Boreham Wood manager Ian Allinson felt his side made hard work for themselves in beating Staines Town 3-0 on Saturday.

The win was Wood’s first against Staines in eight years, with their last league success over the Swans coming in December 2006.

More importantly, the win means the Wood hold a six-point lead over second-placed Bromley, though the Ravens boast the advantage of having two games in hand.

Wood took the lead after just 94 seconds when ex-Watford midfielder Matty Whichelow netted, before Junior Morias doubled up for the hosts nine minutes before half time.

And the points were made safe after the restart when 16-goal top scorer Lee Angol enhanced his growing tally by scoring from the penalty spot.

Following a seemingly routine win over Marcus Gayle’s bottom-of-the-league side, Allinson was left underwhelmed by certain aspects of his team’s display.

He told the club’s website: “I felt we made it hard work for ourselves. We did not move the ball quickly enough in the final third and therefore had just a two goal lead at the interval.” Allinson continued: “They got forward much more quickly after the break and both Calum Willock and Elliott Charles caused us problems.

However, Allinson was pleased to see his side pick up their 13th league win of the campaign: “We also struggled in the middle of the park at times. It was a tough game but I am extremely pleased with the clean sheet and full credit to the players.

“They dug deep and ensured we got maximum points from this rearranged fixture,” added Allinson.

New signing Ben Martin was handed his debut in place of Josh Hill at the back as Boreham Wood shot out of the blocks to take the lead with just a minute and a half on the clock.

A miss-kick from Luke Neville surrendered possession to Whichelow and he danced around goalkeeper Jack Turner before firing home from an acute angle to open the scoring.

Staines almost drew level when Stephane Ngamvoulou crossed for Elliot Charles to strike the woodwork.

Visiting keeper Turner then denied Callum Reynolds before Morias raced onto a long clearance from the back to shoot beyond Turner and put the Wood in the ascendancy.

Substitute Calum Willock helped Staines get a foothold in the contest after the break, with Gayle’s side having a goal ruled out for offside. A last-ditch clearance from Martin prevented Willock before keeper James Russell denied the striker another opportunity.

Wood finally killed the game off in stoppage time when Angol played a one-two with Whichelow and rounded Turner only to be felled.

From the resulting spot kick Angol made no mistake, extending Boreham Wood’s unbeaten league run to nine matches.

Next up for Wood is a trip to Eastbourne Borough on Saturday. The Sports are 11th in the Conference South.