COMMUNITY TRUST MANAGER: Helen Preedy (helenpreedy@maidenheadunitedfcorg)
MAIDENHEAD UNITED IN THE COMMUNITY: Mark Nisbet
The Club operates its commercial activities through Maidenhead United FC Ltd, York Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 1SF Company No: 05691046, VAT No: 442328173 The Club is a member of the Vanarama National League and is therefore subject to the league’s rules and regulations The persons of significant control in the Club as defined in National League rule 213 are Peter Griffin and MUFC Ltd
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Barnet still hold the keys to the EFL door as they passed their latest test as Rhys Browne’s first half winner at Woking kept them 11 points in front York City gave them something to think about; the division’s top scorer Ollie Pearce scored from the spot at Yeovil Town to prevent the Bees’ lead growing. Forest Green Rovers’ title
challenge, however, looks over. Another free scorer nailed their coffin when Gus Scott-Morriss snatched an important point for Southend United in their play-off quest. It ended 2-2 at the New Lawn.
With the Magpies recording a crucial victory up in Tyneside, each of the bottom three sides at 3pm won. Ebbsfleet United live to fight another day on the afternoon they could have been relegated A 1-0 victory over troubled AFC Fylde was delivered by Alex Lankshear, only the Kent club’s second win of the season Boston United closed things up - a 1-0 win at Braintree was earned by Keaton Ward. Meanwhile, Wealdstone came back from 3-0 down at half time to draw 3-3 with Eastleigh, where Oldham loanee Alex Reid was at the double to send the home fans home happy. Dagenham & Redbridge appear to be in big danger. They are 12 without a win as Tamworth eased to the points in East London, Dan Creaney again on the scoresheet.
At the top end, FC Halifax Town cemented their play-off place with a simple 3-0 win at Sutton United. Florent Hoti was again amongst the scorers for the Shaymen in the capital Altrincham’s hopes of a top seven finish took a hit after a 2-1 defeat to poor travellers Aldershot Town saw Max Mullins strike an unlikely winner. Vimal Yoganathan pinched a point for Oldham Athletic as they drew 1-1 at home to fellow promotion hunters Rochdale in their derby clash Manny Duku continued his fine form in front of goal to rescue a point for Solihull Moors in the live DAZN game at Hartlepool United, who went ahead through Tom Parkes on 54 minutes
A big night of action tonight sees two in form sides clash as Rochdale host Boston United in a match with ramifications at either end of the table Wealdstone’s trip to Altrincham is also an important one at both ends of the table, as is Halifax’s Shay date with Dagenham. Fylde will see the visit of midtable Sutton United as an opportunity to edge out of the bottom four again whilst Gateshead will want to bounce back to form with a home match against Braintree Town.
WOMEN’S TEAM
Maidenhead United Women warmed up for the Berks & Bucks Senior Women’s Cup final with an exciting 2-1 win against Bristol Rovers in the York Road Sunday sunshine In the reverse fixture at the Memorial Stadium, it was the home side who took the points after Maidenhead struck first, on this occasion the tables were turned
A Rovers side packed with experience and quality opened the scoring inside the opening ten minutes when former Arsenal winger Daisy Ackerman drove home a fierce low drive past Kenny Clarke from the edge of the box as United failed to clear
having been slow to settle Maidenhead grew into the game however and from set pieces they looked a particular threat; Sarah Thompson glanced a header wide from a Natasha Rasmussen corner before Emily McMaster did the same from a Libby Doyle free kick. It was from a set piece that the equaliser came; another Rasmussen corner caused chaos in the box and McMaster showed composure to drill a half-volley through a crowd of players to level the scores before the half hour
Maidenhead made a habit of being ‘Comeback Queens’ last season, but for the first time this season they came from behind to win, and the game-breaking moment came just three minutes into the second half Natalie Cowell was fouled in the box by TJ Gauvain and Macey-Nikiah Walters put away the spot-kick with typical authority. The visitors roared back and came close to levelling when substitute Laura Barrett’s header was tipped over by Clarke before fellow half time change Nia Rees hit the crossbar from range with the goal gaping after the Magpies ‘keeper hd been forced to break up a threatening attack on the edge of hr own box, the rebound falling kindly for Rees who could not make the most of the fortunate ricochet.
