More to follow from the academy’s conveyor belt
United fans sing 'he's one of our own' after Smith bags winner
‘He’s one of our own’, the Maidenhead United fans sung after Reece Smith popped up to score the winner in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Eastleigh, and assistant boss Ryan Peters is confident there will be plenty more following him off the academy conveyor belt of talent in the coming years.
In a week which saw
Bradley Keetch start - and Harry Hoath come off the bench - in the Magpies’ penalty shoot-out win over Slough Town in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup, it’s been a good week for the club’s academy.
And the talent that’s coming through into the first team is just adding to the general feeling of growing optimism around York Road this season.
Smith was one of several players who stood out for the Magpies on Saturday, playing in the pocket just behind Emile Acquah and in front of the midfield, an elusive presence that the Spitfires struggled to pin down.
Alongside Charlee Adams, he provided much of the guile that was missing from United’s play earlier in the season and the side now looks a very different proposition heading into next Saturday's game at Maidstone United.
They’ve always been difficult to beat but the Magpies now have a craft and cutting edge that may mean they can compete for more than just survival this season.
Reflecting on Saturday’s 2-1 win, and the performance of Smith, Peters told media officer Grace Scott: “Yeah, it’s been a really big shift.
“The stats will say we haven’t beaten this team in a while, and we rode our luck in the final 10 minutes, but we scored two goals and we’re happy.
“Confidence has always been high.
“We’ve had a good start to the season and now we’re starting to see some consistency in our play.
“We go into every game knowing in essence we’re going to come away with some points.
“We know we’re not going to concede too many goals and that gives us a base from which to go on and score goals.
“This must be maintained. It will be a tough game against Maidstone, who picked up a point today.
“We’ll analyse them and see what that looks like.
Smith scored the winner in the 56th minute on Saturday, ghosting into the area unmarked to sweep home Cole Kpekawa’s cross.
Peters added: “It’s pleasing for him, pleasing for Aaron (O’Brien).
“Our academy is really good, and our gaffer believes in what Aaron is doing so they’re therefore able to churn out young players as often as possible.
“For the young players, seeing Reece play, they know that it’s possible.
“Reece has had two games where he’s come off with cramp, but this is the season where he’s played the greatest number of games.
“It shows the infrastructure that we have, and the young ones can come through. If that continues, we’re going to have quite a few come through and play for us.”
Looking ahead to next week's trip to Maidstone, Peters is keen that the Magpies don’t allow the intensity they’ve been showing of late to dip.
“We’ll prepare like we normally do,” he said. “There are different circumstances with the game being on AstroTurf.
“We’ll make sure the boys are prepared for that. We train on it so it shouldn’t be too different.
“Maidstone need the points, but so do we, so it’s a chance for us to go and take some points off them and keep them below us.”