|
Despite playing the last twenty minutes with only ten
men, Chelmsford
edged home 2-0 in this typically tight top of the table tussle.
In front of a season’s best crowd of 782 at York Road, both
teams manfully set about their task of trying to be top dog in the Blue Square South. It was a game of differing styles,
Maidenhead aiming to break through the back line with swift, direct balls
whilst Chelmsford
preferred a more patient approach building through the middle. This produced little in the way of
chances in the first half with perhaps Maidenhead giving marginally the
better performance.
The second half was definitely Chelmsford’s. At the back they denied Maidenhead any
joy from set pieces and going forward they pushed Shane Gore into making
two good saves before scoring the game’s two goals.
Star man Dave Rainford was at
the centre of much of Chelmsford’s
good work, firing in a free kick in the 58th minute which was saved at full
stretch by Shane Gore. Ten minutes later the Clarets went in front when Rickly Holmes picked up a stray pass just inside his
own half and scampered down the left wing.
The ball eventually reached Jeff Minton on the edge of the penalty
area who neatly slotted the ball low into the right hand corner. Maidenhead poured forward in search of an
equaliser and instantly looked to be enroute to
goal when Richard Pacquette chased down a ball
over the top, only to be impeded by Steve Robinson. Robinson was dismissed but United could
not profit from the resulting free kick.
As the game wore on Gore kept the Magpies in the game
with a great block from Rainford who only had the
keeper to beat but with a minute remaining Chris Moore sealed the points
when he exploited United’s attacking commitment by picking up the loose
ball and going through to score. The
results reaffirmed Chelmsford’s
top spot although the Magpies can take comfort in their two games in hand.
Magpies: Gore, Smith T (86 Behzadi), Fyfield, Surey, Sterling,
Nisbet, Smith A (72 Newman), Nicholls, Pacquette, Baptiste (63
Williams), Binns.
Unused subs: Bernard, Carter.
Caution: Surey 52
Crowd: 782.
Clarets: Gay, Miller, Knight (HT
James), Duncan, Robinson, Rainford, Berquez, Minton, Keeling, Moore, Holmes (74 Cousins).
Unused subs: Brayley, Lawson,
Harrison
Cautions: Robinson 22, Keeling 47.
Dismissal: Robinson 69.
Goals: Minton 68, Moore 89
|