The visitors also saw Emily Bayliss head a cross from the right over the top of Clarke’s goal before substitute Kelly Jones rushed her shot when well-placed and fired over the top United were a danger on the counter and continued to stretch the Rovers defence, the best opening came when substitute Izzy Stockton skilfully found her way to the by-line but with Cowell waiting in front of goal the cutback could not beat the only covering defending Rovers will have begun to suspect that it wasn’t going to be their day when 22-goal top-scorer Megan Jarvis was denied by the fingertips of Clarke following a rare defensive slip and then in the final moments Jarvis found herself in front of goal with only Clarke to beat before masterful McMaster launched into a heroic block to snuff out the opportunity and secure the win
ON THE ROAD
Maidenhead United earned a thoroughly deserved three points at the Gateshead International Stadium on Saturday afternoon with goals from Manny Onariase and Shawn McCoulsky. Alan Devonshire made several changes to the line up which lost to Sutton the previous weekend. Will de Havilland returned from injury, while Remy Clerima made his first start since January with new signing Brendan Kiernan on the bench.
United kicked off the game, and it wasn’t long before the visitors had their first opportunity Tristan Abrahams went for goal around 25 yards out in the 5th minute, but curled his effort just wide of the left post Within a quarter of an hour, Manny Onariase scored the Magpies’ first effort on target A Nathan Ferguson free kick found the centre-half on the left side of the box, and Onariase’s looping header left Tiernan Brooks stranded as the ball landed in the back of the net.
Maidenhead’s intent to sit back naturally gave more opportunities to the Heed Craig Ross made a unique save with his foot to deny Jack Roles, while Remy Clerima bravely headed away Jovan Malcolm’s powerful strike. Despite having been an achilles heel in recent weeks, United looked much improved on both attacking and defending set pieces Shawn McCoulsky’s headers tested Brooks three times in as many minutes, with two of those opportunities created from a free kick and a corner A couple of pot shots from the Heed proved to be fruitless as the half drew to a close, and United led at the interval.
Gateshead emerged from the tunnel seeking an equaliser, and they seemed destined to get it with just two minutes on the clock in the second half A Thierry Latty-Fairweather slip allowed Hannant to drive down the right. His subsequent cross only needed a full connection to land in the back of the net, but the crucial touch wasn’t as desired and United cleared the danger. Set pieces proved to be a recurring theme throughout the second half, with Ferguson and Roles both blasting their efforts into the wall from 35 and 20 yards out respectively While able to create opportunities, a persistent Gateshead found converting them troublesome. Through balls often dribbled off the pitch, while the linesman’s flag was raised on more than one occasion as the Heed fell to United’s offside trap
The hosts’ afternoon could perhaps be summarised by McCoulsky’s winner in the 84th minute. A lazy pass between the two defenders was collected by the striker, who scored one of the easier goals of his career as he tapped home into an empty net Dan Jones, the recipient of the pass, struggled to recompose himself as McCoulsky faced two one-on-ones with minutes left on the clock Brooks saved one of the attempts with his legs, with Jones pushing McCoulsky out of the way to deny the other. As Modern Romance echoed around the GIS, United held on to secure a massive three points and escape the relegation zone.
Full-time: Gateshead 0-2 Magpies
MEET THE OPPOSITION
It has been another season for Aldershot Town where cup football has proven a pleasant distraction Last season the North Hampshire club eliminated two EFL sides from the FA Cup, scoring a magnificent seven at Swindon before knocking out Stockport County in a televised Second Round replay – both of these memorable victories occurring away from home. The run ended in the Third Round at West Bromwich Albion
An inconsistent 2024/25 campaign has been illuminated by a run to the semi-final of the Isuzu FA Trophy; Wealdstone, Chertsey Town, Boreham Wood and Sittingbourne falling by the wayside thus far. Neither Aldershot Town nor their pre1992 iteration Aldershot FC have ever reached Wembley before Now, local rivals Woking stand between the Shots and the national stadium at a sold-out EBB Stadium on Saturday, 5th April.
