Hayes lay ghosts to rest (08.02.05)

THE Magpies left Church Road unusually frustrated and disappointed on Tuesday night, after a match which saw Hayes take all three points with a goal at the end of each half.
United dominated the game, particularly the early stages, but were unable to turn pressure into goals, due in no small part to some heroics by Hayes keeper Kevin Davies.
In the first half he denied Craig O’Connor from close range on 10 minutes, following a game of pinball in the box, then pulled off a fantastic double save from both O’Connor and Lawrence Yaku in the 27th minute.
The defence was kept busy too, with Matt Gray making a superb interception to divert another goalbound effort from Yaku away for a corner.
Hayes gained some brief respite when Stuart Tanfield escaped down the left, but the winger shot too high from an acute angle.
Then just three minutes from the break David Warner put Kieran Knight through on goal, who took a single touch before slotting the ball past emergency stand-in keeper Adam Federici.
After half-time United continued to take the game to their hosts, Peter Adeniyi heading just over from a corner on 49 minutes, followed almost immediately by a long-range effort from Clark, which was comfortably saved by Davies.
The overdue equaliser arrived on 55 minutes, when a free-kick from inside the Hayes half found O’Connor on the left, who unselfishly cut the ball back to Yaku to tap in from close range.
United continued to push forward in search of a winner but could find a way through the Hayes defence, with Davies quick off his line to deny Yaku on the hour, and Lee Kersey firing a 20-yard dipping effort just over the bar from the resulting corner.
Three minutes later came the dreaded sucker punch, when an Adam Everitt free-kick from the left was met with a superb finish from substitute Jon Dyer on the right of the penalty area to restore Hayes’ lead.
There was still time left for Dean Clark to bring another two good saves out of Davies, but for the first time in many years Hayes held on to lay their Maidenhead bogey to rest.


York Road supremo Dennis Greene admitted he was gutted by his first defeat as Magpies manager, saying: “It felt terrible. It was the best we've played since I’ve been here.
“We controlled the game and then had it taken away from us in the last few minutes.
“We had a lapse in concentration before half-time and lost a goal, but within 10 minutes of the restart we got back in it and looked like going on to win it. And then that happened.
“It’s a difficult one for me. I'm disappointed with losing, but I can't fault the display.
“If we play like that every week there's no way we’re going down.”
However, there was one question mark over United's ability to turn pressure into goals.
Greene conceded: “It was disappointing we didn't take our chances.
“If we had we could have been 4-1 up by half-time."