Mags go fourth And prosper
Peters hails terrific display as United
After three matches without a win Maidenhead United got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory at Eastleigh on Saturday, with assistant boss Ryan Peters believing their ‘terrific’ display was worthy of taking all three points.
United hadn’t won since their 2-1 victory over Chesterfield last month, but they produced a resilient display at the Silverlink Stadium to defeat an in-form Spitfires side.
Alex Addai, signed on loan from Cheltenham Town, was the visitor’s match winner, stroking home the only goal of the game just after the break after persistent play from Josh Coley.
The result lifted them to fourth in the table and they remained their despite Tuesday’s 21 defeat at league leaders Torquay United. They now have a 10-day break before getting back to action in their FA Trophy match with Weymouth on December 19.
“Eastleigh are a really strong side so this was a terrific performance,” said Peters. “They were a team we had to watch carefully. But to be able to go to their ground and put in that kind of performance, I thought we were very much worth our victory.
“Particularly in the first 70 minutes of the game when we were terrific. The only thing missing from our first half performance was a goal, but Alex scoring early in the second half allowed us to be more forceful and resilient, knowing we had a lead to hold onto.”
United restricted their hosts to half chances in the second period, despite coming under pressure in the final stages when Coley was sent off for a late challenge on Sam Smart. Peters felt the decision was a bit harsh, with Coley making a genuine attempt to win the ball, but Smart would likely have been in on Taye Ashby-Hammond’s goal if he hadn’t been taken down.
“Uppy (Upward) missed a sitter from a few yards out and you’d hope he would score the
next one that comes along in that position,” he said. “We had one or two more chances when you’d hope we would put the ball in the back of the net.
“Obviously when we had a man sent off it was always going to make for a tough final five minutes. It was backs to the wall stuff. They had a few half chances, but we defended manfully and looked far more solid and resolute from set pieces, both for and against. We didn’t want our run to come to an end but obviously it did at Altrincham. But the mentality has been good. Last season we’d have probably lost against Altrincham and followed that up with another defeat to Eastleigh. It shows were we are now that when we lose a game we try to bounce back as quickly as possible. It was a great performance and another win.”
Coley’s dismissal meant the Magpies forward missed Tuesday’s defeat to Torquay United but Peters is hopeful he'll have him back for next weekend's FA Trophy match away to Weymouth.
“On reflection Coley has caught his man,” said Peters. “The player (Smart) is going to have a shot at goal. I said to the referee after the game it shouldn’t be three matches because it’s not a goalscoring opportunity. He was going to have a shot at goal that’s all and we also had a defender coming back who might have been able to challenge him.
“I understand that a red card was probably the right decision, but he hasn’t meant to harm the player or anything like that. It was a genuine attempt to win the ball.
“Coley has been terrific for us all season. But he gets a rest now and he doesn’t have to travel all the way to Torquay.
“He’ll be fit and ready for the next game he plays in. Coley doesn’t go out to foul any player for no reason. It was a genuine attempt to win the ball, it was a little bit misguided but that’s all.”