Dev’s boys punish 9-man Shots
MAIDENHEAD United took a massive stride towards National League survival on Friday as they hammered play-off chasers Aldershot Town in a match that saw the visitors reduced to nine men in the second half.
The Shots arrived at York Road looking to cement their place in the play-off positions, but instead they were handed a humbling defeat as Alan Devonshire’s men scored twice in the opening six minutes before going on to complete a comfortable victory.
Assistant boss Ryan Peters said: “It would be nice to bottle this moment up, all the smiles on the boys’ faces, all the attacking momentum we had, and reproduce it in every game we have going forward now.
“We now must try and find some consistency but if we can maintain the same performance and energy levels, we’re not worried.”
Remy Clerima was credited with both of their opening goals which came from dangerous balls into the box from Sam Barratt and Charlee Adams, however, Tristan Abrahams claims he got the final touch to nudge home Clerima’s flicked header in the third minute.
The Magpies fans couldn’t care less who’d scored it, and they were in dreamland three minutes later when Clerima was picked out by Adams’ corner and turned the ball past Jordi Van Stappershoef.
The visitors – backed by 1,140 fans in the Bell Street End – looked visibly shellshocked, and the Magpies might have been out of sight before the interval as Abrahams finished tamely when clean through and
Jordi van Stappershoef saved well from Kevin Lokko’s header.
The Shots grew into the game as it wore on and James Daly thought he’d pulled a goal back for the visitors just after the halfhour mark only for Asare to get back and hack his shot off the goal line.
The visitors’ hopes then imploded in spectacular fashion, as Dylan Kadji was shown a second yellow card as he tripped Ashley Nathaniel-George in the box.
Van Stappershoef got a big hand to Adams’ spotkick but he couldn’t keep it out and United were three goals to the good in the 72nd minute. A fourth Magpies’ goal followed soon after when Abrahams was tripped in the box and referee Paul Johnson pointed to the spot once again. Substitute Christian Maghoma was sent off for dissent, leaving the visitors down to nine men, and Adams cheekily lofted a ‘Panenka’ penalty over van Stappershoef to complete a satisfactory and well-deserved win.
Shots’ boss Tommy Widdrington was also shown a second yellow card by the referee to cap off a miserable afternoon.
“It wasn’t our day; it is their day,” Widdrington said. “To be two goals down as quickly as we were, to two standard set plays is disappointing.
“They ran harder, tackled harder and out battled us, simple as that.”