Kpekawa claims Magpies are now ‘afraid of no one’
Maidenhead's Cole Kpekawa claims the Magpies are ‘afraid of no one this season’ after his late header clipped the Ravens wings at York Road on Saturday.
United were rewarded for a much-improved second half performance when Kpekawa outmuscled his markers at the back post to dive and head home Charlee Adams’ 85th minute freekick.
United deserved this win for the intensity of their press and diligence of their defence. They swarmed forward in the second half and created numerous half chances before Kpekawa got the decisive touch on Adams’ free kick to win it late on.
Bromley will feel they should have taken a share of the spoils having carved out the game's more presentable openings, however, they were denied by some fine goalkeeping from stand-in keeper Alexis Andre
Jnr, who denied Harry Forster with impressive saves in both halves.
Saturday’s win lifted the Magpies to 15th in the table ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Wrexham. They also now sit exactly six points off the play-offs and six points off the relegation places, however, crucially, they’ve shown over the last few weeks of the season they’re capable of competing against anyone in this division, not just the sides ranked around them or below them in the table.
On Saturday, United looked especially strong down their left flank, with Ashley NathanielGeorge
and Kpekawa causing all sorts of problems for Bromley's defence.
Reflecting on the performance, and his match-winning contribution, Kpekawa said: “I thought we had more of the chances in the game. We were a bit flat in the first half, but second half we stepped it up and took one of those chances.
“We had a bit more tempo in the second half, moved the ball a bit better, got it out wide and put some dangerous balls into the box. We had more corners and more throw ins; we were looking to put it on them, and it worked out for us. I knew that Chaz (Charlee Adams) had a great delivery. I told him ‘get it to the back stick’ and he found me well. Chaz is quality and you’ve always got a chance when he puts the ball in those areas. Thankfully it went in.
“It was a nervy last five or 10 minutes, but we saw it out and defended well. We put bodies on the line, and it was a deserved three points.
“We're not afraid of anyone.” United take a break from the league campaign this weekend when they host Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup first round. The Magpies are looking to reach the second round for the first time in 136 years and will look upon this as a tough, but winnable fixture.
They’ll then take to the road once again in the league to play Yeovil Town on Tuesday. Yeovil are the division’s draw specialists, with eight so far, however, just two league wins mean they sit fourth from bottom.