Maidenhead United 1-0 Eastleigh
MAIDENHEAD UNITED v EASTLEIGH
TUESDAY 12th APRIL
Blue Square Bet South
Report by Ray Murphy
As so often happens in football fate turns cruelly on those when you least need it. A victory for Eastleigh in their game in hand would elevate them into the play off positions with only four games remaining. Meanwhile Maidenhead United needed the points for their safety at the opposite end of the table, where a much needed three points would bring them in to touch with the teams immediately above the bottom three.
Warren Goodhind was suspended following his dismissal at Welling United a fortnight earlier so he was replaced by Ian Herring - Ross Bottomley taking his place on the bench those being the only changes from the side that had beaten Thurrock on Saturday.
The bad news for Eastleigh though was that the home side had not won at home in the league since 30th August. At that time Eastleigh had in their midfield the talented Will Hendry who unfortunately never settled at The Silverlake and moved on after only eleven appearances. Although injury has wrecked the season for Hendry it was he who claimed the games only goal. On five previous visits to York Road though, Eastleigh had never previously been defeated.
Skippered by ex-Eastleigh midfielder Ashley Nicholls the home side started quite brightly. On six minutes Jason Matthews saved Grant Coopers header from a Max Worsfold corner. Danny Smith whipped a cross straight through the six yard box on eleven minutes but with nobody on hand to apply the finishing touch. The usualyl reliable head of Tom Jordan met a Richard Graham corner on sixteen minutes but the header cleared the bar with Jordan inside the six yard box.
The game was never allowed to flow with the referee Ben Knight punishing the slightest of contacts, which saw him, caution seven players with hardly a bad foul in the match. On twenty-six minutes Maidenhead's central defender John Scarborough also should have done better when connecting with Anthony Thomas’ free kick but his effort cleared the bar too.
Matthews saved at the feet of Worsfold after twenty-eight minutes whilst seven minutes later Luke Byles’ shot from some thirty-five yards was off target. As the interval approached Jordan’s back header from Ian Herring's long throw was saved by Maidenhead goalkeeper Steve Williams, then another ex-Spitfire Jefferson Louis was the wrong side of Chris Holland but his effort lacked composure and the striker fired over.
Three minutes into the second period it was Hendry who added his name on the score sheet. Having started a move just inside the Eastleigh half, the ball being played out wide on the left to Thomas, Hendry made ground to throw himself at the resultant Thomas cross and position a header beyond Matthews into the bottom corner of the net.
Eastleigh tried all they could to get the goal back but never managed to pierce the Maidenhead defence. A minute after the goal Richard Gillespie saw a header saved by Williams then Holland produced a header from a Herring free kick but that was wide.
The further Eastleigh pressed the deeper the Maidenhead rearguard. On sixty-four minutes following one such counter Worsfold cut inside Holland then curled a shot from fully thirty yards that just went the wrong side of the upright though possibly covered by the fully stretched Matthews. Four minutes later Hendry's cross-field pass was met on the volley by Worsfold but Matthews was equal to the attempt.
After seventy minutes Graham's cross into the area saw Tony Taggart volley wide of the target. The Maidenhead defence smothered most of what Eastleigh could muster despite changing formation and as a final throw of the dice putting Jordan into the front line too. With four minutes remaining Graham's free kick to the far post saw Byles arriving with the Maidenhead defence completely unaware but Byles’ downward header bounced back across the face of goal and to safety.
Peter Adeniyi’s cross on eighty-eight minutes saw Anthony Riviere head wide but the final chance of the evening fell to the home side where Craig Faulconbridge whose effort was blocked after being set up by Nicholls.
Eastleigh now face their final four games and have to rely on other results going in their favour to get themselves back into the play off place. For Maidenhead they now have an intriguing home fixture to look forward too with Thurrock. If Maidenhead win then they are out of the bottom three and Thurrock will be dragged into it.
Warren Goodhind was suspended following his dismissal at Welling United a fortnight earlier so he was replaced by Ian Herring - Ross Bottomley taking his place on the bench those being the only changes from the side that had beaten Thurrock on Saturday.
The bad news for Eastleigh though was that the home side had not won at home in the league since 30th August. At that time Eastleigh had in their midfield the talented Will Hendry who unfortunately never settled at The Silverlake and moved on after only eleven appearances. Although injury has wrecked the season for Hendry it was he who claimed the games only goal. On five previous visits to York Road though, Eastleigh had never previously been defeated.
Skippered by ex-Eastleigh midfielder Ashley Nicholls the home side started quite brightly. On six minutes Jason Matthews saved Grant Coopers header from a Max Worsfold corner. Danny Smith whipped a cross straight through the six yard box on eleven minutes but with nobody on hand to apply the finishing touch. The usualyl reliable head of Tom Jordan met a Richard Graham corner on sixteen minutes but the header cleared the bar with Jordan inside the six yard box.
The game was never allowed to flow with the referee Ben Knight punishing the slightest of contacts, which saw him, caution seven players with hardly a bad foul in the match. On twenty-six minutes Maidenhead's central defender John Scarborough also should have done better when connecting with Anthony Thomas’ free kick but his effort cleared the bar too.
Matthews saved at the feet of Worsfold after twenty-eight minutes whilst seven minutes later Luke Byles’ shot from some thirty-five yards was off target. As the interval approached Jordan’s back header from Ian Herring's long throw was saved by Maidenhead goalkeeper Steve Williams, then another ex-Spitfire Jefferson Louis was the wrong side of Chris Holland but his effort lacked composure and the striker fired over.
Three minutes into the second period it was Hendry who added his name on the score sheet. Having started a move just inside the Eastleigh half, the ball being played out wide on the left to Thomas, Hendry made ground to throw himself at the resultant Thomas cross and position a header beyond Matthews into the bottom corner of the net.
Eastleigh tried all they could to get the goal back but never managed to pierce the Maidenhead defence. A minute after the goal Richard Gillespie saw a header saved by Williams then Holland produced a header from a Herring free kick but that was wide.
The further Eastleigh pressed the deeper the Maidenhead rearguard. On sixty-four minutes following one such counter Worsfold cut inside Holland then curled a shot from fully thirty yards that just went the wrong side of the upright though possibly covered by the fully stretched Matthews. Four minutes later Hendry's cross-field pass was met on the volley by Worsfold but Matthews was equal to the attempt.
After seventy minutes Graham's cross into the area saw Tony Taggart volley wide of the target. The Maidenhead defence smothered most of what Eastleigh could muster despite changing formation and as a final throw of the dice putting Jordan into the front line too. With four minutes remaining Graham's free kick to the far post saw Byles arriving with the Maidenhead defence completely unaware but Byles’ downward header bounced back across the face of goal and to safety.
Peter Adeniyi’s cross on eighty-eight minutes saw Anthony Riviere head wide but the final chance of the evening fell to the home side where Craig Faulconbridge whose effort was blocked after being set up by Nicholls.
Eastleigh now face their final four games and have to rely on other results going in their favour to get themselves back into the play off place. For Maidenhead they now have an intriguing home fixture to look forward too with Thurrock. If Maidenhead win then they are out of the bottom three and Thurrock will be dragged into it.
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