Yaku inspires sensational win (05.05.03)

A SENSATIONAL hat-trick from the irrepressible Lawrence Yaku handed Maidenhead United a stunning victory over Aylesbury at Chesham on Monday, as the Magpies romped to a fourth Berks & Bucks Cup title in six years.
Missing first choice midfielders Paul Kelly, Ryan Ashe and Matt Glynn, even the most optimistic Magpies were predicting a closely contested affair.
However, in the event, United simply blew the Ducks out of the water.
In a totally one-sided first half, Yaku was almost off the mark as early as the fourth minute, only for Ducks keeper Lee Worgan to snatch Richard O’Connor’s dangerous cross off his head.
Players’ player of the year Andy Cook then fired into the side netting a few minutes later.
Amazingly, Aylesbury continued to ignore the warning signs and promptly paid the price, when Worgan’s rushed clearance ricocheted off a defender, leaving Yaku to steer the loose ball into an empty net on eight minutes.
Two minutes later, the Ducks’ luck appeared to have changed, when they survived a seemingly valid handball claim.
However, fate quickly turned on them again, when Yaku intercepted a loose pass in midfield and released Allen with a beautifully weighted through-ball.
Sprinting into the box, Allen still had two defenders and Worgan to beat, which he achieved with apparent ease, before slipping the ball inside the far post.
Having effectively sealed the result inside 12 minutes, United went on to dominate what remained of the first half and could have made it 5-0 by the break.
Cook almost increased United’s lead from another miscued clearance on 14 minutes, before Allen stung Worgan’s hands with a powerful drive three minutes later.
Aylesbury then wasted their best chance of the half, when some casual defending forced Richard Barnard to save with his feet to deny Chris Bangura.
However, it was all one-way traffic from then on, with Yaku deservedly completing his brace on the half hour, when he beat the offside trap, scorched away from the flat-footed Ducks’ defence and dinked home a rebound off the keeper.
Trailing 3-0, with 60 minutes still to play, Aylesbury belatedly launched a damage limitation exercise and managed to keep United at bay until the break.
But, spurred on by the half-time team-talk, United resumed their former dominance after the restart, only for Yaku to squander three golden opportunities in the opening six minutes – including two one-on-ones with Worgan.
Thankfully, his profligacy was short lived and he duly completed his hat-trick on 67 minutes, after Ulasi opened up the Ducks’ defence and picked out Allen on the edge of the area.
Cutting into the six-yard box, Allen drew the keeper – and the remaining defenders – before generously squaring to the unmarked Yaku, who rifled the ball into the far corner to round-off a memorable hat-trick.
With their goose well and truly cooked, Adam Campion eventually bagged a consolation goal for the Ducks from the spot, after the referee succumbed to a ridiculous penalty appeal.
Fortunately, an equally ridiculous appeal went unheeded soon after, giving manager Alan Devonshire the confidence to throw his substitutes into the fray for an end-of-season run out.
The changes unsettled United’s former fluency up front, but the defence continued to hold firm and reached full-time without conceding any further goals, although Aylesbury did hit the woodwork with a scrambled effort in added time.
All in all, a superb allround team performance from the Magpies, and a fitting send-off for the club’s most successful manager of all time.

CLOSE CONTROL: Lawrence Yaku in action on Monday. Ref: 81523/53.

Maidenhead United: Barnard, Webster, Connor, Cook, Durrant, Jeffrey, O’Connor, Yaku, Morley. Subs: Nartey (for Allen, 69), Keywood (for O’Connor, 93), Channell (for Yaku, 82), Jennings, Hart.
Aylesbury United: Worgan, Williams, Gell, Gordon, Ifura, McGrath, Campion, Hunter, Bangura, Maskell, Dicker. Subs: Wiffin, Ibe (for Williams, 74), Joe (for Dicker, 62), Rolf, Baker (for Hunter, 74).