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A
delightful lob from Richard Pacquette two minutes
from time saw Maidenhead win through to the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup
semi finals in a hard fought tie against a combative Bracknell Town
team.
With this
being the only piece of silverware left for the Magpies, Johnson Hippolyte opted to field a strong team, with the only concession
to the humble opposition being a debut for goalkeeper Warren Carter.
With the
slope in their favour, Bracknell
tore into United from the kick off and almost took the lead with little
more than a minute on the clock when a Nathan Jack shot was cleared off the
line by Jamal Fyfield. Maidenhead slowly
began to exert their influence as the half wore with the powerful Mustafa Tyriaki at the centre of most forward moves, but were
unable to test the Bracknell
keeper and the score remained goalless at the break.
The second
half began in an identical fashion to the first with Maidenhead haring down
the slope. This time Lee Newman’s effort from a tight angle on the
right after seventy seconds was too good for the goalkeeper Max Aneke, and the Magpies had the lead. Any thoughts
that the home team would simply roll over were quickly dispelled as the Robins,
who beat MK Dons in the previous round, tore into United.
With just over an hour on the clock, Bracknell
equalised when a cross from the right wing rattled the cross bar and
dropped kindly for the unmarked Chris Geary who tapped the ball over the
line.
The game
then descended into a typical cup tie with Bracknell defending deep in numbers,
soaking up the waves of Maidenhead attacks, before launching swift ripostes
with direct balls up the slope. With twelve minutes remaining one of these
assaults ended with a free kick to the Robins from just outside the penalty
area which Keith Newby curled round the wall only to see the ball hit the
post.
With the
spectre of extra time beginning to loom over Larges Lane, the Magpies then won the
game with two minutes thanks to an exquisite lob from Pacquette
from a full thirty yards out.
United
will face the winners of the Windsor and Chesham tie, which is due to take
place next week, in the semi final at York Road in March.
Robins: Aneke, Curtis, James, Clarke, Buck (49 Edmunds), Newby,
Dexter, Williams, Geary, Jack, Solomon. Unused subs: Payne, Harvey, Grant,
Baker.
Goal:
Geary 61.
Magpies: Carter,
Smith T, Fyfield, Hinds, Sappleton
(68 Baddeley), Nisbet,
Newman, Nicholls, Tyriaki (49 Smith A), Baptiste (74 Pacquette), Binns.
Goals:
Newman 47, Pacquette 88.
Crowd:
110
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