National League side Boreham Wood went into the weekend as favourites against League One Wigan Athletic. The result, however, was not quite what the pre-match anticipation expected.
Social media posts by football fans believing Boreham Wood to be the better side prompted supporters to question how a non-league side had become such strong favourites against former Premier League opposition.
In the end, many were left red-faced as Wigan delivered an emphatic 3-0 victory at Meadow Park to book their place in the FA Cup second round.
The pre-game natter told a fascinating story about two clubs heading in entirely different directions.
Boreham Wood’s rise through the non-league pyramid has been remarkable, albeit helped by significant investment, and their relationship to Arsenal FC. Back in 2010/11, the Wood finished 14th in the Conference South, with average attendances of around 200. Competing against former Premier League opposition would have seemed a distant ambition.
Fast forward to the present day, and Luke Garrard’s side have become one of the more ambitious sides in non-league football. Several seasons in the National League and an FA Cup fifth-round appearance in 2022, including winning away at AFC Bournemouth, have helped put the club firmly on the map.
Their approach to recruitment and player development has proved valuable, with the seven-figure sale of Abdul Abdulmalik summing up the club’s rise to power to a tee.
Wigan’s Downfall
For Saturday’s visitors, however, the picture is damming.
The Latics were lifting the FA Cup in 2013, defeating Manchester City at Wembley in one of the competition’s most memorable moments, while simultaneously competing, before being relegated, from the Premier League.
Instead of representing the beginning of a new chapter, it represented the closing of the old, as two seasons later the Lancashire side dropped to League One.
Wigan have yo-yoed between the second and third tiers of English football; however, they currently sit 21st in League One, meaning relegation to League Two is a possibility. The club haven’t been that low since 1981.
Ownership worries and points deductions have contributed to a dramatic fall from grace, leaving the club that once competed against the country’s best looking down the barrel of another relegation.
Contrasting Emotions
The contrast between the two clubs is stark, considering how much has changed in little more than a decade. Fifteen years ago, few Wigan supporters would have believed their side could be underdogs against Boreham Wood.
But supporters suggested exactly that, with the Hertfordshire outfit tipped to beat their Football League opponents.
Saturday’s result may have gone against those expectations, but it should not overshadow the progress made by Luke Garrard and his side. Nor should it disguise the difficult position Wigan find themselves in.
Maybe the pre-match chat reflected the growing reputation of the National League and the increasing quality it has to offer. Alternatively, it may simply have highlighted how far a recent FA Cup winner has fallen.
Either way, the possibility of these two clubs meeting in the league next season is no longer quite as far-fetched as it once seemed.
