Peters delighted by Magpies' endeavour in deserved draw with Chesterfield

Photo: Maidenhead United FC

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The points were shared, and deservedly so, but assistant boss Ryan Peters believes Maidenhead United should take even greater encouragement from the strength of their performance in Saturday's goalless draw with Chesterfield.

United more than matched their promotion chasing visitors, particularly in the second half when they carved out two of the game's three outstanding chances.

And while Alan Devonshire would have loved to see his side walk away from the clash with all three points, one point keeps them on track for survival - with United now 10 points clear of the drop zone having moved ahead of Oldham Athletic and up to 14th.

It also means they still have a chance to finish in the top half of the table with only five matches remaining, starting at Solihull Moors on Good Friday (April 7).

The Spirerites dominated the early stages of this clash, and had the Magpies pinned inside their own half for much of the first half an hour. But slowly, United's players got to grips with their visitors and they were then able to expose a few of their frailties in the second half. Andrew Dallas probably missed the chance of the match, when he shanked the ball wide of an open goal after taking it around Alexis Andre Jr, but Shawn McCoulsky and Emile Acquah also had very presentable chances to give the Magpies a second half lead. The game went on to finish goalless, but it wasn't for a lack of endeavour from either set of players.

It was also a marked improvement for the Magpies following last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Dorking Wanderers.

Peters said: “We had two very good chances in the second half.

“Shawn (McCoulsky) misses an open goal. It’s a tough chance as the ball comes to him quite quickly but you would expect him to put the ball in the back of the net. I think they've then had a chance when their guy (Dallas) has gone around the goalkeeper and missed, but then we’ve had another chance where Emile (Acquah) could have put the ball in the back of the net as well.

“We’ve had some good chances against a very good side, and compared to last week against Dorking, it’s a much better team performance.

“The points are important, but when you see a performance, where everyone – to a man – is showing that endeavour, it puts us in good stead for our other matches. I look at the results and there are a few teams below us that have won as well. We’ve just got to make sure we continue playing well and pick up as many points as possible.”

After a lacklustre display at Dorking, the Magpies defence was back on point once again to frustrate their visitors, with Will De Havilland and Alan Massey putting their bodies on the line to protect Andre Jr's goal. However, this was an impressive team performance from back to front, with McCoulsky and Acquah working hard to put the squeeze on Chesterfield's defence as they looked to play out from the back.

“The most important part is that everyone is putting their body on the line,” said Peters.

“You see Alan Massey in the latter stages of the game chasing down their own goalkeeper to make sure they can’t put the ball in our half. It’s a busy period for us now, but I don’t see why we can’t try and get into that top half and emulate what we did in our first season when we finished 12th. With performances like today, why not.”

Magpies’ fans weren't slow in coming forward with their views on the performance of referee Gary Parsons and his officials, with some labelling it the worst they've ever seen. Peters was more phlegmatic, but agreed the hosts didn't get the rub of the green.

He added: “It seems to be, and I’m not saying it is, but it seems to be that the bigger the team the less likely we are to get the big decisions, and the more likely they are.”