Urchins given prickly reception (16.03.04)

MAIDENHEAD United claimed a hard-earned but well-deserved point at York Road on Tuesday night, in an entertaining tussle with Hornchurch.
The early indications were not particularly good for the Magpies, as central defender Andy Jennings was taken off after 10 minutes with a facial injury.
Brian Connor came off the bench to replace his stricken team-mate, only to concede a penalty with his first touch of the game, as the Hornchurch No.7 Jon Keeling went to ground under the defender’s challenge.
Vinnie John stepped up to take but Phil Wilson was equal to the spot-kick and made a fine save, low to his right.
The incident seemed to spark some life into the Magpies, who began pushing their visitors back into their own half.
However, the Essex boys still proved dangerous on the counter-attack, with Albert Brayley drifting a speculative lob just over the bar on 20 minutes, and then forcing man of the match Andy Dugdale to make a last-ditch tackle just minutes later.
The tall centre-half saved United’s bacon again on 34 minutes, when Wilson fumbled a high ball into the box, leaving Dugdale to clear the resulting shot off the line.
Having shaded the first half, Hornchurch were perhaps unfortunate to reach the turn a goal down, courtesy of a Ryan Ashe wonder-goal in added time.
Winning the ball in midfield, Ashe released Rob Martin down the left flank before cutting into the box to receive the well judged return pass.
Flicking the ball over the last defender with the outside of his boot, Ashe caught the dropping ball with a clean half-volley and lashed it across Daniel Gay and inside the far post.
Perhaps displeased with his side’s performance, manager George Borg made his players stay on the pitch for most of the interval. The tactic failed to produce the desired result however, as it was United who dominated the early exchanges in the second half.
Dugdale headed just wide from a Rob Martin corner on 48 minutes, while Ashe really should have scored 10 minutes later, but headed Martin’s inch-perfect cross just over the crossbar.
Rob Haworth then had a clear chance from the edge of the box, but blazed wide with a volley, when a placed shot might have done the trick.
United were having the better of the chances but on balance Hornchurch probably deserved an equaliser, although when it came there was a distinct hint of fluke about it.
A free-kick just inside United’s half was swept into the danger zone, where Dugdale rose head and shoulders above the crowd to head the ball clear.
Unfortunately, one of his team-mates accidentally blocked the clearance, leaving Garry Abbott to smash home the loose ball.
Half-chances came and went in the remaining half hour, the best of which fell to recent signing Ben Hammond, who flashed a shot just wide of Gay’s post on 73 minutes.
However, the general feel of the game was that both sides would be satisfied with a draw – and that is how it ended.
Almost inevitably, the result leaves the Magpies in 14th place in the league, a position they appear to have made their own.