TWO dreadful defensive blunders cost Maidenhead United maximum points on Tuesday night, as they were held to a draw by struggling Heybridge.
After a dire opening 13 minutes, Leon Hunter fired the visitors into the lead in the strangest of circumstances, when defender Dean Coppard thought the ball had gone dead and stopped playing.
With Coppard turning away, Kevin Budge seemingly kept the ball alive, turned towards goal and stroked the ball to the waiting Hunter, who calmly steered his shot past Richard Barnard.
Stung into life, United created several half-chances over the next few minutes, with Joe Nartey constantly at the heart of the action. However, it was midfielder Ryan Ashe who got them back in the game, when he swept the ball into the roof of the net from Grant Keywood’s 27th minute corner.
It was at this point that wing-back Craig Webster started to make his mark on the game, as he began launching increasingly frequent raids down the right.
On one such foray, the youngster almost gifted United the lead, when he robbed his opposite number and lifted a superb ball to the far post, forcing the keeper to palm the ball straight to Lee Channell.
Unfortunately, last year’s top scorer had no time to react and the ball simply cannoned into the side netting.
After the interval, it appeared Heybridge had given up the chase, as United compressed play into their opponents’ half.
However, another defensive faux pas was about to cost United dear, when, under no real pressure, Brian Connor attempted to pass the ball back to Richard Barnard but inadvertently dollied it to Neil Cousins, who sprinted on and lifted the ball over the isolated keeper.
Fortunately, man of the match Webster rescued a point for the Magpies three minutes later, when he picked up the ball 35 yards from goal, ghosted through three challenges and rifled the ball into top right-hand corner.
United really should have wrapped it up after that and probably would have done, had it not been for some rather casual play in front of goal. Within the next few minutes, Andy Cook missed the target with two headers and then steered a third straight into the relieved keepers arms, and Channell failed to get a shot away when one-on-one with the keeper, albeit with his back to goal.
Heybridge then caused a brief goalmouth melee at the other end, but United hit straight back, with substitute Adrian Allen skinning a tiring defence before sending a perfect low ball across the face of goal, which lacked nothing but a final touch.
In the dying minutes, Heybridge won a rare corner, but the Magpies comfortably held on for the final whistle.

Maidenhead United: Barnard, Webster, Connor, Cook, Durrant, Coppard, O’Connor, Channell, Nartey, Ashe, Keywood. Subs: Boyce, Elsegood, Morley (for Ashe, 45), Yaku (for O’Connor, 78), Allen (for Nartey, 68)
Heybridge Swifts: Schutz, Hadrava, Barber, Bourgeois, Kersey, Pollard, Cousins, Hunter, Budge, Window. Subs: Tomlinson (for Barber, 68), Baillie, Dignum (for Bourgeois, 41), Marks (for Window, 84), Clarke.