Report: First Victory of the Season for Maidenhead United in Second Half Comeback

Maidenhead United secured their first win of the season on a glorious Bank Holiday Monday at York Road in a 2-1 win over Horsham. 

 

Alan Devonshire named four changes to the starting XI which played at Weston two days prior. Jordon Ragguette returned from illness, while Dev put together a new front three comprising of Jayden Mitchell-Lawson, Caluum Harriott, and Corie Andrews. 

 

Horsham had the first opportunity of the game at the ten-minute mark. Jordon Ragguette played an errant pass to his teammate, allowing Rhys Murphy to have a pop at goal. With the United centre-halves closing in, Murphy shot and forced a diving save from Jordi van Stappershoef. 

 

The drinks break, enforced by blistering sunshine on a 27 degrees Celsius afternoon in Maidenhead, came and went without much in the way of chances for either side. Come the half-hour mark, Harvey Sparks made it 2-0 in terms of opportunities, when a poor clearance was met with an equally poor header straight into the hands of van Stappershoef. 

 

Horsham’s opportunities paid off at the third time of asking. Shamir Fenelon took advantage of a quick free kick which caught the Magpies’ defence unawares, blasting home past van Stappershoef in the 40th minute. 

 

 

Devonshire made two changes at half-time, with Josh Umerah and Liam Dulson joining the field. The former’s impact was almost instantaneous, forcing Lewis Carey into his first save of the afternoon. 

 

Carey’s stop trickled out for a corner, and moments later United equalised. A rising header from Remy Clerima hammered past Carey in the 50th minute, much to the jubilation of the 1,101 in attendance. 

 

The temperature was rising at York Road, and so were the tensions. A nasty lunge on Dulson by Jack Strange prompted only a caution by the referee, although on another day it could have perhaps been a red card. 

 

United had pulled off a complete turnaround from the lacklustre first half, and took the lead for the first time in three-and-a-half halves of football in the 74th minute. An excellent ball from Dulson to Josh Popoola, who’d replaced the injured Asher Yearwood earlier in the game, allowed the winger to cross to Jayden Mitchell-Lawson and head home from three yards out. 

 

Having removed the deficit and taken the lead, the Magpies had 23 minutes to hold on once the eight minutes of stoppage time had been factored in. Both teams had played just 48 prior, but United continued to be the stronger of the two, and the closing stages played out without much in the way of drama, securing a first victory of the season for Maidenhead. 

 

 

Magpies: van Stappershoef, Ragguette, de Havilland, Harriott (Umerah, 46’), Yearwood (Popoola, 38’), Andrews (Dulson, 46’), Ferdinand, Mitchell-Lawson (Dundas, 90’), Robinson, Cochrane, Clerima 

 

Horsham: Carey, Sparks, Philpot, Strange, Hammond, Murphy (Roberts, 66’), Fenelon (Ogunwamide, 75’), Brivio, Agyemang (Hester-Cook, 57’), Meekums (Elliot, 82’), Harding (Hammond, 88’) 

 

Attendance: 1,101