Weston S&M

The pleasure of the first flush of the season has been abruptly replaced by the pain of an embarrassing cup exit and slump in league form. A slide which began with unsurprising defeats at Dover and Eastleigh has now started to ferment into a full blown crisis with league defeats in eminently winnable home games against Hornchurch and Weston-super-mare hardly helping to salve the wound of the Didcot cup exit.

With yesterday being non league day there was also a missed opportunity to win over converts to the cause dropping in on the international break, the game being the first at York Road this season when Maidenhead failed to score. This fact had little to do with the belated withdrawal of Alex Wall through injury as throughout the first half Lee Barney linked up well with David Pratt, the striker almost opening the scoring in the ninth minute only for Seagulls goalkeeper Irish to save well with his feet. Barney continued to feed Pratt from his left wing berth but on this occasion Pratt was unable to make a breakthrough with the visitors coming closest to scoring before the break when they hit the woodwork.

An open game continued after half time but as the hour mark approached Weston took a stranglehold on the game from which Maidenhead were unable to wriggle free. A one handed save by Billy Lumley temporarily kept the Seagulls at bay before Kane Ingram served notice that the Somerset club were intent on taking home all three points for the second year running by scoring with a shot drilled through a forest of players from the edge of the box.

From this point on although United worked hard they were unable to prise open the Weston defence, leaving the regulars in the crowd to ponder a return to the pain of last season, particularly for those who do not travel away from home, with the York Road fortress of August and September coming down with the autumn leaves.

Drax now has a fortnight to rethink his strategy before a challenging week which sees tough games against Welling and Salisbury with a trip to the usually happy hunting ground of Hayes Lane in between. A silver bullet is required to destroy the shroud of losing form which the evidence of the last two seasons has shown that once covering the Magpies is incredibly difficult to shrug off.