A miserable bank holiday for Dev’s below-par Mags
Narrow defeat to York City followed by disappointing display against the Shrimpers
It was a miserable August bank holiday for Maidenhead United and their supporters as the team were beaten twice, losing 1-0 at home to York City before being turned over 2-0 by Southend United at Roots Hall.
While the first result was tough to take for Magpies boss Alan Devonshire, he accepted the players had been well below par for their trip to the Shrimpers and got what they deserved - nothing.
Just a couple of weeks ago Maidenhead were flying high near the top of the National League table after backto-back home victories over Scunthorpe United and Altrincham, but to illustrate just how ruthless the National League can be, just two weeks later they sit 18th in the table, two points above the relegation zone.
The season may only be six matches old but it already feels like a bit of a roller-coaster and United fans will surely have to get accustomed to a few hair-raising falls alongside the more encouraging climbs.
One thing that should be causing a bit of concern is United's failure to hit the back of the net in any of their last three defeats.
Against Dagenham & Redbridge they played well and created several opportunities to level up the score - or perhaps even take all three points - but weren’t able to convert.
It was a similar story against York City on Saturday, with the Minstermen managing to hold onto the 11th minute lead given to them by Maxim Kouogun's near post header.
While on Monday, after a quick turnaround, they produced arguably their worst display of the season as Southend earned all three points with goals from Gus Scott-Morriss and Callum Powell, Dan Mooney the brilliant architect for both.
United also travelled to Roots Hall without a few of their more influential players Looking back on a weekend that saw Maidenhead's season take a turn for the worse, Devonshire said: “Saturday was a tough loss. We had a quick turnover to Monday and that game wasn't great either. Listen, we’ve got to get rid of these games now, forget about them, and get on with the hard work. We’re back in action on Saturday. That’s all we can do.
“We had Sam (Barratt) missing, we had Dan (Sparkes) out as well,” he said. “Both are left-footed players, and they give us a bit of balance, so it was a shame. Listen, there’s no excuses, we should have done better on Monday, and we didn’t.
United host FC Halifax Town on Saturday, who themselves have had a tricky start to the season, winning only one of their first six matches.
However, that victory did come on Monday, in a 2-0 success at second from bottom Scunthorpe United, and they'll be gunning for a second straight away win this weekend.
“We had enough chances against York to score, or to equalise at least,”
Devonshire added.
“They defended well but we should have got something out of the game. But that’s the way it is sometimes. Southend, I didn’t feel we were as good as we should have been. We let ourselves down.
“Every game is difficult. Every game is hard. They are looking to get back into the league. It’s just a one-off game at that time. I just wasn’t that pleased with the way we played.
“We’ve got to step it up now against Halifax on Saturday. They had a good win on Monday, so they are back up and running now. We know it’s going to be a difficult game, but we want to do our best at home.
“Yeah, but we know how hard this league is. Look at Scunthorpe, how they have struggled coming down from League Two. It’s a difficult league and it’s going to be very tough this year, but we have got to roll our sleeves up and do what we need to do.”
Despite overseeing three straight defeats without a goal, Devonshire added that there were no incomings or outgoings planned in the immediate short term.
W Maidenhead supporters will be running a coach to Wrexham on Saturday, September 10, leaving York Road at 8.30am at a cost of £40. Contact Chris Raine on chrismraine@tiscali.co.uk or Tel 07880972604 for information.