FARNBOROUGH TOWN 3 (3)

Maidenhead paid the price for poor first half defending conceding 3 first half goals to crashed out of the FA Trophy to bogey side Farnborough (who they have never beaten at York Road) on Tuesday night.  The customary bright start produced an early chance for Ashley Smith, who cut in from his position on the left side of midfield to get to a Craig O'Connor cross which eluded the keeper, only to see his shot hit the outside of the post. The run of play changed abruptly on 18 minutes when Dominic Sterling conceded a free kick wide out on their left hand flank. The ball was floated into the unmarked centre-half, Jay Gasson, who seemed as surprised as anyone that the ball hit his chin, powering into the net.  The Magpies fought back when, in the 28th minute, Hatton failed to test Scriven in the Farnborough goal when he screwed his shot wide, following good build up play again from Newman and O'Connor. The unfortunate O'Connor then had a decent shout for a free kick on the edge of the box denied him by the erratic referee, one of a number of strange decisions witnessed by the muted crowd.  This led to a couple of scrappy challenges, with the Magpies Lee penalised despite having won the ball fairly, and was then cautioned by the fussy and inconsistent referee Things deteriorated for the home side in the 34th minute when Kieran Murphy stood off the lively Michael Charles, only to see Charles outpace him, forcing his way into the box before unleashing a fizzing shot past the helpless Preddie.  Following a decent run and shot by Man Of the Match Newman, Farnborough sealed the tie in the 39th minute when Jamie Whisken emulated his central defensive partner by scoring with a free header at the far post, when a corner was flicked on at the near post by a hapless Magpies defender.  Maidenhead then seemed to lose a bit of heart and seemed happy to hear the half time whistle, but not before Lee (above) had tried to atone for his booking by heading just over the bar from an Ashley Smith cross.

The Magpies tried to start the fightback from the restart. Newman was again involved, picking up the ball on the edge of the box before beating his marker and unleashing a stinging shot which the keeper could only parry to his right, the ball not quite falling for the onrushing Ashley Smith. This was quickly followed by Scriven's only mistake of the evening when he flapped at a deep cross into the box, missed, but saw his colleague Mr Rumbold help him by deflecting the ball wide. The longer the half went on, the more comfortable the away side became, with Farnborough content to soak up the pressure and play on the break. The introduction of Stephen Hughes saw the big target man head straight at the keeper when better placement might have garnered a goal. Dwain Lee then got the better of his marker, who was holding his shirt for good measure, and put in a speculative shot which was also tipped over.  In the dying embers of the match Lee Newman once again tested his shooting prowess with a decent effort which was put round the post for a corner and Ashley Smith completed a hat-trick of misses when he failed to get a shot away when played in by Newman.

Magpies: Preddie, Nisbet, Parsons, Murphy, Sterling, Lee (87 Witt), Allen, Hatton (69 Fotheringham), O'Connor (66 Hughes), Newman L, Smith. Unused Subs: Johnson, Ramos.

Booking: Lee 32.  Gate: 217.  Magpie of the Match: Lee Newman.

Boro: Scriven, Pestie (Pym 78), Townsend, Rumbold, Whisken, Gasson, Pattison, Laidler, Hodgson, Charles (Harkness 87), Smith (Graham 87).  Unused subs: Ciardini,Ventner.

Goals: Gasson 18, Charles 34, Whisken 39.  Bookings: Pattison 70, Charles 70.