Maidenhead United Women v Bristol Rovers Women
FAWNL South West Division
Back to an old favourite I’ve not had the opportunity to catch up with for some time, the last occasion being a pre-season game back in July. This match would be the thirteenth Maidenhead Women’s home game I’d have seen since starting this journey and the first at York Road for over a year. Would it be lucky thirteen? Only time would tell. It’s always a pleasure going back, so many familiar faces to catch up with and it’s a great ground to visit.
Walking there from the train station the area has changed dramatically since my last trip, as with seemingly every town & city in the country, there are now several high rise apartment blocks which were just in the initial build stage last time I was there. The skyline looking from the ground is now very different!
On Twitter (yes, to me it will always be Twitter) I described York Road as the grand old lady of Berkshire football and it’s still a lovely place to visit. So much history and a proper stadium. Entry was £5 for adults and £1 for a printed programme, and then it was time for my first catch up, with Bracknell Town legend Micky Parker whose daughter Mia now plays for the Magpies. It’s always great having a little reminisce about the old days!
Today’s visitors were Bristol Rovers, a promoted team having their first season in the FAWNL after winning the South West Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division in 23/24. According to Wikipedia they are known as the Gas Girls colloquially but I think it’s probably best I leave that there. Their first season in the FAWNL has been a successful one with them sitting fifth in the table with 31 points from 16 games at the start of play. Maidenhead sat in eighth place with 17 from 17.
Maidenhead’s all conquering under 7s girls team were the mascots for the day and came out with the teams which is always lovely to see. Before the game the teams lined up around the centre circle as we had a minute’s applause to pay tribute to Poppy Atkinson, following the tragic accident that took the life of a promising 10 year old footballer in the last week.
The game kicked off with Rovers looking the more dangerous but without forcing any clear chances. That all changed in the 9th minute, the visitors won a corner on the left which Daisy Ackerman swung into the six yard box. A clearing header only found Charlotte Buxton on the edge of the box, she hit a powerful shot which was blocked. Rovers picked up the loose ball and found Ackerman who shot from distance, the effort seemed to take Magpies keeper Kenny Clarke by surprise and it sneaked in at the near post off the inside of the upright. 0-1
The hosts responded well to going behind an a nice passing move down the right involving Libby Doyle and Macey Walters resulted in Poppy Warren conceding a throw in. The throw was taken quickly and found Nat Cowell with her back to goal, she turned her defender and crossed into the box and it was half cleared to Jazz King whose strike from 20 yards went just wide.
Rovers continued to press forward looking to double their advantage and had a couple of efforts from Ackerman and Meg Jarvis from outside the box which Clarke was equal to.
Magpies Sarah Thompson won the ball well just inside her own half and after a nice one-two with Walters, the frustrated winger raced clear on the right. She fired a low cross into the box but Chloe Bassett managed to clear in front of Emily Norfolk who was closing in.
Maidenhead were now on top and nearly levelled from a Natasha Rasmussen corner. Her flighted delivery from the left caused panic in the Rovers defence with the ball eventually falling to Emily McMaster but she couldn’t get a clean header away and the ball looped wide of the far post.
Rovers struck back, Emily Bayliss winning the ball halfway inside her own half before heading off on a forceful run. She drew McMaster across and then slid a nice pass into the path of Ackerman but Clarke did well, coming out quickly she managed to smother the shot.
In this end to end spell, the Magpies won another corner on left. Rasmussen again swung the ball into the six yard box where Rovers again struggled to clear, the ball falling to McMaster around the penalty spot and she hit a first time effort which Imogen Davies got a hand to but not enough to stop it finding its way into the corner of the net. 1-1
The home side nearly went ahead soon after when a great run and cross from Libby Doyle picked out Norfolk coming in from the left. Unfortunately for Norfolk, the ball wouldn’t come down for her and she could only hit the side netting.
Rovers roared back through a quick break, Bayliss threading a lovely pass through the Magpies defence and giving them a three on one situation but Thompson had read it perfectly and raced across to cover superbly at the back.
The visitors finished the half the stronger and, after Thompson had intercepted another attack down the left, Ackerman recycled the ball and found Jarvis who hit a thundering shot goalwards which was superbly blocked by McMaster.
H-T: Maidenhead United 1 Bristol Rovers 1
The visitors started the second half how they finished the first, pushing their hosts back. On their first foray forward three minutes in, Maidenhead closed the visitors down well from a throw. Cowell picked up a loose pass and knocked the ball into the area where, under a Thierry-jo Gauvain challenge, she was sent tumbling. The official had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Macey Walters took responsibility and confidently fired the ball into the left corner past Davies who had guessed correctly but couldn’t get close to the well taken kick. 2-1
Rovers came straight back and from a corner Laura Barrett found space to get a clean header on target only to see Clarke get her fingertips to the ball and tip it over the bar. The attacks kept coming from the visitors as they tried to get back into the game. Bayliss raced onto a through ball down the left before squaring to Nia Rees who saw her shot cannon off the bar and the rebound cleared by Isacc Gregory.
Still the away side continued to press, a Buxton shot from distance was blocked away for a corner. Ackerman swung the set piece into the box where Barrett again found space but couldn’t get any power behind the header allowing Clarke to gather.
Rovers were now laying siege in the Magpies half but the home side were defending valiantly, just getting a touch or throwing themselves in the way of shots as the visitors poured forward. Bayliss headed over from a cross into the box and then Ackerman volleyed wide from a good position.
With ten minutes to go Jarvis played a lovely ball through dissecting the Maidenhead backline and finding the run of Kelly Jones. She hit the ball too well and it sailed over the bar.
A good run down the right flank from substitute Izzy Stockton gave the home side a little respite. She took the ball to the byline and tried to slide it to the unmarked Cowell in the middle only for Barrett to stretch and just do enough to divert the ball away from the waiting forward.
The away side then had a succession of corners, Clarke claiming the first well and tipping over a snapshot from Jarvis as the visitors continued to press. They then had a glorious chance to level when Jarvis found herself all alone on the left side of the area, she seemed to delay for a fraction of a second which gave McMaster the opportunity to throw herself at the ball and get a vital touch on to send it away from goal. It was another fantastic piece of defending from McMaster who had a superb match.
Minutes later the official called an end to proceedings with the Magpies taking a hard fought three points in a come from behind win.
F-T: Maidenhead United 2 Bristol Rovers 1
A thrilling match that you just couldn’t take your eyes off and you have to take your hat off to both teams for putting on a great exhibition of women’s football. Maidenhead to a player gave everything, left nothing on the pitch, battled for every ball and hung on to grab a great win. It was a gutsy backs to the wall display from them.
Bristol Rovers will probably be wondering just how they didn’t get anything from the game after dominating for large sections of the game. They threw the proverbial kitchen sink at Maidenhead in the second half but just couldn’t break through their dogged defence.
I had a lovely chat with a couple of Rovers supporters after the game over their “Hungry Hungry Hungry” banner. They were naturally disappointed but very philosophical about the game in general and I hope they got back home safely. I think we agreed that on any other day they would have probably won that especially considering the number of chances Rovers made over the 90 minutes but sometimes football does that to you!
I thoroughly enjoyed my day (until the train strife of the way home but I won’t go into that!) and would like to thank both teams for putting on a great show, Maidenhead for their hospitality and I look forward to my next visit at the end of April for the Worthing game. Wishing the very best of luck to both clubs for the remainder of the season.
For photos from this match check out Darren Woolley’s fantastic gallery here