Khan defiant that Maids will win league

Despite tasting defeat as Maidenhead coach for the first time, Ricky Khan remained re-markably upbeat after seeing his side lose 23-11 to arch rivals Reading on Saturday.

Khan, who had enjoyed six straight wins before the Reading loss, revealed that he still is confident that his side will be sitting at the top of South West 2 East come May.

“Do I think we can be top in May? Absolutely. It’s a long, hard season and there is a lot more rugby to play.

“They’ve still got to come back to our place and by then we’ll have continued to progress more as a team.

“Of course we are disappointed but I thought it was a very brave performance against a very strong and at times brutal Reading side.

“Maybe we played the wrong game. It became too much of a battle up front and we didn’t play our natural running game.”

Khan was particularly critical of Reading’s underhand tactics which brought a yellow and red card and left Allan Greene and Will Page smarting from illegal punches.

“There were quite a few cheap shots and Greene told me after the game that he can’t remember a Reading match that has been so aggressive.

“We could’ve made better use of the ball but we were out-punched, quite literally.

“I was proud of the fact that we kept our discipline. We could easily have reacted but then you could have a 30-man brawl situation and no one wants that.”

Khan cited the loss of influential prop Adam Kemsley early in the game and the absence of Ryan Long – at a England Academy squad – as crucial factors.

“Adam’s a great asset to the team and he’s a ball carrier which really helps the team,” he observed.

“Long’s been in great form this season and he’s settled into the side well, so we missed him too.

“But it would’ve been tough even if we had both of them for the full game. Reading are very experienced up front, but we will have learnt from this match.”

Khan likes to put a lot of emphasis on the evolution of his relatively young team, and the Maids coach is confident that the progress of the season’s opening weeks will continue.

“I’m learning more about this team every game,” he added. “I’m finding out which combinations work and which don’t.

“Last year when we got relegated at Coney Hill we didn’t have a plan B, but I think we’re beginning to develop as a side that can play a number of different ways to cope with whatever the situation.”

Another test of that development will take place at Braywick on Saturday when Maids host Wallingford.