Peters keen not to dwell on opening day defeat
Maidenhead United FC: Assistant boss confident side can bounce back this week
Maidenhead United's assistant manager Ryan Peters is keen not to dwell on the side's 3-0 opening day defeat to Notts County at Meadow Lane.
Already his attention has shifted towards the Magpies' next two home matches against Scunthorpe United on Saturday and Altrincham Town on Tuesday evening.
On Saturday, the Magpies were comprehensively beaten by County, with the goals coming from Macaulay Langstaff (21’, 44’) and Joel Taylor (59’), who hit an absolute belter to put the game out of reach.
It’s a result that leaves the side at the bottom of the National League table, but Peters dismissed that as 'irrelevant' at this stage of the season.
Speaking to media officer Grace Scott at full-time, he said: “[There were] small spells where we thought we looked good. But, overall, we probably let ourselves down a little bit.
“They’re a good side and they’re going to be up there come the end of the season. We always go to these big clubs and impose ourselves, but we couldn’t do that today.
“When you look at the first half, we had just as many chances as they did, we were just unable to take any. Unfortunately, when you don’t take yours, you’re going to get punished but it’s not for the lack of trying. We’re not going to come up against Notts County every week, so we hope to start taking the chances that come our way.
“We’ve got two home games coming up and we’ve got to make [York Road] our fortress. We haven’t got three points today, so we must make sure we get some in our next game.
“In every game we try to get as many points as we can. We will put this game to bed now and look forward to the one next week.”
The Magpies face Scunthorpe – relegated from League 2 last season – on Saturday. They got their campaign underway with a 2-1 victory over Yeovil Town, while Phil Parkinson's Altrincham are also set to visit on Tuesday evening (August 16).
They kicked off their season with a 1-1 draw with newly promoted Maidstone United.
Peters is hopeful the Magpies will have Shawn McCoulsky at their disposal for the forthcoming fixtures as he was unavailable against County. He’s also confident that Adrian Clifton - back for his third spell at the club - will open his goal account before too long.
“We hope so. He’s (McCoulsky) close now. Cliff will get us goals, we know that. He probably needs a little more time, but we can get him on,” said Peters. “Today’s game just didn’t present [chances for him]. Shawn, once he’s fit, will give us another dimension. We’re okay, we’re not worried. It wasn’t a great game today, but we’re not worried.”
Maidenhead United supporters are organising a coach to take fans to the Magpies game at Dagenham & Redbridge on August 20. It will cost £25 per head. For further details contact Chris Raine at chrismraine@tiscali.co.uk