Dugdale red card wings Magpies (28.02.04)

A CONTROVERSIALl fourth-minute dismissal robbed Maidenhead United of their big cup day on Saturday.
Nine-to-one outsiders before the match, the Magpies were always going to find it tough to test their high-flying hosts.
However, being reduced to 10 men within minutes of the kick-off meant the match was effectively over before it had begun.
The trouble started when Phil Wilson parried a shot into the path of Lee Boylan, who stabbed the ball goalwards only to see it partially smothered.
Unfortunately the ball ran loose again and Boylan’s second attempt was turned off the line by Andy Dugdale. There were no audible appeals from either players or supporters, but the linesman indicated handball and the referee sent Dugdale to the changing rooms.
Boylan dispatched the resulting spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner and United’s game was up.
To their credit, the Magpies did create a couple of half-chances in the following few minutes, with Lawrence Yaku scuffing a shot just wide of the post on nine minutes, while Adam Durrant was well tackled just as he went to shoot a minute later.
However the Gulls killed the game off on 16 minutes, when Jeff Minton struck a dipping shot from a tight angle which sneaked inside the far post via Wilson’s outstretched hand and the woodwork.
United continued to give it their all and were unluckily denied by the post on 30 minutes when Yaku applied the final touch to Craig Farley’s cross.
But the rest of the half belonged to Canvey who extended their lead on 37 minutes when a perfectly weighted through-ball released Chris Duffy to steer the ball past Wilson.
United swapped formation from 3-5-1 to 3-4-2 after the break, as the tiring Durrant was replaced by Steve Hale.
Canvey could not have been less bothered, as their rock-solid defence dealt just as efficiently with two strikers as it had with one.
At the other end, Boylan continued to harass United’s backline and would have completed his brace on 55 minutes, but for a magnificent challenge from Kelvin McIntosh. Manager John Dreyer then began throwing his remaining substitutes into the fray but to no avail, as Canvey continued to dominate both territory and possession.
Farley prevented an almost certain goal on 71 minutes, as he blocked a fierce strike with his nether regions before collapsing to the ground and blocking the follow-up shot with his backside.
However, there was nothing United could do to prevent it from becoming 4-0 in the final minute of normal time when Gavin Cowan swept the ball home from close range to seal the Magpies’ fate.