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
CLUB NEWS
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025 this afternoon, Maidenhead United Women are delighted to announce that we are a now an ambassador club for the Her Game Too campaign
Her Game Too is a passionate movement dedicated to tackling sexism and promoting gender equality within the world of sport and they currently work with 77 out of the 92 Premier League and EFL clubs, as well as a host of grassroots and amateur sides Becoming an ambassador club means that Maidenhead United Women will support the cause by raising awareness, educating and creating a safer environment for women and girls in football.
Women’s first team manager, Ed Jackson-Norris, said: “I'm delighted that we've been able to officially partner with Her Game Too. With women’s football continuing to be the faster growing sport globally, it is imperative that Maidenhead United play their part and are visible and active in championing the women’s game - If you can see it, you can be it!”. Ed added: “Maidenhead United has to be more than simply a football club to the local community; we have to be a safe space where everyone has the same opportunities to be involved in the game we all love This partnership will allow us to do that, and will help us project our message far and wide that women and girls can play and enjoy football too.”
Lucy Ford, co-founder and head of grassroots at Her Game Too, commented: “We are delighted to announce our recent partnership with Maidenhead United Women Partnering with clubs that align with our values, like Maidenhead United Women, means that we can work together to promote gender inclusivity and foster a safe and inclusive environment for all. A huge thank you to Maidenhead United Women for their support; we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together!”
To celebrate the new partnership and International Women’s Day, the FA Women’s National League home game with Bristol Rovers tomorrow afternoon (Sunday 9th March, 2pm) will see a special offer for admission at York Road Adults can attend the match for £5 and bring a friend for FREE whilst all Under 16s can attend the fixture for FREE. In effect, that means a family with two adults can attend this game for just a fiver MUFC Gold Members will, as usual, gain free admission on presentation of their membership card.
RYAN PETERS
Welcome back to York Road at the end of a hugely busy period of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday fixtures - a four-week period where we have had to squeeze in nine matches. This is obviously a challenge for a part-time club
We will have had an opportunity with a Thursday night training session to try and assess an eventful game on Tuesday night. I was asked after the match whether it was a point gained on the night or two lost and frankly we will have to wait until the end of the season to see how that draw sits in the context of our campaign. Overall, we felt we were not very good on the night and we didn’t recognise the team out there for the first 35 minutes. We were handed a lifeline with what was a correct sending off and managed to get ourselves back into the game and get our noses in front. However, ultimately we threw it away from a set-piece again.
Suffice to say I can’t really say in these notes what was discussed at half time However, as a management team we were shocked at the performance to that point Other than the Yeovil game, we have been pretty good at home over the last few months so we urged the team to up the ante and the tempo which in fairness we did in the second period, albeit against a team with ten men. There were some decisions on the night which we felt were perhaps questionable but we need to be looking at ourselves more than we look at officials.
As a management team we tried not to put too much pressure on what many were saying was a key game and treat the match as if it were any other. The warm up was good, we looked raring to go and it should have had the makings of a good performance but we were really sluggish on the night What I will say is that we have been in this kind of position a number of times since we have been in this league and we know exactly what needs to be done We need every single player and staff member doing all they can to ensure that we are at our very best as we cannot afford to step off it. We need to maintain a positive mindset and be reliable – no one needs to do anything that haven’t shown they aren’t capable of doing before. It is time for the players to step up and that must be the case today.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Tuesday night’s full programme of Vanarama National League matches saw 35 goals scored across the 12 fixtures The highest scoring game occurred here at York Road and you can relive that dramatic encounter with Braintree Town on Page 25 of tonight’s programme.
It could end up being a significant night in the title race as leaders Barnet won whilst both of their nearest chasers went down to defeat The Bees blitzed Yeovil Town 5-0 to cement their place at the top - and the lead is suddenly nine points. Goals from Ryan Glover, Anthony Hartigan, John Stead and second-half penalties from Harry Chapman and Dom Telford did the damage. York City suffered a rare set-back at home as Altrincham inflicted a painful defeat, Justin Amaluzor hit the decisive goal Meanwhile, third place Forest Green Rovers also lost, a set-back at FC Halifax Town came after Florent Hoti struck the winner.
