Match Preview: Maidenhead United v AFC Fylde(National League)05/08/23.
History and recent form:
The Coasters return to the National League with a tough trip to Maidenhead United who will be equally looking to make an impressive start to the season. The Magpies were formed in 1870 and with their ground in York Street they have the oldest ground in football used by the same team. One of the 15 teams to play in the inaugural Fa Cup, the magpies earned some early success in the competition making the quarter finals on 2 occasions. The club earned much success during the 1900s winning the Berks and Bucks cup numerous times as well as the Corinthian League. York Street’s record attendance came just before WW2 when the Magpies hosted Southall in an FA Amateur cup hosting 7,920 people which saw a Maidenhead win. In the more modern times, Maidenhead have stalled to make any progress since the 1900s roaming around in similar divisions and winning similar cups. However despite all this success they have never won the FA Vase or FA trophy, with the latter potentially being a target for Alan Devonshire in the upcoming season.
Maidenhead United come into their opener against the Coasters with a solid pre-season done and dusted which saw them take on a variety of sides from all different leagues. The Magpies suffered 2 defeats throughout pre-season which came against Championship side Ipswich Town and National League North side Banbury United. Alan Devonshire will be hoping for a better season this time around narrowly surviving the drop by 2 points last season. The Coasters also played a variety of sides within pre-season also suffering 2 defeats but more impressively beating League 2 playoff side Salford City in their last outing. The Coasters will be looking forward to playing back in the National league however won’t be here to make up the numbers and could be seen as potential dark horses. However the focus and early goal for both of these sides(like all sides in the division!) first and foremost would be enough points for survival.
The Manager: Alan Devonshire
One of the older managers in the National league and most would say one of the more wiser managers in the National League. Devonshire aged 67 certainly knows a thing or two about non league football. As a player Alan was a West Ham fans favourite after being bought by local club Southall and even starred for England for a few appearances. After a brief spell at Watford, Devonshire moved from the playing field to the touchline, taking charge of Osterley and Brentford women. However, Devonshire soon made the move to York Road taking charge in 1997 and bringing instant success with him through the Isthmian League Cup and promoting the club to the Isthmian Premier Division in the 1999-2000 season. A few Berks and Bucks Senior County Cups later and Devonshire was on the road again this time to Hampton and Richmond Borough who were plying their trade in the Isthmian Division One South. Devonshire once again enjoyed success taking them to the Conference South Playoff final on numerous occasions but never running out winners. In 2011 National League Braintree Town came knocking for Alan’s services and he couldn’t turn them down. Devonshire managed to keep Braintree near the top end of the table, however turned down a contract at the end of the 2014/15 season. Braintree were relegated 2 years later after never finishing in the bottom half under Alan’s reign. However, Alan moved back to his beloved Maidenhead for the 2015/16 season and things have never looked better. He quickly earned promotion back to the National League and has stayed there ever since with the occasional cup run and Berks and Bucks senior county cups to keep fans happy. In 2021, Alan tied down a 3 year contract which has seen like very good business by the magpies.
Key Players:
Lewis Kinsella- Mostly known for his exploits at Aldershot Town, Kinsella is an attacking full back with a venomous left foot. Good on the overlap and can put in a wicked ball into the box, Kinsellla could be one to watch on the attack.
Kevin Lokko- Another piece of smart business from the magpies was securing the services of Lokko following his departure from Farnborough FC. A strong defender with bags of experience at this level, could be one of Maidenhead’s key men this season. A main starter at most of his previous clubs, Lokko offers something other defenders don’t have and could cause attackers a nightmare this season.
Shawn Mccoulsky- Shawn will become the main man for Maidenhead this season following Emile Acquah’s departure to Barrow. 5 goals last season for the striker isn’t setting the world on fire however, more reliance will be put on the youngmans shoulders and this could be make or break for the striker.
