UNITED made hard work of their 3-2 win at York Road on Tuesday night, but finally ousted Slough from the Berks & Bucks Cup in a classic derby clash.
And the York Road faithful also found a new cup hero in Ricky Ibe, who provided two of United’s three goals, and scored the third himself.
If truth be told, the slightly unconventional striker could probably have had a hat-trick, his first chance falling on three minutes, when he raced onto a threaded through-ball and lobbed the keeper from 25 yards.
The effort drifted just wide of the angle, but Ibe was not to be put off and should have earned a penalty on nine minutes, when the desperate Slough defence pulled him off the ball after he had rounded the keeper. However the referee decided on a corner and Ibe had to wait for another chance.
Slough briefly posed a problem at the other end, with the pacey combination of Michael Gilkes and Michael Bartley, but the Magpies closed ranks and went back on the attack, Chris Ferdinand and Obinna Ulasi drawing good saves from Steve Mautone in the Slough goal.
The pressure was mounting and the Rebels were finally opened up on 23 minutes, when Ibe nodded Ferdinand’s corner to the far post, where Lee Channell swept the ball home.
To their credit, Slough came straight back, Gilkes testing Richard Barnard with a stinging free-kick. A goalmouth scramble ensued, but Maidenhead were not about to surrender their narrow lead and hung on until half-time.
After the break, United were looking to kill the game off with a second goal and did not have to wait long, as Channell forced a defensive error on 54 minutes, allowing Ibe to snap up the loose ball and steer it goalward into the unguarded net.
A minute later Slough were inches away from clawing their way back into the game again, Mark Hawthorne smashing a 35-yard drive onto Barnard’s bar.
But, normal service was quickly resumed, as United bagged their third goal, this time from a swinging Ferdinand free-kick, which Ibe headed back across the face of goal for Jamie Jarvis to direct home.
That should have been curtains for Slough, but Maidenhead had failed to quell the Rebels’ spirit, who pulled a goal back four minutes later, when McPherson powered a low header past Barnard.
The visitors then made some dramatic changes in their line-up and surprised everyone by setting off in pursuit of an unlikely win.
On 85 minutes Keiran Gallagher looked to have pulled another goal back, when he curled a long-range free-kick inside the far post.
There seemed nothing wrong with the goal, but the referee must have spotted something and – much to the annoyance of the away fans – disallowed it.
Slough continued to pour forwards, as wave after wave of attacks floundered on the United defence.
Then, on 87 minutes, the incessant pressure finally forced Tom Hickey into a careless challenge on Sammy Winston inside the box – and the referee pointed to the spot.
Simon Ullathorne dispatched the penalty with aplomb and so began a frenetic nine minutes of football, as Slough desperately sought the equaliser.
A goalmouth scramble in injury-time had the fans holding their collective breath, but United finally cleared the danger and clung on for a very narrow win.

Maidenhead: Barnard, Ferdinand, Morley, Kelly, Jarvis, Jeffrey, Hickey, Ibe, Channell, Rake, Ulasi. Subs: Scott (for Channell, 83), Connor (for Rake, 83).

Slough: Mautone, Howard, Daly, Stott, McPherson, Ullathorne, Winston, Roach, Bartley, Gilkes. Subs: Haynes (for Gilkes, 72), Gallagher (for Roach, 72)