Sharp Yaku adds finishing touch (12.04.04)

A LAWRENCE Yaku goal early in the second half was all which separated these two well-matched teams on Monday.
On an unpredictable pitch and with an unpredictable referee, both teams served up an increasingly watchable affair during which the hosts started and finished the stronger, but the Magpies grabbed the crucial goal during their formative spell.
Individually none of the visitors’ players shone although Brendan Gallen was solid at the back alongside Andys Jennings and Dugdale, plus Yaku’s touch was impressive.
However this victory was about the Magpies playing combatively as a unit and not wilting under the pressure from their in-form hosts.
This resilient streak was displayed early on as, in a generally disappointing first half, Hayes enjoyed most of the possession and pressure.
But chances were at a premium until the latter stages.
A cross from Hayes’ David Warner clipped the top of the cross bar before dropping to safety, Peter Holsgrove flashed a shot from distance wide, and then Stuart Goodall should have done better from 15 yards but drove across the face of the goal.
The visitors’ only opportunity of the half came on 42 minutes, when a lump upfield from keeper Phil Wilson bounced neatly into the path of Yaku, but he shinned his attempted volley wide.
Holsgrove then nearly gave Hayes the lead in time added on, but his close range attempt was smothered by the agile Wilson.
The tempo continued to rise after the break aided by Yaku’s goal on 52 minutes.
A long pass to Richard Harris saw the well-built striker barge his way to the ball, and intelligently lay it off to Yaku. His first touch controlled the ball well and, although he did not get a great contact with his left foot shot, it was enough to steer the ball past the keeper and into an empty net.
The Magpies continued to give as good as they got during this period as both teams went close.
Hayes’ David Warner was put through on a one-on-one with Wilson on 60 minutes, but curled his effort wide, and a minute later he drilled the ball across the top of the six yard area after an underhit backpass from Jennings had put him free.
Gallen’s free-kick on 65 minutes was well saved by Gary Jallow and soon after Magpies substitute Peter Dean fired into the side netting after a run and pass from Yaku.
However as the clock ticked down, although the visitors retreated into the shell to protect their lead, for all their half-chances, Hayes never seemed capable of unlocking a determined defence.
By the end, even their keeper Jallow was coming up for set pieces and in injury time he could have snatched a point but his volley from the penalty spot, following a corner, was blasted out of the ground.
In essence this underlined the hosts problems – promising much but delivering little.
The Magpies, coming to a ground which Hayes consider something of a fortress, produced a commendable team effort, and took their chance when it surfaced.
A good day’s work, in the circumstances.

CLINICAL FINISHING: Lawrence Yaku rolls the ball past the Hayes keeper to earn the Magpies three valuable points on Monday at Church Road. Picture: Nigel Keene.