Northwood's Bobby Smith is gambling with his health

Dec 15 2009 By Jon Batham, Uxbridge Gazette

NORTHWOOD new boy Bobby Smith admits he is gambling with his health every time he steps on a football pitch.

The teenage keeper, who arrived at Chestnut Avenue last week on a dual registration from Chesham, lost 70 per cent of the cartilage when his left knee was injured during an FA Cup tie at Oxford City in October last year.

Doctors warned Smith of the dangers of playing on, but the former Stevenage schoolboy insists retiring was never an option.

He said: "The idea of stopping football isn't one I would ever really consider, because I've been playing since I was a little kid.

"The doctors did actually say to me 'be careful what you do because as a goalkeeper you are always landing on your knee'. So the emphasis has been to work hard in the gym and build it up again and it seems fine.

"It's one of those things where you've got to go out there and hope for the best, and thankfully so far it's been okay."

Things couldn't have started better for Smith - a clean sheet in last week's Middlesex Cup win at Hampton, followed by a sparkling performance in the 1-1 draw at Carshalton in the FA Trophy on

Saturday. Three times in the second half Smith denied the dangerous Richard Jolly, the first a particularly impressive save at full stretch when the former AFC Wimbledon man was clean through.

But the young goalmouth custodian was reluctant to crow about his heroics.

He added: "I suppose it's a feather in my cap, but one of them hit me square in the face to be fair.

"It was just one of those days where luckily I came out on top."

It looked unlikely the lowest sur

viving club in the trophy would gain a replay when they were caught out in just 100 seconds.

The visitors committed too many men forward for a corner and when the ball clear found Jolly on the left, he curled a delicious cross on to the boot of Barry Stevens, who finished from close range.

Woods responded superbly with a succession of corners, one of which goalscorer Stevens headed off the line.

The host midfielder should have doubled the lead when, teed up by

Jolly, he smashed his shot against the post, but Northwood deservedly levelled on 38 minutes.

Danny Power was the instigator with a run down the left, and when the hosts' defence failed to deal with the cross Eugene Ofori pounced to score.

The second half began with backs to the wall for Woods, with Smith and centre back Brad Hewitt performing magnificently, but Ofori, Power and substitute Hugo Figueiredo all had chances to claim a famous win.