Ryan Peters Reflects On Tough Battle Against Oldham

Maidenhead United battled hard for a 2-2 draw against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night. 

 

The Magpies scored twice in the opening 45, with the visitors clawing one back on the cusp of half-time. 

 

Assistant Manager Ryan Peters praised his side’s performance against an Oldham side which is challenging for promotion. 

 

“I think we weathered the storm right throughout the game if I'm honest,” Peters told Scott Hargreaves after the game. “These are a particularly good side. They've lost one in seven games; we knew it was going to be a tough battle, but we went 2-0 up. What you want to try and do is try and get into a half-time 2-0 up. 

 

“They scored right on the on the death of half time, which didn't help. But I thought we defended really well, which is a slight contradiction see as we've let in two goals, but they both were from set pieces - probably two set pieces we can do better with, but overall, I thought it was a really good defensive display.” 

 

United would see less of the ball in the second half as the Latics pushed for an equaliser. A post and a crossbar came to the Magpies’ rescue, although it wasn’t to be a maiden win over Oldham as Charlie Raglan bagged a goal which saw the points shared. 

 

“Normally we come out quite slow second half,” Peters said on Tuesday night. “I don't think we did this time. I just thought they were a particularly good side and they penned us in for most of the game - that was first half and second half. We had spells where we were able to get Reece Smith and Sammy Barrett the ball to create things, but it wasn't enough in 90 minutes. They're a good side, I'll say again, one of the sides that I imagine is going to be challenging to go up this season, but again, like you said, another point on the board and we go again.” 

 

Injuries hampered United’s start to the season, with several key players resigned to the treatment table. One of whom, Kane Ferdinand, returned last night for his first appearance in a black-and-white shirt in the 2024/25 campaign. 

 

“We had Kane who came off the bench today which is brilliant news,” Peters explained. “We've got a few more that are training again - it's probably going to be a week or two before we will see them in action, but it'll bolster our side. We want to keep this run going and they will come in, of course, to help with that.” 

 

The Magpies have been subject to a brutal fixture list this October. The new National League Cup competition commenced at the beginning of the month, while a replay in the FA Cup added another fixture to an already congested fixture list. 

 

Squad preparation can be key in such a scenario, with Peters noting the differences between how full-time outfits can prepare for a game. 

 

“[Oldham] were able to come down on Monday, have a leisurely stroll and do things the way they wanted to do in preparation for the game today,” the Assistant Manager explained. “Us, we finish training, we go to work, we turn up here after work to play again. 

 

“It's going to look no different for this game on Saturday; we're going to go to work, we're going to train as best as we can do ready for that game on Saturday, but we're not going to change anything - we're going to keep going as best as we can and try and pick up some more points where we can.”