Magpies Shoot Down Spitfires in Second Half Comeback

Maidenhead United ramped home a fourth pre-season win over Eastleigh on Tuesday night after a fantastic second half comeback. 

 

Liam Dulson, having signed from Cheltenham the previous day, was the first to have a crack at goal with 20 minutes on the clock. His charge down the left flank culminated in a shot towards Trialist A, which was comfortably blocked. 

 

Trialist A was kept busy during the next passage of play when United were awarded a free kick on the edge of the final third. Asher Yearwood’s cross was punched away by the Eastleigh ‘keeper, and Harry Pritchard’s header forced a hasty save. 

 

Josh Popoola, playing his first game as a Maidenhead player after four appearances as a trialist, also found himself in the action. His shot from a tight angle was parried as far as Yearwood, who struck towards the uprights which was blocked by the Spitfires’ defence. 

 

Although United had the better chances, the visitors opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. A through ball was collected by Aaron Blair, who calmly slotted home past Jordi van Stappershoef. 

 

 

The Magpies emerged from the break an equaliser, with the combination of Yearwood and Ryan Bartley coming closest before the hour mark. The former’s header from the latter’s climbed steadily just above the crossbar, but it wasn’t long before the two linked up again one minute later. Yearwood this time was unable to reach Bartley’s short cross within the box, although Dulson was there to pass back to Owen Cochrane, who forced the Eastleigh ‘keeper into a magnificent one-handed save. 

 

United’s well-deserved equaliser came with a third of the match still to play. Pritchard, no stranger to scoring in front of the Bell Street End, collected the ball in plenty of space, powering a low shot into the bottom corner past a stricken Trialist A. 

 

The Magpies pressed for a winner in the closing stages, and new signing Dulson delivered with a rocket just minutes before full-time. His right-footed effort, possible thanks to a pass from Corie Andrews, slammed into the back of the net and secured a fourth pre-season win for Maidenhead. 

 

 

Magpies: van Stappershoef, Bartley, Ragguette, de Havilland (Clerima, 61’), Yearwood, Pritchard (Dundas, 89’), Umerah (Andrews, 70’), Dulson, Cochrane (Ferdinand, 61’), Popoola (Mitchell-Lawson, 70’), Onariase