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Two goals in two minutes
midway through the second half sealed the points for Hayes & Yeading United in a game that offered little else to
entertain the hardy spectators who braved the biting north east wind on
Boxing Day in West London.
Injuries to Pat Sappleton and Lee Newman led Johnson Hippolyte to give Nevin Saroya his debut in central defence and recall Ashley Smith
on the right wing. Despite HAYU
bringing in new forwards in the shape of the much travelled Omari Coleman and Wycombe youngster Calum
Botham, the Maidenhead defence had little to do
in the first half an hour of the game, with the home team penned back in
their half as the Magpies enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.
However Maidenhead were
unable to fashion a goalscoring opportunity to
test Aaron Howe in the HAYU goal, and having been let off the hook the home
team took no hesitation in seeking to punish the Magpies for their
impotence. It was left to Shane Gore
to keep the score goalless at the interval with a good save one minute into
stoppage time. Josh Scott had let
fly with a shot from just outside the area.
Ben Surey did his best to block the effort
but only succeeded in deflecting the ball.
Fortunately Gore saw the change in direction and managed to scramble
the ball away with his legs.
After the break HAYU laid
siege to the Maidenhead goal, several crosses flying through the penalty
eluding everyone. Maidenhead seemed
to have weathered the storm and indeed came close to scoring as the game
wore on. First Bobby Behzadi emulated Scott’s earlier effort, this
time Tom Cadmore’s intervention deflecting
the ball wide of the post, then with twenty minutes remaining good work
from Ashley Nicholls and Richard Pacquette set up
Behzadi once more. Just as the right back was about to pull
the trigger Botham nipped in but only succeeded
in looping his clearance goalward, forcing Howe
to tip the ball over the bar at full stretch.
This let off sparked HAYU
into action and within five minutes they had the three points firmly in
their grasp. Firstly in the 73rd
minute Scott picked up a long clearance from Danny Allen-Page and ran clear
of the defence. Gore bravely dived
at his feet and seemed to collect the ball but could not hold onto it,
allowing Scott a second bite at the cherry which he gratefully accepted,
firing the ball home. Two minutes
later HAYU doubled their lead when Gary MacDonald headed home a free kick
from the right wing at the far post.
Although Maidenhead battled hard to get back into the game it was
HAYU who came closest to scoring in the dying minutes, Gore producing a Schmeichelesque
block to foil Scott from bagging a brace.
HAYU: Howe, Allen-Page, MacDonald, Cadmore, Ruby, Marwa, Mulley
(76 James), Gregory, Coleman (84 Perkins), Scott, Botham.
Unused subs: Collins,
Solomon, Preddie.
Caution: Scott 39.
Goals: Scott 73, MacDonald
75.
Crowd 331.
Magpies: Gore, Behzadi (82
Williams), Baddeley, Surey,
Sterling
(18 Nisbet), Saroya, Smith A (HT
Smith T), Nicholls, Pacquette, Baptiste, Binns.
Unused subs: Hinds, Carter.
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