Only a late season loss in form denied Tommy Widdrington’s side the chance to compete in the National League play-offs last season Their Good Friday thrashing at York Road hardly helped their cause United burst out of the traps, scoring twice in the opening six minutes, Remy Clerima got both goals, first heading in Sam Barratt's free kick before then finishing from a corner. Aldershot's James Daly had an effort cleared off the line by Zico Asare late in the first half, but Maidenhead continued to dominate and got a third from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute Charlee Adams converted the spot kick after Dylan Kadji fouled Ashley NathanielGeorge to earn a second yellow card. Aldershot then lost a second player, Christia Maghoma when he was dismissed 12 minutes from time, conceding a second penalty which was again finished by Adams Their manager was also ordered from the dugout for taking issue with the officials on a bad afternoon for today’s visitors
The reverse fixture this season back in August went the way of the Shots. James Henry’s half-volley fired Aldershot into a third-minute lead but that was quickly cancelled out when Tristan Abrahams struck for United It stayed that way until 12 minutes into the second period when Kai Corbett put Olly Scott clear, and Scott produced a brilliant run before finishing in style Back came Maidenhead, though, as Abrahams equalised for a second time, before goals during a nine-minute spell from Corbett and Hady Ghandour took Aldershot clear. Kevin Lokko’s 78th-minute effort for Maidenhead ensured a tense finish, but Aldershot had done enough to secure maximum points An excellent victory at Altrincham on Saturday afternoon stands Aldershot in good stead to complete a double tonight.
The Gaffer – Tommy Widdrington
A member of the famous Wallsend Boys Club, Widdrington joined Southampton at the age of 15, having been scouted by the same man who brought fellow Geordie Alan Shearer to the south coast Widdrington became a Premier League regular for the Saints until he became a record signing for Grimsby Town in July 1996, joining for £300,000. Tommy won promotion back to Division 1 with Grimsby in 1998 having been relegated the previous season and went on to have two spells with Port Vale either side of periods with Hartlepool United and Macclesfield Town
Widdrington started his managerial career in the National League with Salisbury City in 2010. He had a short spell in charge at Hemel Hempstead Town before taking charge at Eastbourne Borough, where he had a five-year association and kept the Sussex side stable in the National League South Backroom spells with Coventry City and Bristol Rovers followed before a return to the dugout at Kings Lynn in December 2021. Widdrington was unable to keep Lynn in the National League and he left The Walks in April 2023 with the side in second place in National League North to join Aldershot
THREE TO WATCH
James Henry scored the opener against the Magpies in the reverse fixture in August Henry joined from Oxford United, a club for whom he made a total of 260 appearances. The midfielder started his career with Nottingham Forest and earned England under 19 caps as a youngster and has had spells at Norwich, Bournemouth, Reading, Bolton, Wolves and Millwall
Jack Barham made his Shots debut at York Road, having signed in March 2023 from Maidstone United. The 27-yearold fired the Stones to promotion from the Vanarama National League South in 2021/22 with 18 league goals Started out at Greenwich Borough and has since played for Chelmsford City, Barnet, Bromley, Dorking and Dartford.
Josh Barrett signed for the Shots from Kings Lynn Town, having previously spent a month on loan with the Shots during the 18/19 season Barrett worked with Tommy Widdrington at Kings Lynn, and has also played for Bristol Rovers and Coventry. Barrett has made three appearances for the Republic of Ireland Under 21s and after breaking through the youth ranks at Reading
LAST TIME OUT
Maidenhead United suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Sutton United on a lacklustre Saturday afternoon at York Road. Alan Devonshire made two changes to the side which drew 3-3 with Braintree midweek Alan Massey came into replace the injured Will de Havilland, while Sam Barratt replaced Joshua Johnson in the midfield
As the Magpies shot towards the Bell Street End, their visitors took their
first effort down the slope with five minutes on the clock Eduino Vaz latched onto a poor clearance, dragging his shot wide of Craig Ross’ right post Despite the visitors’ early chance, Maidenhead started much stronger than on Tuesday. Nathan Ferguson would have the first crack at goal, firing his shot from outside the box over the bar. United’s best opportunity of the first 45 came as Sam Barratt whipped in a free kick from just in front of the home dugout. Alan Massey was the target, but neither him nor Manny Onariase behind were able to get a good connection to head towards goal.
