Peters hails 'fantastic' point after Magpies battle back against Torquay United

Josh Umerah. Credit: MUFC

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Josh Umerah’s brilliant second half free kick earned the Magpies a point away to top of the table Torquay United on Saturday and further illustrated their ability to compete with the very best teams in the division.

The Magpies are very much in the hunt for a top seven spot, but holding their own away from home against one of the National League South title favourites should only bolster their confidence heading into the final few months of the season.

United had spells in the ascendancy at Plainmoor, and spells when they also came under the cosh. They fell behind late in the first half to strike from Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, and needed Jordi Van Stappershoef to be at his very best to preserve a point as the hosts went close on a couple of occasions in the second half.

But when Liam Dulson was brought down after a direct run from his own half, Umerah stepped up to flight a perfect free kick over the wall and into the back of the Gulls’ net.

From back to front in a matter of moments, Josh Umerah's fantastic free-kick earned us point ‍

[ Torquay United] pic.twitter.com/D3Il8JnfZJ

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) February 15, 2026

Saturday’s draw leaves the Magpies six points adrift of seventh placed Hemel Hempstead Town - with a game in hand - and although other results didn’t go their way, Peters was encouraged by what he saw from his side.

Speaking with Scott Hargreaves after the final whistle, he described the point as a ‘fantastic’ one but also knows they’ll need to build on it at home to Dagenham & Redbridge in their next game on Saturday.

“Yeah, it’s a fantastic point,” said Peters. “It’s been a good week. I know other results haven’t necessarily been kind to us, but I thought it was a fantastic performance against, ultimately, the best side in the league at the moment. We’re delighted.

“I thought we were a bit tentative in the first half and I don’t know why. I thought they’d have the belief after Tuesday’s win. I asked them to have a little more belief in the press and be as aggressive as they possibly could be. We started the second half well and we had a few half chances that we could have capitalised on. That gave us the impetus to grow into the game a little bit.”

The Magpies had key contributors at both ends of the field on Saturday. Umerah - who ensured that practice makes perfect with his wonderful curling free in the 54th minute, and Van Stappershoef, who pulled off some stunning saves.

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s the best keeper in the league,” Peters said of the Dutch keeper.

“He’s pulled us out of a hole twice. I thought we defended well, but of course, you’re always going to give up opportunities. And when they came along for the opposition, Jordi was there to stop them. He’s been fantastic for us, but I also want to mention the backline. There will always be opportunities for the opposition to score, but in the main as a team, we’ve been good defensively.

On Umerah he added: “He’s been practising them in training. We didn’t know he could take free kicks like that. But he hit the crossbar on Tuesday, and he’s put one in the back of the net this time around. He’s a really good player. I think he was dealt a bad hand with some of the decisions that didn’t go his way today, but he kept going, was resilient and he popped up with a goal.”

On the evidence of their determined and committed performances at Tonbridge Angels and Torquay United, the Magpies have the experience and character to grind out the results needed to finish in the top seven this season. They’ve still got some work to do on that front, and Peters will be hoping they can now string together a sustained run of positive results and performances. They also have the backing of some very loyal and loud supporters, who followed them to Plainmoor for Saturday’s 380-mile return trip.

“Their backing is always fantastic, but when we were up against it for 10/15 minutes, they were spurring us on.” said the interim boss. “They’ve been amazing for us and have travelled far and wide for us. We really appreciate the support we’ve been getting and long may that continue.

“Our flowing football hasn’t necessarily been there to see the last two games and this week will give us a chance to put some patterns together but other than that we’re going to train as usual. If we’re going to maintain standards we’ve got to keep on training the way we have been.”