Previous meetings:
15th August 2017
AFC Fylde 1 vs 4 Maidenhead United FC
Dave Tarpey ran the show in the first outings between these 2 teams notching up 4 goals of some real quality. However this stemmed from the dubious sending off of Josh Langley in the 23rd minute at 0-0. Tarpey made a mockery of the coasters defence but once again the referee did seem to favour the away side awarding them 2 penalties in the first half aswelll as the red card. Tarpey dispatched them both away and the magpies were cruising until Lewis Montrose brought the coasters back to life with a goal on half time. However in the second half, Tarpey was in no mood to relax and added a further 2 goals to this tally making it a comfortable win for the visitors.
Attendance: 1657
30th December 2017
Maidenhead United 1 vs 2 AFC Fylde
The theme of penalties and red cards in this fixture carried on in this game one day before 2018. The Magpies opened the scoring on the 42nd minute when Harry Pritchard converted from the spot leaving Dave Challinor with a headache on his hands. However this headache seemed to clear with a brilliant 15 minute spell from the Coasters which saw Lewis Montrose equalise in the 71st minute and then Jack Muldoon take the lead on the 83rd minute. However, just like the reverse fixture the Coasters ended up with 10 men with Sam Finley being sent off with 6 minutes to go for a second yellow.
Attendance: 1315
27th October 2018
Maidenhead United 0 vs 6 AFC Fylde
Once again the familiar theme of penalties and red cards carried on this fixture with the away side this time benefitting. Fylde led early through the ever present Danny Rowe who managed to tuck the ball in from a Zaine Francis Angol cross. However in the 25th minute things got worse for Maidenhead when a horror challenge from Christian Smith on Ryan Croasdale got the deserved red card. Things then went from bad to worse for the magpies as they conceded a penalty which Rowe once again dispatched. The Coasters really turned the style on in the second half with Gime Toure, Serhat Tasdemir, Danny Philliskirk and Andy Bond all scoring and all benefitting from the brilliance off Joe Cardle who was unlucky not to find the net on this day.
Attendance: 1372
2nd March 2019
AFC Fylde 2 vs 1 Maidenhead United
The Coasters once again came from behind in this fixture with the magpies scoring a wonderful opener, Ryan Upward with a beautiful volley past Jay Lynch. However, the Coasters responded through danger man Danny Rowe who notched in 31st minute and then Tom Crawford completed the turnaround in the 57th minute to give the Coasters a well deserved 3 points.
Attendance: 1402
29th October 2019
Maidenhead United 1 vs 1 AFC Fylde
The Bentley era at Fylde started off with a point on the road in a game which the Coasters deserved more but just couldn’t hit the back off the net. As often in the fixture the Magpies led through Josh Kelly’s wonder strike stunning everyone at York Road. However the resilient Coasters fought on and managed to gain a point through a Neil Byrne header which was less than what they deserved. The return fixture did not take place due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Attendance: 1010
Ex Coasters:
There are currently no ex-coasters playing for the Maidenhead United side.
Opposition Form:
The Magpies started pre-season with a defeat and ended with a defeat. The defeat against Ipswich Town was to be expected but it may have been a closer affair then some may have expected and was indeed closer than the Magpies last game of the National League season when coming out 4-0 losers to Gateshead. However, after the Ipswich game the magpies managed to gain momentum with wins against Flackwell Heath, Thatcham Town, St Albans City and Hayes and Yeading without even conceding a goal. The Magpies then ended their pre-season with a narrow defeat to Banbury United which does show that they might not score many but will be hard to score against.
How to get to York Road.
One of the easier grounds to get to if using Public Transport.
Catch the Train to Maidenhead Station(trains depart from either London Paddington or Tottenham Court Road if coming from Euston)and its a short 5 min walk from Maidenhead station to the ground(you'll see the Ground on your right as you arrive on the train from London).
The absolute latest you could depart Preston and still makes the match would be the 11:01 Avanti Trains departure to London Euston arriving at the ground at 14:35.
