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MAIDENHEAD DELIGHTED WITH A DRAW AT HOME It doesn't come more frustrating than this. To dominate the second half so completely, in the way Canvey did, but still only come away with a point was too much for most Canvey fans to bear. To see a team like Maidenhead put eight men behind the ball for so much of the game and dig in, hoping for a narrow win, was so dull and boring it's no wonder the club can only attract an average of 288 fans for home games. This was very much a game of two halves and, it has to be said, Maidenhead played well enough in the first half to contain Canvey and stop them playing football. Their main tactic seemed to be to bully Canvey off the ball and then get eight or nine men back to defend. Once upon a time Canvey would have adjusted to these tactics and played around them, but today they didn't seem able to get their act entirely together. Try as they might, Maidenhead thwarted every Canvey move and Richard Barnard in the home goal had very little to do. Maidenhead took a surprising early lead when, on 15 minutes, they were awarded a free-kick some 25yds out from Canvey's goal. As the defence lined up their wall Matt Glynn, not waiting for the referee's whistle, hammered home a ball that Danny Potter could only manage to get a hand to. The ball was in the back of the net before the wall could get back 10yds but in spite of protestations from Canvey to the referee that he hadn't signalled for the game to re-start, the goal was allowed to stand. The question is, did the referee whistle or give any other signal that the kick could be taken? The answer is that before every other free-kick that followed this one, the referee pointed to his whistle making it quite clear that he would indicate when the kick could be taken. Inconsistent, or what? As the first half continued Canvey can consider themselves to be very unlucky and they had several near misses. But you cannot take it away from the home defence - they put every obstacle in the way of the normally free-scoring Canvey attack. Rudi put the ball over from 6yds on 13 minutes, Gregors wasted a shooting opportunity on 22 minutes when he laid the ball off instead of hammering home and Lee Boylan hit the post with a header from a Gregor's cross on the half-hour. But it wasn't simply one way traffic. Maidenhead were closing the midfield down very quickly and managing to get enough balls forward to keep the Canvey defence under a fair degree of pressure. Half time Maidenhead 1 Canvey 0 Canvey came out for the second session with all guns blazing. They immediately went into overdrive and for the entire 45 minutes we were treated to a feast of attacking football that would have been perfect, but for one important omission. The lack of goals. Home fans must have been very worried as wave after wave of attacks came forward and the slender lead looked to be very tenuous. Rudi was called off at half-time, to be replaced by Steve Parmenter - which seemed a bit unfair on the Finnish international who had played well in the first half. But the biggest 'unfairness' of all was the blatant penalty that was turned down by the rather confused Mr Comberford when, on 49 minutes, Brian Connor handled the ball in his own area. 'Play on' called the man in black. Jeff Minton forced a brave save from Barnard a few minutes later when he burst through with the ball at his feet; Kevin Dobinson came close on 67 minutes; Ben Chenery skied a ball over the stand on 76 minutes. But no one was getting close enough and frustration was beginning to set in. Canvey kept coming forward but simply couldn't manage to turn their advantage into goals. Until Micky Bennett came forward for a Jeff Minton free-kick. Mints sent the ball over from 30yds and Benno rose above everyone to head home the sweetest of equalisers. With news that Aldershot wee in the lead at New Lodge, the pressure was now on to grab the winner. Canvey brought more men forward, Maidenhead brought more men back. It simply was not to be. Not even when Ollie Berquez had the ball at his feet just 5yds in front of goal. Pressure? A bobble? Pushed? The result was the same - t he shot over the bar - by a mile. Not only was the ball over, but the game as well. Two points lost to a very mediocre Maidenhead team who did little to bring any flair or excitement into the game but simply dug in and put lots of bodies behind the ball. But the unbeaten run continues (14 league games) and remember that it is never all over for Canvey or Aldershot until the fat lady sings... Match Report by Merv Teams
Weather Conditions: Bright, dry and sunny on a rock hard pitch. What did you think of
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