With a quarter of the game gone, Sutton began to ramp up the pressure, and it wasn’t long before the visitors took the lead A misplaced pass saw the ball land at the feet of Dillon De Silva, who won a 50/50 with Onariase Through on goal, De Silva wasted no time in slotting home past Ross Neither manager made any changes during interval, but Maidenhead would have the better chances for the first half of the second period. Four minutes in, Tristan Abrahams took a looping shot from Shawn McCoulsky, with the trajectory taking it just over the bar and behind the back of the net.
The hosts were arguably the better of the two Uniteds in a half devoid of quality. Maidenhead had Sutton under pressure with 20 minutes to go, but were unable to get a shot off to challenge Jack Sims A what-would-have-been calamitous own goal nearly occurred as we entered the last 15 minutes A breakdown in communication had Ross well off his line as Lewis Simper charged towards goal The stretched leg of Miles Welch-Hayes prevented a second for Sutton, with Will Davies heading over the subsequent corner
Returning from absence, Kane Ferdinand entered the game with ten minutes on the clock. Played through by McCoulsky, the midfielder had a good opportunity to pull the trigger, but offloaded to Joseph Ajose to win a corner. Despite seven minutes of stoppage time, United failed to capitalise, and the game concluded with Sutton taking all three points back to London.
Full-time: Magpies 0-1 Sutton
THE ISTHMIAN BOYS
May 2025 will mark 25 years since Alan Devonshire led Maidenhead United to the Isthmian League Premier Division. In the latest of a series of articles celebrating this milestone, Magpies legend Jon Urry shares his memories
There cannot be many clubs where the former physio and kit man has his own terrace chant, but such is the quirkiness of the man then nothing should surprise you with Jon ‘JR’ Urry
Roadie, truck driver, Life Vice President. Jon has enjoyed quite a life, even before joining Maidenhead United
in 1994 as physio and kit man to the youth and reserve team Richie Goddard – with whom ‘JR’ had been at Lacey Green FC and Beaconsfield SYCOB – is the man responsible for bringing Jon to York Road. JR subsequently provided cover for first team physio Jim Barrs and took over the kit for the first team. He retired in 2019 after 25 years service
Unsurprisingly for a man with a seemingly photographic memory, JR remembers season 1999/00 were it yesterday. A season which ended so well started so badly, a 3-1 York Road defeat to later-relegated Leyton Pennant. JR recalls the opposition leaving a present behind on departure: “they’d pinned up a page from the Maidenhead Advertiser with Adrian Allen – who we’d signed from them in the summer – saying how much he was looing forward to scoring against them, and they’d scrawled a swear word across his picture!”.
The season picked up somewhat thereafter After a marathon backlog of fixtures promotion was secured with a win in the penultimate game against Croydon JR’s abiding memories? “Steve Brown ran a lap of naked jubilation around the pitch. Phil Heggie tried to pinch the bottle of Pol Rémy I had bought to give Tim Cook.” Having long since given up Rock ‘n’ Roll, JR left the wild York Road celebrations alone as he “had to be up early the following morning to wash the kit” Quiet contemplation over a pint at The George & Dragon in West Wycombe would suffice.
