Clifton reflects on his latest return to Magpies
Striker says side will bounce back from ‘frustrating’ loss
One of Maidenhead United’s most popular players is loving life in his third spell at York Road since joining the club over the summer.
A ‘frustrating’ 1-0 loss to Dagenham over the weekend was one in which Adrian Clifton felt he should have scored; no matter, the target man is once again enjoying his time with the Magpies and is already on the scoresheet.
In an interview with the Advertiser, Clifton, who came on as a substitute in the 65th minute, said it had been a tough 90 minutes against his former side at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
“The Dagenham game was a tough one; I think we should have come away with more than what we got, which was a bit frustrating,” said Clifton.
“We had more than enough chances to win the game – even for myself, because I came on in the 65th minute, [and] I could have won the game for the team.
“It was a tough one to take, but that’s football.
Prior to full time, Daggers’ stopper Elliot Justham was awarded man-of-the-match, in a performance which echoed that of Maidenhead’s number one, Dan Gyollai, against Scunthorpe.
“A week before, we played
Scunthorpe and beat them 32,” Clifton explained.
“Dan had a great game, and that can be the difference sometimes.”
Clifton, who is often welcomed to the pitch with a chant of Yaya/Bernie
Clifton, has settled in well at the club, scoring on his York Road return against Altrincham last week and greeting the home support with a new trademark celebration.
“I saw that their centre back put his goalkeeper under pressure, and I knew I could nick something there because it was way too high so he couldn’t use his hands,” said the striker.
“I pressed him, made him panic, managed to nick the ball and score.
“I was buzzing to score on my York Road debut; I think the writing was on the wall, as I said to the gaffer (manager Alan Devonshire) that I’m going to score tonight under the lights.
“I think we more than deserved the win, [it was] a very, very controlled performance from us so we didn’t really give them a sniff.
“As for the celebration, hopefully we’ll be seeing that a lot this year. Dev said he needed a target man who scores goals, so that’s me answering my phone saying I’ll come back.”
The 33-year-old is in his third spell at the club – his second in black and white stripes under Alan Devonshire – after donning the Magpies’ shirt from 2013-15 and again for two years from July 2017.
“The club has developed a lot from my first spell – even since my second the club’s developed,” said Clifton.
“The project they’ve got down here and what Peter (Griffin) is doing with the club and the steady progress is great to be a part of.
“I’m a lot older now, and a lot more experienced.
“I think at this time it’s important to have players like myself along with these young boys to help them as the club wants to go professional next year.
“For me, what I’ve noticed about coming back is installing the professional mentality and that football is actually a job for some of these boys.
“A lot of them haven’t been full-time, and they’re learning here, which is a great stepping stone – it’s very appealing for a young player to come down [and play at Maidenhead].”
The Magpies face York City, an ex-league club, for the first time this weekend. John Askey’s Minstermen were promoted via the National
League North playoffs last season, and have ambitions to return to the Football League.
However, they face a tough test against a United side which have won both of their home games so far this season.
“We’re going to go into the game with the same attitude we go into every game,” Clifton said.
“Being with other clubs, and playing against Maidenhead, I know for a fact nobody likes to play against Maidenhead at York Road.
“I’ve been in dressing rooms, and I’ve heard the team talks, and I know the mentality when they come down to York Road – they’re half beaten.”
“We want to keep that vibe up at York Road; the fans get behind us, we use the pitch and the conditions well, so we’re confident.
“York are new into the league, we know they’ll be hungry. We actually watched them against Solihull because I wanted to watch Josh Kelly as well.
“I’ve seen the way they play – kind of similar to us – they like to get the ball out wide and get the ball forward.
“It’ll be a tough game, but we’ll be confident that we can keep up our home form.”