Gateshead in fourth lost 1-0 at Rochdale as Oldham Athletic drew 0-0 at Boston United. Harry Beautyman grabbed a good point for Woking at Southend, whose play-off hopes were hampered by the 2-2 draw In the live DAZN game, Eastleigh beat Ebbsfleet United 2-0 - their fourth win in five Niall Maher and Jake Taylor scored.
AFC Fylde continue to impress under new manager David Longwell. The Coasters beat Hartlepool United 2-1, Gavin Massey and Charlie Jolly scored early. Tamworth thrashed Wealdstone 4-1, Nathan Tshikuna scored twice and Dan Creaney added to his tally. Jack Stevens saved Solihull Moors from defeat at home to Sutton United, while Aldershot and Dagenham fired blanks
The Isuzu FA Trophy semi-final draw took place on Monday and paired Aldershot Town with bitter rivals Woking The tie will be held at the EBB Stadium on Saturday 5th April. The Shots have never reached Wembley Stadium before which will add extra spice to the fixture, whilst The Cards won the Trophy three times in four seasons between 1994 and 1997 – still a joint record in the competition The other tie will see former Magpie Sam Beckwith look to secure a place at Wembley as his Rochdale side – who will now surely be favourites to lift the FA Trophy for the first time – will host National League North side Spennymoor Town The in-form County Durham side had defeated this afternoon’s York Road opponents and 1981 Trophy finalists by two goals to nil at the VBS Community Stadium
WOMEN’S TEAM
Maidenhead United Women have a fortnight of cup finals to look forward to one successive Sundays later in the month. The First Team have reached the Berks & Bucks Senior Women’s Cup final for the fifth time and are looking to make history with a first ever taste of success in the competition That final – against Tier 6 outfit Newport Pagnell – will take place at Beaconsfield Town FC at 2pm on Sunday 16th March, admission will be Adults £5, Under 16s £1, Under 5 Free Exactly a week later the Development team will be in the BBFA Trophy final at the same venue, taking on Burghfield.
Teenage defender Isacc Gregory scored in the semi-final success against Reading FC at Slough last month and is looking forward to the final Gregory, who turned 19 the following day said: “I was lucky enough to play in many cup finals throughout Academy football but the one that will always stick out to me is last years Combined Counties Cup final (against Fulham). It was my first full season in senior football and it was an amazing experience to play against such a talented side and an even better feeling to come out on top Making memories with the players is what means the most to me, you develop relationships on and off the pitch and to share those kind of experiences with each other is an incredible feeling”
Fellow defender Emily Norfolk has similar positive cup final memories: The impressive full back or wing-back recalls having “played in one for Launton Ladies in the last season with my childhood team with people that I’d grown up playing football with We won! It was a very emotional last game together” Other Magpies have very recent positive memories of playing in the Senior Cup final; Natasha Rasmussen (pictured, with Gregory) captained Reading to success in last season’s final at Ascot, with Tia Johnson scoring Reading’s goal in the final assisted by Ellie Manners, both of whom switched to Maidenhead in the summer.
Emily McMaster is another key player in Ed Jackson-Norris’s side, and the 18-yearold – signed on dual registration with WSL side Tottenham Hotspur – admits the cup final experience will be a new one for her. McMaster explained: “I’ve played in several small-sided tournament finals and won lots when I was younger, but this final is my first cup final in a women’s cup competition!” Gregory, however, had the last word when explaining how much Maidenhead support in the cup final will lift the team: “The fans that we had at the Reading game were unbelievable. It meant the world to the squad and our coaching staff so if we could get that support again this time round it would more than appreciated!”