Jon still warmly recalls the various characters that illuminated a memorable season. “Chuck Agudosi Tim Cook, I’d have hated to play against him, constantly chasing the ball giving you no time to settle Chris Ferdinand had a good season Barry Rake was superb, I can remember league chairman Alan Turvey jumping out of his seat to applaud one of his goals…..Tyrone Houston, he worked his shifts at Heathrow around our matches and sometimes turned up for a midweek fixture still covered in the mud from the Saturday game” As for the gaffer himself, JR – unusually for him – had only one word to describe Dev: “excellent”
LEAGUE TABLE
ON THIS DAY
A 2-1 win at Eastbourne in 1961 was marred by an injury to captain Clive Lawrence who fractured a collarbone following a collision with another player ten minutes from the end of the match Following a non-eventful first-half the game exploded into action in the second, United took the lead in the 48th minute, Colin Hurley heading home from a Ken Driver corner. Both sides created chances before Eastbourne equalised with Alan Grant’s well-placed penalty The Magpies forced 12 corners in the second forty-five but could not make the pressure tell, after Lawrence’s departure Ken Driver sent a perfect cross over from the right wing which caught the home defence flat-footed, Wally Beevers pounced to net the winner, the 2-1 victory kept Maidenhead comfortably placed at the top of the Corinthian League
Adrian Allen’s wonder strike against Aldershot Town in 2001 is regarded as one of the best goals, if not THE best seen at York Road since the turn of the century Allen made his home debut for the Magpies 25 years ago today in a 2-2 Isthmian League 1st Division draw against bogey side Barton Rovers. Danny Turner’s 10th minute header gave the visitors an early lead, Allen marked his home debut with a 40th minute equaliser, driving home after being set up by Chuk Agudosi. United grew in confidence and took the lead on the hour-mark, Chris Ferdinand converting a low cross from Barry Rake Obinna Ulasi and Agudosi had chances to seal a victory before Rovers spoilt the party again, Neil Yates equalising with five minutes left on the clock
The 2016/2017 campaign was another very successful season for the Magpies and also for striker Dave Tarpey Welling United were the visitors to SL6 eight years ago today, Tarpey had taken his goal tally to 35 the previous week breaking National League South scoring record. Dean Inman’s powerful header from a Tarpey corner put Maidenhead into the lead on 24 minutes; four minutes later Tarpey netted his 36th goal of the season to make it 2-0 following a fantastic piece of skill before rifling into the roof of the net James Mulley’s volley completed a 3-0 win in first-half stoppage time The home side continued to dominate the second half but were denied by a Wings keeper Chris Lewington who made a number of fine saves.
By Maurice Cann
MANAGER: Alan Devonshire
HARVEY COLLINS (GK) 1
ZAC BELL 2
TYRESE DYCE 3
WILL DE HAVILLAND 4
KEVIN LOKKO 5
THIERRY LATTY-FAIRWEATHER 6
RUBEN CARVALHO 7
NATHAN FERGUSON 8
SHAWN McCOULSKY 9
KANE FERDINAND 10
JAYDEN MITCHELL-LAWSON 11
BRADLEY KEETCH 12
CRAIG ROSS (GK) 13
TOBI SHO-SILVA 14
JOSHUA JOHNSON 15
CASEY PETTIT 16
REECE SMITH 17
CHRISTIAN JOHNSON 18
OWEN COCHRANE 19
REMY CLERIMA 20
MILES WELCH-HAYES 22
TRISTAN ABRAHAMS 23
ALAN MASSEY 24
SAM BARRATT 25
JAMIE DAVIES 27
JOSHUA McMENEMY 28
JADYN DUNDAS 29
MANNY ONARIASE 30
RICKY KORBOA 31
JOSEPH AJOSE 32
NOAH STEWART 33
MANAGER: Tommy Widdrington
1 Jordi van Stappershoef (GK)
2 Lachlan Byrd 3 Ollie Harfield
4 Luke Jenkins 5 Christian Maghoma 6 Theo Widdrington 7 Cameron Hargreaves 8 Tyler Frost 9 Kai Corbett 10 Josh Barrett 11 Ryan Jones 12 Keane Anderson
Ollie Bray
Ollie Turner
Pat Nash (GK)
Aaron Jones
Olly Scott
Brad Dolaghan
Haydon Vaughan
Ashley Akpan
Jack Barham
Hady Ghandour
Maxwell Mullins
George Milner-Smith
James Henry
Marcus Dewhurst (GK)
Emmanuel Maja
Luca Woodhouse
Dejan Tetek 35 Dan Ellison 36 Will Armitage 37 Tariq Uwakwe
TODAY’S OFFICIALS
Referee: Jason Richardson Assistants: Harley Mckittrick & Graham Swanton
