United’s victory hopes shot down by poor officiating

Maidenhead United 1, Aldershot Town 1

Alan Devonshire was left cursing the poor state of officiating in the National League once again last night, as a couple of dreadful decisions denied his side all three points against Aldershot Town.

United dominated the second half of this clash against the Shots, however, despite putting the ball in the net twice with the score at 1-1, they were forced to settle for a share of the points.

Devonshire was near on apoplectic after the final whistle as he reflected on the decisions which had gone against his side.

They included what he felt was a certain red card for Haji Minoga in the 63rd minute after the player hooked a boot into the neck of Sam Barratt, a dangerous tackle that prevented the forward from going in on the Shots goal, Referee Aaron Jackson felt the challenge was only worthy of a yellow.

Barratt was heavily involved on the evening, and twice thought he'd given the

Magpies the lead, only for the officials to rule both efforts out. The goalscoring action in the game came inside the first 10 minutes, with Emile Acquah sidefooting home a low cross from close range to make it 1-0 after only two minutes.

And the Magpies will be disappointed with the manner in which Aldershot got themselves back on level terms. Justin Amaluzor's jinking run took him into the area and when Idris Odutayo dangled out a leg, the forward went over it and the referee pointed to the spot. Jake Hutchinson slammed the ball down the middle to make it 1-1 in the sixth minute.

The remainder of the half was even in terms of possession and chances. Barratt thought he'd made it 2-1 in the 19th minute when he turned home Charlee

Adams' free kick at the far post, however, his celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag. He also scrambled home what he thought was a late winner after Ashley NathanielGeorge's shot had been deflected onto the crossbar, but the officials felt it had not crossed the line.