Magpies rise up the pecking order (07.01.06)

TO ALL those doubters out there, yes, Teletext had it right.
Believe it or not, the Magpies finally registered a home win on Saturday, as they deservedly defeated mid-table Sutton United in an enthralling clash at York Road.
The result also lifted United out of the relegation zone, as Charshalton Athletic beat Newport County to send the Welshmen to the foot of the table.
In a entertaining and occasionally bad-tempered encounter, Maidenhead started positively and took the lead on eight minutes.
A Craig Lewington corner from the left found its way to Lee Newman on the right, who cut the ball back to Abdul Saeed Osman.
He threaded a pass to Marc Whiteman, whose snap-shot hit the foot of the left-hand post before rebounding to Stephen Hughes, who lashed the loose ball home from close range.
Having got their noses in front, the Magpies went on to dominate the rest of the half, both in terms of possession and chances.
The visitors still posed a threat from set pieces, with Matt Gray sending a fizzing effort just wide on 17 minutes, and Peter Fear drawing a routine save from Scott Tarr on 24 minutes, both from needlessly conceded free-kicks.
However, in open play it was all Maidenhead.
Newman stung Phil Wilson’s hands with an outrageous volley from a ridiculous angle on 20 minutes, quickly followed by Ryan Ashe firing just wide via a deflection.
From the resulting corner Wilson punched the ball out to Ashe once again, whose flashing drive required another smart stop. This battle of wits between Ashe and Wilson continued for the remainder of the half.
On 36 minutes Newman jinked his way through a leaden-footed defence and forced Wilson to parry the ball to the unmarked Ashe, but his shot ballooned up into the stand from all of five yards.
Then, on 38 minutes, Ashe went close again, when he spotted Wilson off his line and sent a 40-yard lob drifting inches over the bar.
However, it was Sutton who produced the final chance of the half, when a mistake at the back gifted Luke Cornwall a free run on goal.
Only a late challenge from Scott Tarr denied him an equaliser, but it was a timely warning, as the visitors upped the tempo after the break and forced the Magpies to defend deep.
Within four minutes of the restart Eddie Akuamoah rounded Tarr only to fire his shot past the near post from a rapidly diminishing angle.
Akuamoah was involved again on 52 minutes, when he headed a Stuart Douglas cross back into the six yard box for Cornwall, whose downward header required a good stop from Tarr.
Two minutes later the game took a tempestuous turn for the worse, following an unsuccessful penalty appeal.
The referee saw nothing wrong with a strong challenge by the excellent Brendan Gallen, but Cornwall thought otherwise and tangled with the gritty defender, earning himself a yellow card in the process.
With the temperature rising and the pressure increasing, Maidenhead scored their crucial second goal.
Osman conceded a free-kick just inside United’s half, but from the resulting counter-attack he made amends by advancing through the centre of midfield before chipping the ball through to Newman on the left.
Newman beat the first man with a neat turn, then skipped through two more challenges before rolling the ball along the line for Whiteman to tap into an empty net.
Sutton hit back almost immediately, with Douglas scoring from close-range, only to have the effort ruled out for offside.
The game then descended into acrimony once more, when another fracas in the Maidenhead penalty area resulted in three yellow cards, one of which saw Cornwall dismissed for grabbing Gallen by the throat.
With tempers already at boiling point, the referee decided to restart play with a drop-ball, which resulted in two further free-kicks on the edge of United’s box and another yellow card, before the ball was finally hooked to safety.
To their credit, Sutton continued to search for a goal and came very close on 86 minutes, when Akuamoah fired a vicious ball across the face of goal from the left, which Tarr could only parry.
However, Gallen was on hand to hoof the loose ball away, with two Sutton players bearing down on goal.
The incident finally seemed to take the sting out of Sutton and it was Maidenhead who signed off with a flourish, as Hughes tested Wilson with a powerful 35-yard pile-driver.
The final whistle sounded without further incident, prompting applause from the York Road faithful, as United moved away from the foot of the table.

50-50: Stephen Hughes typified United’s Dunkirk spirit on Saturday as he threw himself into every challenge. Ref: 91345/2

Maidenhead United: Tarr, Elsegood, Parsons, Lewington, Porter, Gallen, Saeed-Osman, Ashe, Whiteman, Newman, Hughes. Unused subs: Bradshaw, White, Johnson (for Ashe, 91), Kwakye, Badu.
Sutton United: Wilson, Palmer, Gonsalves, Scarborough, Elliott, Fear, Gray, Honey, Douglas, Cornwall, Akuamoah. Subs: Gordon, Hughes, Castledine.