The last cut is the deepest

I expected little from Tuesday's visit from Eastbourne Borough. Already one of my favourite clubs, this season they are the best passing team I have seen and I fully expected them to take the Magpies to the cleaners following United's 6-1 thrashing at Bromley in the previous match, with the added incentive for the play off chasing visitors coming in the way they had been mugged by Maidenhead in our last meeting back in November in the FA Trophy.

Yet within minutes of the kick off Maidenhead served notice that unlike the two games in Sussex in the autumn they would have plenty of opportunities to score, a neat pass from the centre circle finding Harry Grant in the clear only for the young forward to skew his shot wide.

This golden missed opportunity to take the initiative was punished in the seventeenth minute when James Stinson picked up the loose ball in the penalty area to score. Elvijs Putnins, returning to the team after a two game layoff, then made a good save from Frankie Raymond to keep the Rocks within touching distance. 

As half time beckoned United began to threaten to equalise and enjoyed their best period of the game either side of the interval. Richard Pacquette levelled the score with a deft finish on the stroke of half time, and although the striker immediately pulled up with a hamstring injury, his replacement Jonathan Constant was at the heart of Maidenhead'a attacking play when the second half began.

The focus was now on the Eastbourne penalty area with keeper Craig Ross in the spotlight, blocking an Adrian Clifton shot from close range to stop the Magpies completing their comeback. Ross was then involved in the game's pivotal incident, dropping the ball close to his goalline. Constant was first to it but could not apply sufficient power to propel the ball into the empty net enabling a defender to clear off the line.

Relieved by this let off, Eastbourne made Maidenhead pay by retaking the lead with a text book free kick from the right wing, captain Ian Simpemba giving it the eye brows to score just after the hour mark.

Maidenhead's renewed task to equalise was then given fresh impetus by the introduction of Brett Longden, the youngster regularly scheming down the wing. With the force now back with Maidenhead Constant made the scoreline 2-2 with a good finish with only six minutes left on the clock. Longden spearheaded the next attack and unleashed a shot which forced Ross to push the ball wide at full stretch. 

By this stage the force was very much with United and they pushed hard for a winner only to be hit yet again by a sucker punch. Deep into stoppage time Eastbourne broke away down the left, the ball falling to Stacy Long to shoot from just inside the penalty area. His effort seemed to be destined for the side netting, only to hit a bobble on the pitch and skid under the dive of Putnins.

Cue the inevitable crazy touch line celebrations led by Eastbourne manager Tommy Widdrington as once more Maidenhead fell at the final hurdle. This was the hardest of these five defeats to take, primarily due to the fact that for once United were finishing very much the stronger team and if anyone looked likely to grab the points it was the Magpies. However the end result revealed Maidenhead to be the eternal hapless gambler, refusing to settle for a draw, but instead chasing that elusive win by resolutely doubling their efforts to score only to be faced by the inevitable result. With the dandy highwayman of non league football Steve King coming to York Road this afternoon a more subtle approach is required to begin to take advantage of the the 27 points remaining.

Chelmsford 1, 2, 3-0 to Maidenhead

I was expecting nothing from a trip to Chelmsford yesterday either in terms of the match or the day itself and therefore at the start of the season had penciled in a first trip to Colchester's new ground on this date. However the sheer novelty of watching Maidenhead play on a Saturday for only the second time in 2014 meant I got off the train a little earlier than initially planned. The warm sunny weather was certainly welcome as was the sight of the ground improvements at Melbourne Park since my last visit three seasons ago. With a terraced end (one covered) directly behind each goal it felt more like a football ground and slightly lessened the impact of the athletics stadium. Off the pitch I was impressed by what must be the slickest operation in non league football in terms of their hospitality for all comers whether they be officials or paying supporters, and of course the programme remains of a quality that could grace the Premier League (no idea how they make that pay though).

Before the match Drax had been quite bullish in his approach to the game, saying that he would be going all out for a win in the local paper. This looked a little unlikely due to the lack of striking options on the team sheet but as it turned out was an accurate prediction.

Kicking off into the wind on an understandably heavy surface which was soon covered in divots, Maidenhead were initially made to work hard by a Chelmsford team eager to continue their much improved form under new manager Mark Hawkes. However by failing to create any on target goal attempts, the home team set their tone for the afternoon. In contrast once Maidenhead began to bring the ball forward, their incisive passing was backed up by some ruthless finishing which virtually decided the results in a four minute spell around the quarter hour mark.

Leon Solomon opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute with a shot from the right flank which curled round the keeper Carl Pentney and into the back of the net. Three minutes later, Adrian Clifton, who had an impressive game in the false nine role, slotted in a slide rule pass which split the Chelmsford defence. Harry Grant who was playing off Clifton's left shoulder ran through to collect the ball and apply the finishing touch to double the score.

Maidenhead almost put themselves out sight with their next attack when Grant returned the favour for Clifton, only for Pentney to scramble his near post effort off the line. Chelmsford responded by methodically bringing the ball forward but barring a couple of efforts that were blocked in the penalty area scarcely looked like troubling Elvijs Putnins in the Maidenhead goal. Not that you would have thought this was the case if you closed your eyes as the Chelmsford fans continually erupted in howls of outrage at the referee which was marked by the lack of any protest from the home team players.

By contrast Maidenhead always looked likely to add to their tally and Clifton's industrious afternoon continued to go unrewarded when he headed a Danny Green corner from the right onto the woodwork at the far post six minutes ahead of the break.

Little changed when the teams changed ends. Magpie debutant Tyrell Miller-Rodney who gave an unfussy efficient performance sat in front of the central defence throughout, really started to shine as he began to get forward firing in a shot which Pentney could only push behind for a corner early in the second half. From the resulting corner Clifton then capped an unlucky day in front of goal when this time having  hit the back of the net with his header saw the referee rule it out for a foul.

Chelmsford continued to enjoy periods of pressure with no meaningful end result bar a Justin Miller effort which Putnins had to tip over the bar.

Three Maidenhead substitutions injected some much need life to a team faced with an energy sapping surface to maintain a counter attacking threat as Mark Nisbet and Jacob Erskine continued to deal effectively with anything Chelmsford could throw at them. The Magpies attacking ambition finally paid dividends in the final minute of stoppage time when Miller-Rodney delightfully nutmegged defender Christian Smith before squaring the ball to Jonathan Constant to score with a tap in with virtually the first touch of the Maidenhead career.

There was nothing flattering about this scoreline which accurately reflected Chelmsford's impotence and Maidenhead's ruthlessness when going forward. A first United win at Melbourne Park at the seventh attempt was a great tonic, taking the team out of the bottom three and hopefully revitalising the fight against relegation after two poor recent results.