Keywood double sinks defiant Rebels (Story posted 1.08.02)

IF TUESDAY night’s thrilling tussle with Slough Town is anything to go by, Maidenhead United fans are in for an exciting season.
Fielding yet another experimental side, Alan Devonshire’s burgeoning squad stretched out a 3-1 lead over their local rivals, only to see the Rebels hit back to level the scores.
However, with the seconds counting down, trialist Grant Keywood snatched a late victory with his second goal of the match – and his third in two outings.
Devonshire said: “Slough took it very seriously last night.
“I made nine changes during the game, including four or five boys I hadn’t seen play before.
“We still won. It just goes to show how far we have come.”
It was certainly an impressive performance against a quality side, which has been strengthened with a number of experienced players over the summer break.
But, that said, many were expecting great things from United this year, in light of a string of convincing wins at the end of last season, when the Magpies downed three of the top seven clubs in the league.
However, Devonshire takes a more pragmatic approach, claiming past results are no guide to future performance.
He explained: “We have to be realistic. Last season counts for nothing now.
“I would like to think we can finish higher than we did last year, but it will be very tough.
“It’s a very hard league this year with four clubs going down.
“Hopefully we can get a good start and build from there.”
The signs are good, so far, with the Magpies’ single pre-season defeat coming at the hands of Nationwide Division 2 side Brentford. But even in defeat, there were plenty of positives to take away from the game, including some promising displays from United’s new signings.
Devonshire said: “We could have been in front by half-time but, saying that, it was our first game of the season and they had already played four.
“They went down to Crawley the Tuesday after we played them and beat them 6-0. I know Crawley are going for promotion this year, so that result is very good news for us.”
But this does leave Devonshire with a very knotty problem, albeit a rather pleasant one.
With all the new players coming to York Road he must now whittle the squad down to an elite band.
He said: “I have a good squad at the moment, the best I’ve ever had down there.
“I’ve got seven defenders – 10 including the wingbacks – eight midfielders and five strikers.
“It’s a squad of 23 players. We will need to trim that down, but it’s hard to make any judgements at the moment.
“We have a few friendly games left and I will have a closer look at some of the players. It’s also going to be a matter of how quickly they gel.”
Two new boys who have probably guaranteed their immediate futures at the club are Keywood and Yaku, who have already proved their worth in front of goal.
However, it is difficult to see who in the existing squad will make room for them. Watch this space.