THE MAGPIES conceded two goals in a minute just before the final whistle to lose a scrappy mid-table encounter at Sutton on Saturday, when a draw would have been the fair result.
Having taken the lead on 40 minutes through Rob Saunders, the Magpies got men behind the ball in the second half and, although they created little themselves, seemed to have comfortably dealt with anything the home side could throw at them.
But goals on 86 and 87 minutes saw the points cruelly snatched away from them and sent Sutton into hyperactive celebrations.
Although this was a dramatic end to a tough battle, the game will be remembered more for the referee, who was very poor, and the Sutton players and supporters, who turned whingeing into an art form.
The man in black started badly by needlessly booking Obinna Ulasi for a trip on four minutes, and then progressively got worse as he allowed a lot of overly physical play to continue, while stopping the game after every 50/50 challenge.
He was in part goaded, and then vilified, by the Sutton players and, in particular, supporters, who moaned at every tough challenge, queried every decision that went against them and were quick to label the Magpies a ‘dirty team’.
Their one-eyed approach to the match – surely even Cyclops had more peripheral vision – allied to the referee’s compete lack of control, added a sour note to the contest on the pitch.
There was no argument that the Magpies were the more physically dominant of the two teams, with Steve Croxford and Jamie Jarvis sailing close to the wind on a number of occasions, but it was nothing extreme.
However it does underline that they are no soft touch, and every team in the Premier Division knows it.
A strong wind and heavy pitch took their toll on the quality of this game, although both sides had opportunities to find the back of the net.
Saunders and Lee Channell both had good half-chances to lob the keeper after breaking free of their markers, but neither eventually tested the keeper.
Sutton for their part had most of the possession before the interval, but never forced keeper Richard Barnard into a save.
However it was the visitors who broke the deadlock when Jarvis won the ball in midfield, slipped a pass to Channell who pushed the ball into the path of Saunders.
With Sutton’s defence static, claiming offside, Saunders, having looked over his shoulder to see the assistant referee’s flag stay down, broke forward and placed a left-foot drive past the keeper.
Despite inaccurate cries from the Sutton faithful of ‘he was four yards off-side,’ the goal stood.
After the break, the organised Magpies defence coped manfully as Sutton pressed forward. Scott Corbett saw his shot blocked on the line by Ulasi and when, inside the final 10 minutes, Matt Fowler’s excellent volley crept inches wide, the points seemed in the bag for the visitors.
However, Eddie Akuamoah then delivered two pinpoint crosses, one for Dave Timothy to nod in from the back post, and then a second, from a corner, that was allowed into the six-yard area for Michael Mison to tap home.
It was an unexpected ending to an uncompromising contest – no argument about that.

Sutton United: Dunn, Palmer, Gonsalves, Mison, Timothy, Honey, Wingfield, Corbett, Hammonds, Haworth, Akuamoah. Subs: Fowler (for Gonsalves, 66), Gray (for Wingfield, 82), Barley (not used).
Maidenhead United: Barnard, Rose, Connor, Kelly, Croxford, Jeffrey, Jarvis, Ibe, Channell, Saunders, Ulasi. Subs: McConigley (for Saunders, 77), Allen (for Channell, 82), Rake (not used).