Re: Maidenhead

By Dave-LW (legacy user)6/9/2014 21:55Sat Sep 6 21:55:32 2014In response to Maidenhead

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Report from a neutral on the non league forum "where did you go?" Section:

Staines Town 1 Maidenhead United 2
Conference South
Admission £6 (normally £12, but I was suitably outraged to use my student card), attendance 430

This game started off well, but all the action was really in the first half hour. Staines took the lead in the second minute, with Maidenhead equalising after around 10 minutes. The game was a little tetchy, but a flare up seemingly over nothing led to the Maidenhead manager and a Staines player having a bit of handbags. This resulted in a straight red for the Staines player and the Maidenhead boss being sent to the stands.

The rest of the half was fairly even, with Staines probably having the two best chances shortly after the red card - both unmarked headers from left-wing crosses. One was headed high and wide; the other brought the save of the match from the Maidenhead keeper.

The second half was dominated by Maidenhead, but they spurned chance after chance before eventually scoring the winner. A late spell of Staines pressure at the end came to nothing.

The ground itself is a bit of a mix. The 500-seat main stand is built into the back of a leisure centre complex and looks rather new. Opposite is a series of Atcost-type metal terrace stands, probably covering about two-thirds of the length of the side. Both ends are effectively paths, although there are a couple of raised steps in the area behind one goal.

I also spent a bit of time in Staines town centre before the match - I don't think I've ever seen so many mobility scooters outside of a seaside town. However, the walk to the ground along the bank of the Thames was lovely.