National League promotion final: Boreham Wood and Rochdale ready to take the final step

In charge of Boreham Wood for their two near misses was Luke Garrard.

Garrard made more than 140 appearances for the club as a player and has now taken charge of well over 500 matches in two spells as manager.

Defeat in that semi-final to Notts County was followed by relegation and Garrard’s exit. He says the time away from the club was painful.

“Two years ago relegating Boreham Wood really hurt me. This is my club. I left and there were some dark times in the six months not having a job,” he told the BBC’s football podcast 72+.

“It was a reset for me, I went away and worked at my my craft, spoke to a lot of good managers and when I returned my language changed, there was a different mindset.

“I was very negative in the build-up to the relegation season but when I returned 16 months ago the mindset was all about getting back to the National League.”

His return in September 2024 brought immediate results with promotion earned by beating Maidstone 1-0 in the National League South promotion final and he has always believed a second successive one was possible this year.

“I said it from the start of this season we have enough to get promotion,” he said.

“I worked it out that we’d have won three leagues in the past 12 or 13 years with the 90 points we got.

“What went on with Wrexham and Notts County (in 2022-23) was incredible to see. Rochdale and York having a proper ding-dong on the last day of the season and to achieve what they did was incredible.

“For us to get 90 points normally wins you a division but for us that season is done – it’s a two-part season for us. We accumulated 90 points, won the National Cup, and reached the third round of the FA Cup but that’s done now.”

Boreham Wood needed extra time to beat Forest Green Rovers 1-0 in their eliminator before being taken to 120 minutes again at Carlisle in a 2-1 victory to secure their place at Wembley.

“Our aim was to be successful in this second part of the season and we’re two thirds of the way through that now. I don’t want to be talking about we got 90 points, I want to go to Wembley and win now,” said Garrard.

“There are going to be households who are excited, mums and dads, there are staff who are excited but we need to be calm, we’re going to Wembley for business.

“I don’t want any dramas on tickets, no dramas on Wembley and if anyone discusses it from Friday onwards they’re going to be fined because it’s another game of football but it happens to be at Wembley.”