The key talking point pre-match surrounded Abdul Abdulmalik, who was absent from the matchday squad, amid ongoing speculation linking him with a move to Swedish side Djurgardens.
However, the omission of their talismanic forward soon became a distant concern as they flew out of the traps to open the scoring inside just 62 seconds. Lewis Richardson controlled the ball with aplomb before intricately picking out Zak Brunt whose composed chip from close range looped over Ethan Ross.
Chances were aplenty for the visitors, with Charlie O’Connell and Matt Rush both going close, before their lead was extended with 18 minutes on the clock. Richardson continued to torment the Forest Green defence as a dinked finish was once again the route to goal after he got on the end of O’Connell’s pass.
The side that the Wood defeated in last season’s play-off eliminator, Robbie Savage’s side had a spell of dominance which culminated in Oliver Ewing hitting the post outside the box but Luca Gunter remained untroubled in between the sticks.
Nonetheless, the turn of the half resulted in Luke Garrard’s side regaining their control in the contest and Matt Rush came inches away from netting in three consecutive league matches after nearly turning in Brunt’s cross.
However, it was only a matter of time before the 25-year-old got his reward, as he struck his sixth goal of the campaign just before the hour mark. The Brunt-Rush combination once again worked to devastating effect, as the former put the ball on a plate for Rush with an inventive flick before he calmly found the corner.
A terrible afternoon for the hosts went from bad to worse as Tre Pemberton received his marching orders following a nasty challenge on Rush three minutes from time, as the Wood sealed their first-ever victory at The New Lawn.