Injuries take their toll on all clubs but hurt the Magpies more than most
Injuries take their toll on most clubs, but when you’re a club the size of Maidenhead United taking on big former league clubs in the National League, they hurt a bit more.
It’s been an astonishingly unfortunate season for the Magpies so far from an injury perspective. Most of their backline has spent time on the treatment table thanks to a range of injuries and ailments and many of their most potent attacking talents, most notably Sam Barratt, have also missed large chunks of the season.
Add to this the COVID cases which has decimated the squad in recent weeks and led to several postponements, as well as the club’s withdrawal from the FA Trophy, and you can see it’s been a season where luck hasn’t been on their side.
It’s no surprise therefore to see them struggling at the wrong end of the table, third from bottom and in the relegation zone heading into Sunday’s game at Wealdstone FC, however, they’re far from cut adrift and, should they get the rub of the green with injuries and illness in the second half of the campaign, they might yet show the kind of form needed for survival.
They’ve done it in spurts this season, winning their opening two matches, and beating Woking and Wrexham in successive home matches a few weeks later, and chairman Peter Griffin is calling on everyone associated with the club to rally together in the coming weeks to help defy the odds once more and keep the club in the division.
“We did well against Southend a few weeks ago and came very close to getting what would have been a deserved win there,” he said. “But Solihull was always going to be tough.
“Against teams in this division, you’ve got to have your strongest team out, and on that day, we had five players out with COVID and lots of injuries as well.
“So, we were already starting from a bad position.
“It was tough, and we’ve never had a season like it for normal injuries, and then covid has come on top. We’re a smaller club and it hurts us more.”
Griffin is hopeful the arrival of Daniel Gyollai on loan from Peterborough United will help the team concede fewer goals and with players starting to make their return from injury, manager Alan Devonshire should have more options at his disposal in the coming weeks. The Magpies are third from bottom, but level on points with Weymouth and Southend just above them in the standings. Victory over the Stones on Sunday would also move them to within three points of their hosts with a game in hand.
“Dev’s just got a new keeper in and we’re very hopeful that it will strengthen us in that department,” he said.
“If we can get some of our injured players back and get through this period, and I think it’s good news on those, hopefully we go forward and have a strong second half to the season.
“We’ve had good spells at times this season, and really strong home wins over Woking and Wrexham. We had a week where it was fantastic and it’s been pretty poor since then, but we’re not cut adrift and go into the second half of the season fighting and united.
“That’s how we got into the division in the first place and it’s what’s kept us here since.
“Everyone’s got to dig a little deeper and rally together because it helps when we’re all pulling the same way.
“Let’s hope the injuries clear up and the COVID cases go away, and we can be a win or two and look a lot better. We have to remain hopeful and positive.”