OPPONENT REWIND
Maidenhead might have a narrow head-to-head edge against Sutton in the ‘Battle of the Uniteds’ but this afternoon’s opposition might justifiably claim to be ‘one-step ahead’ of the Magpies in terms of achievements and deeds
The U’s were three-time Athenian League champions, leaving that division in 1963 when the Magpies were elected in Sutton’s place The U’s had left to join the
Isthmian League – winning the top Maidenhead finally being elected to the second tier of that competition ten years later in 1973 The first league matches between our two clubs therefore did not come until the 21st century, however the sides have faced off in some eight different competitions since the first Amateur Cup meeting in 1937. Sutton went on to reach the EFL in 2021 and they enjoyed three campaigns in League Two.
That first meeting on 9th January 1937 was an Amateur Cup First Round tie between Spartan League Magpies and the U’s from the Athenian League The Maidenhead Advertiser report from the following week reported that a “flustricken” United team – missing “three key men” - staged “a second half rally that absolutely subdued their opponents, they deserved at least to draw” A “very good crowd” saw United captain Robinson win the toss and elect to kick towards Bell Street “facing a bright afternoon sun” Sutton’s Solly missed an early penalty kick and the visitors had loud subsequent shouts for another spot-kick as Lambden looked to have clearly handled.
Maidenhead led after 25 minutes when Ayres wing trickery assisted Dudman to score The visitors equalised around ten minutes later when Pratt crossed for Tarrant to head home and a minute later Solly’s header was adjudged to have crossed the line to give Sutton the lead. The lead was 3-1 before the break when Turner’s shot defeated Maidenhead goalkeeper Bunce who was “deceived by the pace of the ball” The second half was all Maidenhead according to the Advertiser who reported that Sutton “defended desperately and for a long period they only had three men in the Maidenhead half”. The 1936 Amateur Cup semi-finalists were out, Sutton went on to reach the same stage before losing to Athenian League rivals Leyton in a replay held at Wimbledon after a draw at Ilford
The overall record between our two sides over 41 competitive matches sees Maidenhead having recorded 16 victories to the U’s 15, with 10 draws. Sutton have won each of the last three, either side of their sojourn to the EFL
MEET THE OPPOSITION
The U’s currently sit in 13th place in the Vanarama National League, writes Thomas Lloyd Since relegation from EFL League, Sutton United haven’t been able to keep up much consistency throughout the season They have been prolific upfront, with star man Will Davies bagging 14 goals from 32 matches. However, they have suffered defensively with some heavy defeats, conceding late goals and scoring three times in a match multiple times but still not gaining maximum points
Their first National League game resulted in a point away against Tamworth, with ex-Magpie Josh Coley scoring an equaliser in added time. Their first home league match was a brilliant 5-0 victory vs Altrincham with five different goal scorers. Another win followed when Charlie Waller scored the only goal at Wealdstone
After a point each against York City and Eastleigh, the month finished with a first league defeat, conceding an 89th minute winner against Forest Green. The U’s would then be defeated 3-0 in consecutive fixtures - Boston United and Dagenham & Redbridge. A comeback draw against Southend United from 3-1 down followed and Sutton then prevented Ebbsfleet United from completing a comeback when Nadesen scored a winner Points were shared against Yeovil at home in a goalless draw before another three points were achieved at Woking.
