Basingstoke Town kept their 100 per cent winning start to 2023 intact with a tight 1-0 win away at third-placed Northwood on Saturday.

This was Towns 14th consecutive win, although they were made to work for it by a resilient Northwood. The London club had sat top of the table from late August 2022 all the way up to mid-February 2023, with ‘Stoke taking over after their 5-0 win at Sutton Common Rovers.

The game started swiftly and the visitors thought they had taken the lead early on, when Ben Cook put the ball in the back of the net. The midfielder charged forward towards the edge of the box, before prodding a bouncing ball through to Brad Wilson. The top scorer quickly got a low left-footed shot away, which was saved well by goalkeeper Andrew McCorkell, but Cook was quick to follow in and finished the move. The Basingstoke celebrations were short-lived, however, as the linesman’s flag was raised to indicate an offside.

READ MORE: Basingstoke narrowly denied by Portsmouth in try fest

Not disheartened by his earlier strike being ruled out, Ben Cook did eventually put Basingstoke in front on the 20-minute mark. Captain Simon Dunn fired a fierce volley on target from the edge of the box, which struck Northwood defender James Gurteen before looping dangerously up into the air. Cook took advantage of the confusion amongst the Woods’ backline, as he got a nick on the ball to send it bouncing into the ground and into the back of the net.

The hosts were vastly improved in the second period, however, and tested Basingstoke’s defensive resolve to its upmost limit. Northwood aimed to take advantage of the abundance of height that their side boasted, with all their corners, free-kicks and long throws seeming to end up in and around the visitors’ box.

READ MORE: Mettam the hero as Bison beat Bees in shoot-out

However, for all the threatening positions the Woods found themselves in, they were unable to find the cutting edge in the final third to equalise the game and Basingstoke ended up edging out an incredibly hard-fought three points away from home.

With second-placed Walton & Hersham also winning on Saturday, the lead at the top of the table remains four points - with just seven league games to play before the end of the campaign.

After seeing off promotion competition in front of a Northwood season-record crowd of 304 on the weekend, the Basingstoke supporters will be back at Winklebury next Saturday when Uxbridge come to town.