Harry’s hairdryer does the job
Barry Fry, Peter Reid, Neil Warnock – there’s been some tasty fly-on-the-wall stuff from football managers over the years.
But it sounds like Harry Wheeler may have eclipsed the lot of them with his half-time rocket in the FA Cup first round on Saturday.
It did the trick as Jack Powell’s spectacular free-kick and a Blair Turgott penalty sent Maidstone through to round two.
United’s players deserved a blast after a poor firsthalf performance against a Macclesfield side who many felt were there for the taking, given their woes at the foot of League 2.
The Silkmen had every reason to be down on their luck – no permanent manager, seven points adrift and only one win all season – but Maidstone made it easy for them.
It was everything you wouldn’t want from a non-league team trying to upset Football League opposition and Wheeler wasn’t having it.
Macclesfield have always been good to watch in recent years, playing lovely football en route to winning the National League last season.
But they were allowed to do what they wanted in the opening 45 minutes and it looked like they would coast into round two after opening the scoring against a Maidstone side who didn’t muster a single shot.
The Silkmen’s goal came on 14 minutes when Malachi Napa shook off Simon Walton and crossed for David Stephens, who found the top corner from 12 yards.
The second half burst into life with Powell’s free-kick equaliser in the 51st minute.
The angle, a few yards in from the touchline, looked best suited to a cross but Powell had other ideas, went for goal and bent in a beauty off the far post.
Maidstone were claiming a goal a minute later when Elliott Romain’s header from a Jack Paxman corner appeared to hit the metal strut inside the net and come back out – but the referee decided it must have been the post.
Macclesfield broke straight from that and Grant Smith was forced into a double save from Stephens.
The crowd now had something to shout about, too, and it felt like a non-league team trying to dump a league club out of the FA Cup.
Maidstone were going for it and took the lead in the 69th minute after a foul on Romain gave Turgott a chance from the spot.
Keeper Kieran O’Hara went the right way but Turgott’s low spotkick went inside the post.
You’d have expected a response from Macclesfield but they now looked like a fragile side.
If anything, Maidstone looked more likely to score again, with Turgott going close near the death.