HANNANT IS HEED’S HERO AS MAGPIES ARE DOWNED

STEVE WATSON’S revitalised Gateshead took advantage of an insipid Maidenhead United display to comfortably come away with the points from York Road.

Roared on by a small but noisy away following, the Heed blew their hosts away in the opening 10 minutes, scoring twice through Luke Hannant and Danny Johnson before Hannant made sure with a third five minutes in the second half.

The Magpies came into the game looking to lift the hangover of their FA Cup defeat at Coventry City last weekend, but instead it lingered on as Hannant collected a through ball in the fifth minute and swept a shot beyond Carl Pentney.

The home side’s poor start was then compounded when Scott Barrow’s fierce drive cannoned back off the Magpies’ bar and into the path of Johnson who reacted well to tap home number two three minutes later.

The Magpies looked shellshocked and with passes going astray, struggled to put together a passage of play.

Johnson whistled another effort narrowly wide of the post as the visitors threatened a third before Alan Massey came close with a header that drifted off target on 25 minutes. Then on the halfhour Harry Pritchard’s downward header beat Dan Hanford but not Fraser Kerr, who’d got back on to the line to clear.

Gateshead should have wrapped up the points a minute before half-time when they broke following James Comley’s poor free-kick, but JJ O’Donnell failed to keep his shot down. And any hopes of a comeback were effectively ended when Jordan Burrow’s header across goal ran kindly for Hannant to steer a low shot beyond Pentney. United came close to a consolation in the 67th minute when Adrian Clifton’s low shot from point blank range was palmed away by the brilliant Hanford, but that was as close as the Magpies came on an afternoon that ranks as one of the most disappointing of Alan Devonshire’s second spell at the club. “We were poor, there’s no getting around it,” he said. “We didn’t start the game quickly and were poor all over the pitch. Not defending properly, giving the ball away in all areas of the pitch and not working hard.” Jubilant Watson, however, added: “I’m delighted with the goals, delighted with the way we started the game, delighted with some of the football we played. Most of all we kept a clean sheet, which I have a great fondness for. “If I’m being ultracritical of the boys, we had a lot of breakaway chances that we could have been more clinical on. Everybody played their part today, even the lads that came off the bench were tremendous. We made some terrific decisions.”