Into October, Sutton blew a two-goal lead against Hartlepool United in a 4-3 defeat Seventh tier Chertsey were defeated in the FA Cup but Oldham Athletic and Gateshead wereable to surpass Sutton, 3-1 and 1-0 respectively Will Davies then netted the only goal away at Braintree Town. The U’s lost in the FA Cup first round at home vs Birmingham City, defeated by a single goal. There would be more frustration six days later at Rochdale, conceding in injury time to be beaten 2-1 The players respond well, achieving 9 points from 9, conquering Maidenhead United, Solihull Moors and AFC Fylde In December the FA Trophy match ended successfully in a penalty shoot-out vs Ebbsfleet after an exciting 3-3. There followed a 0-0 stalemate at Halifax and two losses, against Altrincham 1-0 and Tamworth 2-1. A Christmas treat for Sutton supporters came when Nicholas Michael Hayes bagged a 99th minute equaliser against title-challenging Barnet
Into 2025, The U’s surrendered a goal in injury time, sharing the points with Aldershot. However, Sutton got revenge on Tamworth when Davies scored the winner in the FA Trophy fourth round and Davies would strike again in a draw against Wealdstone Davies also hit a brace in a surprise victory at York and scored the winner against Eastleigh. He bagged the only goal vs Kidderminster late on in the Trophy and then notched against Hartlepool, only for Sutton to concede two goals to succumb to defeat at home. The striker netted for a seventh game in a row, although the team would suffer another aggravating loss at Gateshead A point was secured against Braintree, Coley broke the deadlock but Sutton let a goal slip only three minutes later. There was a lacklustre start to March, losing in the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy at home against National League North Spennymoor In midweek the points were shared at Solihull Moors 1-1, Eduino Vaz scoring for the U’s
The Gaffer – Steve Morison
Appointed as manager in January 2024, moving from Isthmian League Hornchurch, with the Essex club seven points clear at the top of the Premier Division when he left He previously spent just under a year as manager of Championship side Cardiff City, steering them clear of the relegation zone in the 2021/22 season, having previously been Head Coach of their Under 23s. Steve's playing career as a striker saw him make nearly 700 senior appearances, half of which were for Millwall in three spells, and score nearly 250 goals He also played for Northampton Town, Bishop's Stortford, Stevenage, for whom he scored the winner in the 2007 FA Trophy final, Norwich City, Leeds United and Shrewsbury Town. He was capped 20 times by Wales.
Enfield-born Morrison gained hiscoaching badgeswhilst playing and was appointed Northampton Town's under-18 coach, before joining Cardiff. Morrison has a National Diploma in Sports Science. Morrison was unable to steer Sitton to EFL safety last season and he rebuilds in the National League alongside his coaching staff of Anthony Fenton and Jon Meeney
THREE TO WATCH
Ashley Nadesan signed on a season long loan from Gillingham in August. Hefirst came to attention while playing for Horley Town in the Combined Counties League, scoring nearly 100 goals in two seasons and earning a move to Fleetwood Town at the end of the 2015/16 season Nadesan had two successful loan spells at Carlisle, before joining Crawley in May 2019. He went on to play around 150 games for Crawley over the next four seasons, his goals including one in their televised 3-0 FA Cup win over Leeds in January 2021
Josh Coley is a former Magpie who scored five goals in 28 starts during the 2020/21 season Josh joined the U’s in June 2023 from Exeter City He spent his early career in non-league football in the South Midlands before joining Norwich City in 2018. After a loan spell with Dunfermline Athletic he signed for the Magpies and a year later made the step up to the Football League with Exeter Has spent time on loan with Harrogate
Will Davies signed in the summer 2024 after leaving York City, who had signed him in November from Braintree. Came to prominence with Southern League Premier Division Central team Leiston, where he scored over fifty goals in two seasons He joined Braintree at the start of 2023/24 and the continuation of his scoring form at the higher level earned him a move to York. He had a spell on loan at Bromley towards the end of the season
LAST TIME OUT
It was a point apiece at York Road as Maidenhead United drew 3-3 against Braintree Town, writes Scott Hargreaves
With the first chance of the game, the visitors took the lead as Matt Robinson’s glanced header looped into the far corner from Tom Blackwell’s set piece inside the opening five minutes Braintree had the chance to make it two with barely ten minutes on the clock, Kyrell Lisbie won a couple of bounces before the ball fell into John Akinde’s path, but the forward struck straight at Craig Ross
Halfway through the opening 45, Braintree did double their lead. A defensive misjudgement presented Kyrell Lisbie with a one-on-one with Ross, which the former slotted calmly into the bottom right corner. The visitors were inches away from making it three as Marley Marshall-Miranda crashed his snapshot against the post, fortunately glancing off the outside of the upright and out of harm’s way 35 minutes gone and United thought they had pulled one back, as it looked to be that Manny Onariase was destined to score from six yards out The Canal End though it had crossed the line, but the only man’s decision that mattered said otherwise
With three left before the interval, Maidenhead pulled one back as Reece Smith burst in behind the Braintree defence before smashing past a helpless Henry Gray. As the first-half looked to be drawing to a calm close, John Akinde gave Will de Havilland an elbow in an aerial challenge for the ball. For this, he received his second yellow card and was given his marching orders.
