United Suffer Opening Day Defeat to Chesham

Maidenhead United started life in the Enterprise National League South with a disappointing home defeat to Chesham United, despite being given a lifeline through a debut goal by summer signing Josh Umerah. 

 

The Magpies were unbeaten in their pre-season matches but a side fielding nine new players failed to click on the opening day of competitive football in the York Road heat against a side who finished midtable in the division last season. 

 

Maidenhead actually started the more likely of the two sides, winning a number of set pieces. Sam Barratt glanced a header wide at the far post after a cross from the left hand side and for the visitors former Magpie Samson Esan hammered his shot over the top under pressure from Will De Havilland in what was in truth a rather tepid opening to the game. 

 

25 minutes into the new season, and the away side had the lead. Maidenhead will feel they had chances to clear in the build up before a ball across goal from the left was picked up at the far post by the unmarked Omar Rowe at the far post and he pulled it back to set up Alfie Young to bundle home. 

 

There was a scare a few minutes later when Jordi Van Stappershoef in the Maidenhead goal dropped a routine looking cross and in gaining the loose ball caused Chesham to appeal loudly for a penalty kick. 

 

Maidenhead were looking well off the pace at this stage, pinned back in their own half for long periods and it was only a long ball chased by Liam Dulson which gave the hosts some respite as a desperate clearance rebounded off a Chesham player to safety. The Magpies, however, could have been level by the break as Dulson saw his shot through a crowd of players cleared off the line. 

 

 

The early stages of the second half largely went the same way, with Chesham showing their threat as Esan easily beat De Havilland on the byline and his cross was put behind for a corner. It took Maidenhead until the hour mark to register another effort on goal, with Manny Onariase seeing his shot gathered by Generals’ goalkeeper Ben Goode right on the goalline. Thereafter the Magpies enjoyed much of the play, with Umerah failing to bundle the ball over the line after Asher Yearwood’s freekick was nodded across goal by Onariase. The equaliser did come with eighteen minutes remaining as Umerah steered home Yearwood’s cross at the near post, but there was to be another twist in this match. 

 

Perhaps fired up by the dismissal of a member of their coaching team for his protestations to the referee, Chesham went up a gear and substitute Giorgio Rasulo saw his shot from range scrambled away by van Stappershoef. With ten minutes remaining Chesham secured the three points as the Dutch ‘keeper dropped a corner, and the loose ball fell kindly to Generals skipper Callum Adebiyi to rifle home into an empty net. Maidenhead made desperate attempts to save the game – Onariase nodded a long throw from Barratt at Goode, before the Chesham goalkeeper saved a low drive from Umerah after substitute Corie Andrews had stretched the hard-working Chesham backline – but ultimately their own errors condemned Maidenhead to defeat. 

 

 

Magpies: Van Stappershoef, Bartley, Ragguette, De Havilland, Yearwood (sub Robinson ’86), Ferdinand, Umerah, Dulson (sub Andrews ’81), Cochrane (sub Popoola ’55), Barratt, Onariase. 

 

Subs not used: Collins, Mitchell-Lawson, McMenemy, Dundas.