United give themselves some breathing space
Maidenhead United FC: Magpies impress in crucial ‘six-pointer’ against Dorking
Maidenhead United 4,
Dorking Wanderers 2 Maidenhead United produced a lively attacking performance to beat Dorking Wanderers 4-2 at York Road on Saturday and lift themselves four points clear of the drop zone.
Both teams were balancing on the precipice of the bottom four coming into this clash, but it was Maidenhead who managed to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing defeat at AFC Fylde to claim their second win in three matches.
Alan Devonshire’s side may be in and out of form at the present time, but they haven’t been short on goals of late, and that was illustrated with three beauties in the first half.
After a fast and frenetic start, which more resembled a basketball game than a football match, the Magpies took the lead in the 10th minute, when full-back Sam Beckwith cut in from his left flank and rolled a low, rightfooted shot into the bottom right-hand corner beyond Harrison Male.
At the time it felt like a significant breakthrough, but it proved short-lived as Wanderers hit back within three minutes.
Charlie Carter was the man to get Dorking’s leveller, bringing the ball down well with his chest before firing past Craig Ross at his near post. The Maidenhead keeper might have felt he should have got more behind his save, but the pace of the shot beat him, and the ball squirmed into the back of the net.
United had come close to a second through Reece Smith before Carter’s strike, but the Maidenhead midfielder didn’t have to wait long to mark his England C call up with a goal. In the 28th minute, he collected the ball in midfield and strode towards the Dorking area before directing a low shot beyond Male, with the ball bouncing in off the post.
Dorking might have levelled once again when Tony Craig was given the freedom of York Road to head the ball goalwards from a free kick, but Ross managed to deflect it out and Hayden Hollis managed to scoop the ball over from only a couple of yards.
That miss proved costly as
Maidenhead then made it 3-1 in the 41st minute with a goal-of-the-season contender from Jayden MitchellLawson. The right-sided midfielder had been quiet in the game up until that point, but he collected the ball inside his own half and breezed past a couple of challenges before taking the ball wide onto his left foot in the area and sweeping a magnificent shot past Male and into the bottom righthand corner. It was a goal Lionel Messi himself would have been proud of, but the game was far from done, despite the Magpies’ twogoal lead.
Dorking changed their shape and system at the break, bringing on George Francomb and Alfie Rutherford for Barry Fuller and Hollis. It had the desired effect of stifling Maidenhead as they looked to see out the game, and Jason Prior missed a couple of decent opportunities, one with his feet, one with his head either side of the hour mark.
He made amends six minutes later, however, when he stooped to head home James Muitt’s rightwing cross and it felt like the outcome of his pulsating game was thrown back into the melting pot.
The excellent Beckwith was withdrawn through injury with around 20 minutes to play and it seemed likely a revitalised Dorking might have enough about them to snatch an equaliser.
But Maidenhead maintained their threat on the counterattack and Casey Pettit might have done better with a shot that was blocked off the line in the 81st minute.
However, they did make the game safe in the 89th minute when the impressive Tristan Abrahams cut out a foolish cross-field pass and then kept his composure to check back inside Daniel Pybus and fire confidently into the roof of the net.
United still had to see out nine minutes of stoppagetime, and Alfie Rutherford should have scored a third for Dorking when he missed a header from point-blank range. The result pitches them into the bottom four, while Maidenhead move up to 16th, four points from safety and only two points behind 12th placed Hartlepool United.