Magpies take small but significant step to safety
Maidenhead United Women took another point towards safety – and climbed a place in the FA Women’s National League Division 1 South West in the process – as they drew 1-1 at York Road with Abingdon United on Wednesday night.
Abingdon have proved somewhat of a bogey team for the Magpies over the last couple of years, knocking Maidenhead out of the Berks & Bucks Cup in successive seasons, with Maidenhead losing the return FAWNL fixture at The Northcourt in
September. This match was the archetypal game of two halves however, with Maidenhead having the best of the first half and the visitors dominating the second to fight back and claim a deserved point.
This was a lively encounter which was a good advert for Tier 4 women’s football. There were chances at either end early on; Izzy Stockton chased a ball down the channel for the Magpies and went around stranded goalkeeper Hannah Cox but the Maidenhead youngster could not succeed in pulling the ball back from a tight angle for a colleague with the goal gaping. Abingdon captain Nell Boxall lifted a presented chance high and wide of the target before her opposite number Amy Saunders saw her effort deflected onto the bar.
United led after seventeen minutes when Stockton moved into double figures for the season, driving the ball under Cox at her near post. The busy Stockton then succeeded in charging down an Abingdon clearance, the ball falling nicely for Simone O’Brien who saw her first-time shot brilliantly saved by Cox. The impressive Freya MeadowsTuson then brought the ball half the length of the pitch and fed O’Brien who saw her shot saved.
The visitors came back into the game as the half wore on and with Maidenhead temporarily down to ten players – Aleasha Lunn eventually being substituted after a heavy challenge – the
Oxfordshire side put a gilt-edged chance wide before Erin Hartigan sent an effort wide from distance. On the stroke of half time a free-kick pumped into the box was gathered by Rosie Wilmott-Joyce when any touch on the ball would probably have defeated the Magpies ‘keeper.
Maidenhead had a chance to put daylight between themselves and a hard-working Abingdon side on the hour when Stockton and substitute Nat Cowell combined to open a clear chance for O’Brien who was denied by a marvellous double-save from Cox. This was a rare raid from United however who saw the away side dominate much of the second period and they equalized inside the final twenty minutes with a controlled rising drive from outside the area by Amy Chivers. United will now look to take that first half performance into Sunday’s home fixture with Southampton Women’s FC at York Road (2pm).
Meanwhile Niall Irwin’s improving Development side “delighted” their manager by going toe-to-toe with unbeaten title-chasers MK Dons at Cox Green Leisure Centre last Sunday afternoon. The winning goal was a wind-assisted chip by Ellie Aston for the visitors but brave United saw Anne-Marie Pejcic’s goal chalked off inside the last five minutes.