Maidenhead let two-goal lead slip as Farnborough fight back for York Road draw

Maidenhead captain Will de Havilland

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Maidenhead United 2, Farnborough 2

Maidenhead United’s hopes of chasing down a play-off spot in the National League South hit another fork in the road as Farnborough came from two goals down to claim a point at York Road.

United were cruising towards a much-needed three points when Josh Umerah stretched to reach Jayden Mitchell-Lawson’s cross and head home at the start of the second half.

The hosts had dominated the opening 45 minutes and passed up a series of presentable chances either side of Liam Dulson’s thumping low finish in the 23rd minute.

But the home side were also guilty of complacency in the second half as Farnborough battled back for a share of the spoils. Mason Bloomfield drew the visitors level with a powerful header on the hour mark before Billy Clifford slotted home from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute after he was tripped by Asher Yearwood in the box.

Both teams had opportunities to win the game in the closing stages but both had to settle for a point. and by the end, the home team - who’d been so enterprising and fluent in the first half - had frustratingly run out of ideas.

Interim management duo Ryan Peters and Aaron O’Brien will be kicking themselves as another chance to draw closer to the play-off places went begging.

They were able to bring Josh Popoola back into the starting line-up after the forward missed last weekend’s defeat at Ebbsfleet United.

Their first chance for the hosts arrived after only six minutes, Jordon Ragguette steering a low shot just wide of the post.

That was closer, but Farnborough went closer just a few minutes later when Toby Bower curled a free kick over the wall and against the crossbar.

Dulson’s 19th minute effort flicked off Umerah’s boot and bounced away off the outside of the Farnborough post, but Dulson wasn’t to be denied, and he scored with a trademark finish a few minutes later. United worked the ball well on the left edge of the box to set up the Maidenhead man and he hammered the ball low and hard past Tommy Reid to make it 1-0.

From that moment until half-time, it was wave after wave of Maidenhead attacks and the hosts will feel they should have given themselves further breathing space. Dulson saw another fierce strike blocked behind in the 25th minute. Umerah forced a great save from Reid in the 40th minute with a clever drag flick from Popoola’s cut back and Popoola was then denied by another lunging block in the 45th minute after running onto Yearwood’s pass and seemingly having the whole of the Farnborough goal to aim at.

You sensed a second Maidenhead goal would kill off the challenge of the visitors, and that’s exactly what they got when Mitchell-Lawson floated a cross over from the right for Umerah to head home in the 47th minute. But the anticipated cruise to all three points didn’t materialise.

Yearwood missed a great chance to make it 3-0 when he headed over from close range in the 58th minute. But they lost control of the game a few minutes later when a simple ball in from the right was headed home forcefully by Bloomfield.

From nowhere, it felt like Farnborough were right back in the game and they got themselves level with 20 minutes to play. Clifford picked the ball up in the box and appeared to have his legs taken from his as he turned Yearwood.

The referee pointed to the spot and Clifford swept a high shot beyond Van Stappershoef who dived the wrong way.

Bloomfield very nearly squeezed in a third goal for Farnborough just a minute later when Boyd Beaucroft tried to square it to him at the near post.

United had a couple of chances on the break in the closing 20 minutes, with Popoola sliding the ball well wide from Dulson’s cross in the 74th minute.

The home side never managed to replicate the fluency and tempo they showed in the first half though and this feels like two big points dropped in the race for a play-off spot. The result leaves them in 11th place, now seven points off the top seven ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Tonbridge Angels.