Mens 3rd XI beat Amersham & Chalfont 4 - 3

Maidenhead 3s (“Maids”) continued their league campaign on Saturday against Amersham & Chalfont 3s (“A&C”) looking for another 3 points to follow-up their 1-0 win at Tring.

Maids started brightly and opened the scoring with their first attack of the game as James Cawthorpe’s sumptuous length-of-the-field found Nick Lloyd in acres on space at the top of the D, who coolly slotted the ball past the A&C goalkeeper for the early lead.

Thereafter, the first half followed a pattern of Maids dominating both territory and possession, but being unable to create clear-cut chances, while A&C tried to hit back on the counter. For all of Maids possession, it appeared the half would end at 1-0, as Maids wasted several short corners, before Lloyd popped up in the box to tuck in a rebound following another goalmouth scramble to give Maids a thoroughly deserved two goal lead at the half.

The second half started in a similar fashion with Maids unlucky not to increase their lead as Lloyd’s sharp and shot turn beat the stranded A&C keeper, only to ricochet off the inside post and out of play. However, after having dominated most of the game, Maids then went to sleep and allowed A&C back into the game with 2 goals in a ten minute spell. The first was from a goalmouth scramble and equaliser came after Maids failed to clear a penalty corner.

Maids were visibly stunned as A&C flooded forward looking to press home their advantage. However, this resulted in large gaps in the A&C defence for Maids to exploit on the counter, with chances bound to come. From one such raid, Lloyd was again in the right place to bury the ball into the net, completing his hat-trick, as Maids took a 3-2 lead. As A&C pushed forward for a second equalise, opportunities appeared for Maids, with only the post denying Andy Whiteley a fourth. Nevertheless, Maids were not to be thwarted as Paul Coombes rammed home the fourth to finally seal the game. A&C gained a late consolation with a smart strike from the edge of the D, but an equaliser would not have been a fair reflection of the match and Maids hung on for all three points.

Three points from a game that Maids deserved to win as they moved up to 5th, but the final score was a little too close for comfort. Up next is a local derby against Windsor as Maids look for a 3rd win on the bounce.