The visitors got us back underway, but they were straight under the cosh as United pushed for an equaliser, looking to capitalise on their man advantage Miles WelchHayes had the first half chance of the second period, latching on to Casey Pettit’s cross but the fullback’s header failed to trouble Gray As we passed the hour mark, United drew level through a dangerous in-swinging corner from Tristan Abrahams With a dozen or so bodies in the box, the ball took a touch off Shawn McCoulsky and crawled over the line. In a massive shift of momentum, two minutes later United were awarded a penalty as Louie Annersley was adjudged to be holding his man. The man causing all the chaos, Abrahams, stepped up to calmly send Gray the wrong way to give Maidenhead the lead for the first time in the game.
Blackwell, who has been dangerous from set pieces, forced Ross into a massive save to prevent his free kick from flying into the top corner From the resulting corner, a knock down fell to Jermaine Francis who shot through numerous bodies and managed to sneak it into the net, and we were level again United came inches away from retaking the lead with five minutes to go, Nathan Ferguson slid a ball across the area, but Abrahams couldn’t quite stretch to make contact One minute into added time Sam Barratt had a chance to nick it Smith’s deep cross found him at the back post, but he wasn’t ready for the ball to arrive, and the ball bounced out of play.
The Magpies faced a stern test on this day in 1958 when they took on neighbours Slough Town for a Berks & Bucks semi-final match at Marlow’s Oak Tree Road ground The Rebels had won all of their previous seven games and had only lost one in the last fourteen, however Maidenhead were having an impressive season themselves, and Town would be in for a nasty shock! The turning point came midway through the first-half when Slough were awarded a penalty, Roberts smashed his shot against the crossbar and from then on United took control of the game. Three minutes before the break Maidenhead took the lead when a cross from Lambert was hooked in by Wright at the near post Lambert set up Wright to score again just two minutes after the re-start with a shot that left Slough keeper Prebble motionless The United supporters were cheering once more on 57 minutes when Gerry Cox managed to hold his composure after a tackle to hammer the ball into the roof of the net. The Rebels were looking more and more demoralised every time Maidenhead scored, right-half Ken Holmes was putting in an outstanding performance and on 77 minutes United’s Reg Bickley was sent sprawling in the penalty area. Much to Maidenhead’s surprise the referee awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, not that it mattered as Cox blasted the ball past Prebble to make it 4-0. Roberts did get a late consolation for Slough in the last minute, scoring from the penalty spot to make some amends for his earlier fluff but it would be the Magpies looking forward to a cup final tie with Wycombe Wanderers.
Despite a plethora of missed chances at Fetcham Grove in 1986 United recorded a 3-0 win against a hapless Leatherhead side in an Isthmian League Division 1 encounter Leatherhead had won 4-3 at York Road earlier in the season but revenge would be sweet in the return encounter for the Berkshire side.Mark Harris opened the scoring on 18 minutes heading in from a Mark Collins’ corner, an own goal from Clayton Shield put the Magpies 2-0 up shortly before half-time when he made a hash of tackling Vaughan Powell. Lance Cadogan headed in number three in the closing stages after good work from Andy Broadley and John Ling in a game Maidenhead dominated from start to finish
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: Steve Morison
1 Jack Sims (GK)
4 Tyler French
5 Harry Ransom
6 Siju Odelusi
7 Josh Coley
8 Lewis Simper
9 Will Davies
11 Dillon De Silva 12 Eduino Vaz 14 Finley Barbrook 15 Hayden Muller 16 Jack Taylor 17 Nana Boateng 20 Jack Wadham 21 Jay Williams 22 Ryan Jackson 23 Jayden Harris 24 Ashley Nadesan 25 Steve Arnold (GK) 29 Sam Roberts (GK)
