Bishops Stortford, before joining AFC Wimbledon in 2006.

During his time with the Dons, he was part of the squad that was promoted via the Isthmian League Premier League play-offs in 2007/08 and the squad that won the Conference South in 2008/09 under Terry Brown.

The following year, he found first-team appearances hard to come by and so joined Boreham Wood on loan in January 2010.

Ian Allinson’s side enjoyed Isthmian League Premier League play-off glory at the end of that season and, after re-joining permanently, Garrard was part of the squad that reached the National League in 2014/15.

After Allinson’s resignation that summer, Garrard stepped up from the role of assistant he had held for more than three seasons already to become the youngest manager in the top five divisions of English football at 30.

Training update

Frank: Players ready to go again

Having returned to training on Tuesday, the Brentford players were put through their paces by Frank and the coaching staff ahead of another season in the Premier League.

Mads Bidstrup won the 1km test, recording an outstanding time of 2 minutes 57 seconds, with recent first-team graduate Ryan Trevitt finishing in second place.

When asked about the players returning to pre-season training, head coach Frank stated: “It's been good. All of us who work in football are in a privileged position because we're looking forward to getting back.  

“In the first couple of weeks, we try to add layers to the fitness level. To be fair, in the modern days, I don't know how it is at other clubs, but definitely here, the players came back in a very good place. 

“We have a running test on the second day and, every year, they come back in a good place. It's a full-on, flat-out, giving-everything session but, after 10/15 minutes, they're ready to train again.

“They recover quite quickly, which is a sign of them being in a good place, but we still want to add more, so we train hard on the intensity and adding that endurance to the players. 

“I like to see the players push themselves because it’s not only to measure the fitness levels, it's also a way to measure the mentality in the group, in a way, which we know is really good.

“It's very nice to reinforce the message that this is such a strong group.” 

Last meeting

Boreham Wood 0 Brentford 2 (pre-season friendly, 9 July 2022)

Brentford started their 2022/23 pre-season fixture schedule with a 2-0 win over Boreham Wood in July last year.

Bryan Mbeumo scored a first-half penalty at the LV Bet Stadium, added to by a Josh Dasilva strike late in the second period.

With only nine minutes played, referee Will Finnie pointed to the penalty spot, with Yoane Wissa felled by Dennon Lewis after a sweeping pass by Ryan Trevitt.

Mbeumo stepped up to convert the penalty, with Ivan Toney in the second-half XI. He sent the keeper the wrong way to slot it into the bottom corner.

The second goal came right at the death. Dasilva drilled the ball through a crowd in the penalty area and it took a deflection off Stephens as it crossed the line, but it was our o.10's goal.

Tickets

To purchase tickets ahead of the game, please contact Boreham Wood on 020 8953 5097.

Tickets can also be bought on the day of the game from Boreham Wood’s ticket office.

Adult: £15

65+: £15

U18: £10

U12: £5

U5: £2