Maidenhead United fall to defeat at promotion chasing Woking

Kane Ferdinand. Photo: Maidenhead United FC

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Woking 2, Maidenhead United 0

While Maidenhead United have undoubtedly improved in recent weeks, their results against Boreham Wood and Woking this week are a timely reminder they still have plenty of work to do if they want to climb into the top half of the National League this season.

Off the back of Tuesday’s narrow – but deserved – 1-0 home defeat to Wood, the Magpies travelled to Woking with something of a defensive injury-crisis, with Temi Eweka having been recalled from Slough Town to plug the gap at centre half.

With Will De Havilland and Cole Kpekawa already nursing injuries that are keeping the pair on the sidelines, Remy Clerima limped off after Tuesday’s home defeat and the Magpies were let with little alternative other than to recall Eweka from his impressive stint with the Rebels.

Thrown straight in from the start against the third placed Cards, Eweka came out of the game with real credit, however his display wasn’t quite good enough to prevent the Magpies from slipping to a second straight league defeat. He wasn’t the only change made by manager Alan Devonshire either, with Shawn McCoulsky and Adam Leathers coming in for Emile Acquah and Reece Smith – two of Maidnehead’s more impressive performers in recent weeks.

Devonshire felt his players looked a bit jaded in the defeat to Wood on Tuesday, and assistant boss Ryan Peters admitted they hadn’t been able to impose themselves on the Cards in this game either.

But Woking aren’t third in the table for no reason. They clinically took the chances which came their way and didn’t give Maidenhead many sights of their own goal.

They set the tempo from the opening minutes, with Rhys Browne fizzing an effort just wide after only two minutes, while Alexis Andre Jr had a nervy moment just before the half-hour when his clearance very nearly deflected in off Ricky Korboa.

The Cards took the lead a couple of minutes later with Padraig Amond given the freedom of the Magpies’ six-yard box to head home from a corner kick.

Heading us ahead

♦️ @padraigamond21

— Woking Football Club (@wokingfc) March 11, 2023

The hosts continued to press the Magpies back in the second half, with Amond firing over from a free kick in the 51st minute and Kane Ferdinand scrambling the ball clear from close to his own goal line a few minutes later. Korboa fired just wide from distance in the 62nd minute before the game clinching goal from Woking in the 72nd minute. There was an element of fortune to this one, with Luke Wilkinson’s free kick taking a deflection off the wall to loop beyond Andre Jr.

"It took a little deflection, but I'm claiming it all day long" @lukewilko90 ♦️

— Woking Football Club (@wokingfc) March 12, 2023

The hosts hit the woodwork in the closing stages, with Nwabuokei’s shot from 20 yards cannoning back off the crossbar.

The Magpies remain 10 points clear of the drop zone in 15th, but most of the sides beneath them do have one or two matches in hand. They return to action on Tuesday night, at home to 18th placed Aldershot Town.

“We didn’t impose ourselves.”

Hear the frustrated thoughts of Ryan Peters post-Woking pic.twitter.com/1t9Jw7XXJd

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) March 11, 2023