Alleyne impresses his new boss despite miscue (Story posted 10.01.02)

BURNHAM exile Anthony Alleyne made a lively but inauspicious start for Maidenhead United on Tuesday night – but still did enough to please his new boss.
In United’s midtable clash with Chesham United, new signing Alleyne was sent on in place of the wayward Ricky Ibe with 15 minutes to play – and with the Magpies trailing by a goal to nil.
His impact was almost instant, as he twice put Adrian Allen through with two neat glancing headers.
But, when he finally found himself in front of goal, he was not quite as convincing.
As he went to shoot, his standing leg slipped away, causing him to miss the ball completely and end up in an undignified heap on the deck.
However, despite the slip up, coach Alan Devonshire said he was impressed with his new striker and would be starting him in Wednesday night’s friendly at Wycombe Wanderers.
He said: “He showed enough in the 15 minutes he was on. I was pretty pleased with him.
“He’s very quick. I’ve seen the tools he’s got and that’s why I went after him.
“The fall didn’t affect his confidence. He kept working hard afterwards and I was pleased with that too. Some players would have dropped their heads, but he got up and went after it.”
And, in all fairness, Alleyne was not the only player to squander chances in front of goal.
Devonshire added: “There was some poor finishing, but I put a lot of that down to the pitch.
“I was told Chesham had a youth team match on Sunday and the groundsman hadn’t been on it since.
“The pitch looked awful.”
But there was genuine disappointment that United had failed to salvage something from the match.
Devonshire said: “We should have got a result. I wasn’t pleased with our performance in the first half, but in the second half I think we deserved something out of the game.”
On Saturday, United overturned struggling Bedford United 2-1 at York Road, although it was a patchy performance.
Midfielder Barry Rake was at his inspirational best covering the whole pitch to help drag the Magpies to all three points
Tomorrow (Saturday), United travel to Hertfordshire to take on Hitchin Town.
Devonshire said it would be unwise to underestimate their hosts, as they had won four of their last six games.
He said: “They’re on a bit of a roll and I’m expecting a tough game.”
United do not have a midweek fixture.