All good things must come to an end. After nine years at the helm, Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard takes charge of his last match for the club on Saturday. There will be a few crying eyes at Meadow Park. Hopefully there will also be tears of happiness and relief after the club’s final game of the season against Ebbsfleet. At the end of a tough campaign, the Wood face 90 crucial minutes to stay in the fifth tier. Win and they stay up. Anything else and it’s the drop. A win would neatly bookend the reign of the man who has brought so much joy to the Hertfordshire club. When chairman Danny Hunter appointed Garrard in October 2015, the 30-year-old became the youngest manager in the top five divisions. Keeping Boreham Wood in the National League was going to be a tall order. A former Wood player, Garrard had been assistant to Ian Allinson as the club were promoted after a Conference South playoff final win over Whitehawk. The club had never played at this level before and, just to make the job a little harder, Allinson resigned a few months into the season. At times it seemed as if Garrard was swimming against the tide. In one particularly tough 11-match run between November and February, the Wood scored just three goals. Crucially, though, they picked up 10 points as Garrard made them harder to beat. Even still, as his first season reached a conclusion, it looked as if the drop was inevitable. Three incredible wins in their last three games – at Aldershot, at home to Guiseley and at Welling on the final day – completed an unlikely story. For all Garrard’s subsequent achievements, keeping the club in the National League in that first season still ranks highly. With an average attendance of just 577, Boreham Wood were the butt of jokes from opposition fans. But staying up in 2015-16 set the foundations for what was to follow. A solid 11th-place finish and a run to the FA Trophy quarter-finals the next season was a solid return, but the club really made waves in the 2017-18 campaign. They beat league opposition in the FA Cup for the first time to set up a memorable away day at Coventry. And then Garrard took the team to a playoff final, securing a trip down Wembley Way thanks to a 3-2 win against Sutton in a never-to-be-forgotten semi-final. The final was heartbreaking for Wood fans. With Tranmere down to 10 men for most of the match, losing 2-1 felt like a missed opportunity. But, in truth, injuries to Kane Smith, Jamie Turley and Morgan Ferrier hit the team hard and many of the players seemed to be running on fumes. Looking at the bigger picture, even reaching the playoff final was remarkable: from the great escape to Wembley in just three seasons. The playoff hangover lasted a bit too long and the team struggled the next season but Garrard came again, leading them to the playoffs again in 2019-20. Sadly the Covid outbreak prevented any fans from attending the win over Halifax and the semi-final defeat at Harrogate. Even though the gates remained closed for most of the next season, Garrard still managed to put smiles on the faces of those watching online. A run to the FA Cup third round for the first time in the club’s history may have been ended by second tier Millwall, but it was an appetiser for the fairy tale of the 2021-22 competition. Garrard put the club firmly on the map by leading them to the FA Cup fifth round in an adventure that still defies belief. It all started with a delicious win at local rivals Barnet in the fourth qualifying round. A comfortable 2-0 win over Eastleigh in the first round proper, and a 4-0 thrashing of neighbours St Albans in front of a record Meadow Park crowd of 4,101 then set up a tie with League One strugglers AFC Wimbledon. The 2-0 win was not a complete surprise, which demonstrated just how far the club had come. And then there was Bournemouth. A Sunday evening that still brings goosebumps to the body, a mass of limbs in the away end, as skipper Mark Ricketts scored a winner against a team that would end the season being promoted to the Premier League. The beauty of the FA Cup apparent for all to see live on ITV. At the end, Garrard stood and appreciated the occasion. With tears in his eyes, he could now prepare to take his club to Goodison Park in the last 16 of the FA Cup. On another memorable night for all those who made the trip to Merseyside, the team acquitted themselves bravely, keeping Everton out for nearly an hour before succumbing 2-0. It was no secret that Garrard had offers from other clubs, understandably so considering what he had achieved. Hunter always told him of these approaches but his manager stayed loyal. Both were chasing the dream of league football, of another trip to Wembley. Small town, big dreams. There were, and are, those who mock the club. The word “tinpot” is often used on social media. Yes, attendances are relatively low but average gates are now over the 1,000 mark at Meadow Park. And maybe their tactics and approach frustrate opposition fans, but it is a results business. Staying up and becoming a solid National League side is not as easy as it looks. Boreham Wood’s current campaign highlights just how difficult a league this is. Rewind to 7 May 2023 and it could have all been so very different. After eliminating Barnet in the playoff quarter-final, the club were 60 seconds from Wembley as they tried desperately to hold on to their 2-1 lead against Notts County. And then pain. Conceding an equaliser was bad enough, but the 120th-minute winner added a ton of salt to the gaping wounds. It takes a lot to get over a match like that and perhaps that disappointment spilled over into this season. Missing out on players, some signings that didn’t work and a crippling run of injuries put the club on the backfoot immediately. Fans didn’t want to admit it, but secretly we knew Boreham Wood were getting dragged into a relegation scrap. An alarming 4-0 defeat at Oxford City; the embarrassing 6-0 loss at Barnet; last-minute equalisers conceded; the usually resolute defence being breached far too many times, especially from set pieces. Six defeats on the spin, including four goals conceded in consecutive matches over the Easter weekend, left the Wood in the bottom four. And then came the announcement. It was no surprise to hear Garrard would step down at the end of the season. Nevertheless there was so much sadness when the club statement was released. My time following the club began with the Whitehawk playoff final nine years ago. As my son developed a love of the game, I really wanted him to get a taste of going to football matches: the joy, despair and emotional involvement that comes with this experience. As Arsenal supporters who found it too costly to watch matches on a regular basis we, like many, turned to non-league football. At first we were just happy to watch the matches and enjoy time together. But as ever with these things, football can get under your skin. Garrard has been there throughout, as we progressed from occasional visitors to season ticket holders, with my mum, dad and my son’s friend now also on board. We could never have believed the highs and lows the gaffer would lead us through. The great escape; Sutton in the heat; Wembley; an FA Cup run from Edgware to Liverpool; dejection but pride at Notts County; and please, just one more chapter: part two of the great escape. A win at Aldershot has given us a chance, just as it did in 2016. Let’s hope for the same end result come Saturday. Thank you Luke. What started as a chance for us to watch regular football coincided with your amazing achievements at this club. You have created so many happy memories for me and my family, for members of the Wood Army, and for your boss, something that should fill you with pride. A club legend who will rightly be celebrated on Saturday. It’s been a blast.