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An
inspirational second half cameo from substitute Bobby Behzadi
delivered Maidenhead their fourth win of the season against St Albans at York Road on Bank Holiday.
With
less than half an hour to go, the game looked to be inexorably heading for
a goalless draw before Maidenhead manager Johnson Hippolyte
revitalised his troops with a double substitution. On came Behzadi
and awkward forward Mustafa Tyriaki, and almost
immediately the pair started to ask difficult questions of a hitherto
untroubled Saints defence. With Tyriaki introducing an element of physical threat in
the forward line, Behzadi found the room on the
right to fire in a superb shot which was too hot for Saints keeper Paul Bastock to handle.
Richard Pacquette was first to the loose
ball but put his shot wide from close range. With a goal suddenly in the offing United
upped the tempo, Dale Binns running virtually the
length of the pitch to deliver a perfect cross from the left which went
agonisingly close to being converted by the head of Pacquette. With eleven minutes remaining Pacquette finally found his shooting boots, picking up
a delightful through ball from Behzadi before
beating Bastock with a stunning finish from just
inside the penalty area.
The
goal gave Maidenhead the three points which earlier seemed unlikely in a
dour game which provided little to cheer for the crowd. Indeed it was St
Albans who came closest to scoring in the first half, Ben
Martin hitting the cross bar in the 38th minute. Then with fourteen minutes gone in the
second half, United had goalkeeper Shane Gore to thank when, with the
defence stood watching, he pulled off a good diving stop.
Magpies: Gore, Bradshaw, Bernard (83 Fyfield), Surey, Sterling, Nisbet, Smith A (64 Behzadi),
Nicholls, Pacquette, Newman (64 Tyriaki), Binns.
Unused
subs: Hamsher, Carter.
Goal:
Pacquette 79.
Crowd 426.
Saints: Bastock, Fisher,
Cousins, Bowditch, Martin B, Quilter, Cohen (59 Youngs),
Ridgeway (77 Martin S), Hakim, Clarke, Hunt (90 Twomey).
Unused
subs: Jinadu, Archer.
Cautions:
Martin B 88, Clarke 90+3.
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