Magpies left feeling flat at Cambridge (21.01.06)

TWO goals from Stephen Hughes made it two home wins on the spin for the Magpies in a hard-fought victory over Hayes on Saturday.
With both teams struggling to find form, chances were at a premium and neither goalkeeper was troubled for most of the first half.
Hayes started the stronger and made headway down the right wing, Marvin Bartley getting to the byline and crossing for Kieran Knight to flash a header wide in the 13th minute, and Stuart Goodall having his effort cut out by the ever-vigilant Nathan Bunce in the 28th minute.
But as the interval approached, United started to threaten, Hughes putting Ryan Ashe through in the 32nd minute, only for the midfielder to be pulled back by a defender, making for an easy save for Kevin Davies in the Hayes goal.
The deadlock was broken in the final minute of the first half, when a great tackle by Chris Wild caught Danny Jordan in possession.
The tall defender quickly found Hughes in space and the striker unleashed an unstoppable effort from the edge of the penalty area to put the Magpies ahead.
After the break the Magpies went for the killer second goal.
Hughes combined well with Brendan Gallen in the 56th minute to set up Ashe again, but Davies deflected his shot round the post.
Another United attack then saw Hughes muscled off the ball by former Magpie Orlando Jeffrey, who moved the ball forward quickly to Goodall on the right wing.
His cross to the unmarked Kieran Knight at the back post left his team-mate with the elementary task of slotting the ball into the back of the net to equalise in the 65th minute.
Magpies’ manager Carl Taylor responded with a double substitution and this paid dividends with 17 minutes left, when one of the replacements, Matt Glynn, launched a steepling free-kick from the half-way line.
Davies came to catch it on the edge of the area but flapped and missed it, allowing Ashe to carefully pick out Hughes in the box, who calmly directed his header into the empty net.
Having regained the lead, United were in no mood to let it slip again, and closed out the game effectively.
Scot Tarr dealt with the only serious Hayes chance, a long-range snapshot from Andy Humphries.


PAIN IN THE GRASS: Nana Badu makes a nuisance of himself during a raid on the Hayes goal on Saturday. Ref: 91567/2

Maidenhead United: Tarr, Dell (for Bradshaw, 83), Gallen, Bunce, Wild, Porter (for Glynn, 71), Bruce, Ashe, Hughes, Badu (for Romeo, 71), Lewington. Unused subs: Whiteman, Stevenson.
Hayes: Davies, Feeney, Dennison, Collins, Jeffrey, McKenna, Goodall, Bartley (for Price, 63)), Jordan (for Humphries, 63), Knight, Warner. Unused subs: McAuley, Jeffreys, Wells.