Back at the bottom (18.03.06)

UNITED sank back to the bottom of the Nationwide South after being thoroughly outplayed for much of the game by Dorchester Town at York Road on Saturday.
With Carl Taylor electing to play wingers Dean Bradshaw and Mark Graham, United were virtually fielding a 4-2-4 formation.
Although this signalled their desire to win the game, it also gave their opponents the run of the midfield, allowing them to swamp the Maidenhead defence time and time again in a match that swung from end to end.
Maidenhead came close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute when a 35-yard shot from Ryan Parsons was tipped over the bar by the impressive Nick Jones in the Dorchester goal.
This, however, proved to be United’s only serious scoring attempt in the first half, while Dorchester came close to finishing the game as a contest by half-time.
Town’s intentions were sign-posted as the game approached the quarter hour mark, when Parsons cleared a Larbi Mekchiche effort off the line, and Jamie Brown had a shot pushed round the post by Scot Tarr.
From the ensuing corner, Brown was denied once again, but this time by woefully finishing, as the ball flew over the bar from just six yards out.
The visitors took the lead in the 28th minute, when a throw in from the half-way line on the right by Ryan Hill found its way to Matt Groves in the penalty area who gave Tarr no chance with a clinical finish.
United had a loud appeal for handball turned down minutes later, and then went close to conceding a second goal from the resulting counter-attack, but Groves was expertly tackled by last man Tarr.
But Tarr was helpless with three minutes of the half left, when the defence failed to close down Brown, who hooked a ball back over his head for Groves to loop a header into the back of the net.
The second half began in much the same vein as the first when, within five minutes after the restart, Dorchester made it 3-0.
Brown created the opening by running at, and then through, the Maidenhead defence, before firing a shot on goal.
Tarr parried the effort, but Larbi Mekchiche was on hand to tap in the loose ball.
With no option left but to attack, Maidenhead pressed forward and narrowed the deficit within four minutes, when the excellent Mark Graham turned his marker inside out before crossing to Ashe for a simple finish. Another good save from Tarr denied Groves his hat-trick with 20 minutes left, but in the 76th minute Untied were thrown a lifeline, when Ashe popped up to finish from close range, after Chris Wild had flicked on Dominic White’s long throw from the right.
This set up a grandstand finish as Maidenhead realised they might yet be able to salvage a point.
United threw everything forward in a bid to repeat the previous week’s late equaliser at Welling. But this time the opposition keeper won the game in injury time, palming Wild’s header onto the bar.

GOOD EFFORT: Ryan Ashe scored two second-half goals to give the Magpies a chance on Saturday. Ref:92182/15

Maidenhead United: Tarr, Dell (for Gallen, 45), Parsons, White (for Whiteman, 87), Wild, Ashe, Graham, Roach, Hughes, Osman, Bradshaw. Unused subs: Lewington, Romeo, Stevenson.
Dorchester Town: Jones, Hill, Radcliffe, Howes, Browne, Morgan, Mekchiche (for Jermyn 81), Gleeson, Brown, Groves, Keeler (for Hutchinson, 81). Unused subs: Middleton, Robinson, Moss.