Mens 1st XI beat Rover Oxford 1st XI 2 - 0
Maidenhead moved to within one point of second place Eastcote, with one game still in hand, after a hard fought 2-0 win over mid-table Rover Oxford. A well taken penalty stroke and break away goal from Dan Bradley secured the points in the difficult away fixture.
Maidenhead, who could only manage a draw at home to fourth place Slough last week, started the match with vigour and enjoyed some success in attack when the ball was transferred effectively round the back to exploit the wide areas of the pitch. Maidenhead won two early short corners, however, the execution was not a slick as in previous matches and they were unable to take the initiative with these easy chances.
A well worked breakaway down the right side of the pitch led to a free hit which Scott Craig took quickly, beating one man, he drove the ball towards Tim Nott, who dummied and left the ball to run into the D where Alexei Vink tried a quick deflected effort. The Oxford keeper did well to keep it out of the corner of his goal.
Despite lots of pressure in the final third of the pitch, Maidenhead were unable to convert any chances and began to look short of ideas in attack, as Oxford forced their way back into the match. Maidenhead’s sustained attacks were beginning to leave them exposed at the back and Oxford created a number of chances on the counter attack. It was only the man of the match performance from James Bowler in goal that kept Maidenhead with a clean sheet going into half time.
Maidenhead began the second half brightly and were soon ahead thanks to some neat work on the left wing. A side-line ball was quickly moved to Tim Durance who fed a pin-point pass onto Dan Reid rushing into the D. As he went to flick the ball past the goalie, a stick foul stopper him and the umpire had no hesitation in awarding the penalty stroke. Dan Bradley stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to put Maidenhead into the lead.
A second goal quickly followed with a well taken break-away effort. Tim Nott won the ball in midfield and quickly shipped it on to Tim Durance. He raced towards the D and passed across to Dan Bradley who struck the ball, first time, past the misplaced Oxford keeper, giving him his second goal, and Durance’s second assist of the afternoon.
Maidenhead stayed composed, and despite a yellow card in the final minutes, and a few Oxford short corners, were able to hold on for the win. They move into next week’s game at home hoping for another win, and for the teams above to slip up.