Maidenhead United provide perfect tonic to see off table topping Dorking

Maidenhead United provided the perfect tonic to Tuesday night’s disappointing 3-2 defeat to Ebbsfleet United, showing their character to bounce back and beat the league leaders Dorking Wanderers at a sun-drenched York Road on Saturday.

And there was nothing fortunate about this victory either. Yes, Dorking had more of the ball and more of the chances in the first half but Maidenhead were always a threat on the counter and had the kind of focus and determination that appeared to be missing from their play in the first half on Tuesday.

They eventually ran out 2-0 winners, thanks to well taken goals from Dillon De Silva in the first half and Liam Dulson in the second and are also yet to lose two on the spin under interim management duo Ryan Peters and Aaron O’Brien.

A first United goal for @Dillon_DeSilva pic.twitter.com/R1bptCFOap

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) March 22, 2026

 “We know they’re a good team and they showed that in the first half,” said assistant boss Aaron O’Brien after the final whistle.

“We knew we needed to be a bit more aggressive in our press and braver and we did that in the second half. We limited them to half chances really. They’re a good team and to do that, shows how well we played today, we thoroughly deserved it.

“That’s one of the things we said today. We didn’t start well enough on Tuesday, and we went a goal behind. We said to them today ‘that’s not us. We need to start games quick, be bright and aggressive’.

“They took control after about 25 minutes, and we had to be resilient. But second half, the boys executed what we asked them to do well. We were on top and some better decision making might have led to another goal or two. Two-nil against the top of the league side who have very good players.

“That’s just the tonic we needed after Tuesday. We haven’t had back-to-back defeats so far under Ryan, so it was important we bounced back, particularly with this being another home game.”

Having soaked up some pressure midway through the first period, the exciting Liam Dulson pirouetted around his marker in the centre circle and spun a pass in behind for Dillon De Silva to stroke home the opener.

Dorking came back, hitting the post through Tony Craig’s left-foot shot on the half-hour mark but the almost impeccable Owen Cochrane was there to bravely block the rebound. He was a candidate for man of the match, but there were many in black and white shirts and their performance in the second half improved by a few octaves as well.

No longer sitting back and defending in depth, Maidenhead took the game to their visitors - now devoid of their manager Marc White, sent off for his insulting comments to referee Daniel Baines.

Without White to guide them, and stretched by injury, they looked devoid of ideas and hope in the second period. Maidenhead, meanwhile, looked buoyant and pressed home their advantage, with Dulson controlling the ball brilliantly in the 76th minute before sending a rocket of a shot beyond Harrison Foulkes.

The touch ‍
The finish
Trademark Liam Dulson ™️ pic.twitter.com/Hb7gAL3DBI

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) March 22, 2026

On this evidence then, Maidenhead looked every bit as good as their visitors. They’ll probably struggle to catch them now, but with seven games left they can surely aspire to a high play-off finish. This result lifted them to fifth ahead of Saturday’s home game with eighth placed Weston-Super-Mare.

“That result and performance is a testament to the boys and who they are as people and players,” added O’Brien.

“For them to bounce back after losing to Ebbsfleet and having a disappointing performance. To then do it against the top of the league three or four days later shows you how good their character is. I couldn’t be prouder of them today. They could easily have folded when it became hard in the first half, but they kept going. They’re a credit to themselves.

“They’re a very good possession-based team. We sometimes had to suffer without the ball, and we also had to pick our moments of when to go forward and when to sit in. We did that so well.

“Every single player was excellent today but the two goals we scored were excellent. Every person has an argument. Owen came in today and he was excellent. For him to come in and deliver that performance was good. It’s not easy when you haven’t played in a while. He was brilliant today against their good wing back Enslin.

“We’ve got massive games coming up. Weston, another opportunity for back-to-back home wins. Our home form was something that needed to improve and it has. Our away form has been brilliant to be fair. It’s our home form that’s going to get us over the line though. We have Weston and then another home game against Bath City. If we can get those victories, it should put us in a good position for the run in.”