Peters 'absolutely livid' as Maidenhead United throw away two-goal lead

Ryan Peters was ‘absolutely livid’ as he tried to come to terms with his side’s disappointing second half performance in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Farnborough.

The Magpies appeared to be cruising to a much-needed three points when Josh Umerah stretched to head home Jayden Mitchell-Lawson’s right-wing cross in the 47th minute.

But from 2-0, the Magpies grip on all three points was loosened by their own poor defending, as Mason Bloomfield headed Farnborough back into contention just after the hour mark.

The Magpies might still have been favoured to win the game, based on the chances they’d created in the first half and the ones they continued to churn out in the second. But Amir Hadi managed to slip free from Asher Yearwood in the box in the 72nd minute and the midfielder clipped his ankles for a penalty.

Billy Clifford stepped up to score high into the net and draw the two teams’ level and, in the closing stages, Farnborough looked as likely winners as the Magpies. Bloomfield was thwarted at close quarters by a combination of Will de Havilland and Jordi Van Stappershoef as the visitors threatened to turn the game completely on its head.

At the other end, Josh Popoola couldn’t quite stretch to divert home Liam Dulson’s low cross as the Magpies spurned another clear-cut opportunity to close out the game.

The ebb and flow of the second half was very much in contrast to the first which the Magpies completely dominated. They took the lead through Dulson’s scorching low shot midway through the half but should then have added to their advantage and possibly killed off Farnborough’s challenge before the interval.

It looked like they’d extinguished Farnborough’s hopes just after the breakthrough Umerah’s header, but the visitors had other ideas, and the Magpies lack of defensive discipline – or perhaps even complacency in defence and attack – soured Peters’ mood at the final whistle.

A fine cross from JML headed home by Josh Umerah pic.twitter.com/KnsExJ8IYl

— Maidenhead United (@MUFCYorkRoad) February 9, 2026

“I’m livid, livid, absolutely livid,” he said.

“With all due respect to Farnborough, they shouldn’t have been in the game at half-time. I came in at half-time and said, ‘this doesn’t become Ebbsfleet, you take your chances and make it as easy as possible’. Then we go into the second half, and we get a goal very early on and you think it’s going to be ok.

“But for some reason, from the 60th minute, it looks like we haven’t played together before. It’s definitely two points dropped. These 16 wins that I thought we needed to get to the play-offs are getting further away and I do not recognise our team when we got to 60 minutes.”

Peters also inferred that certain players had their heads turned during the recent January transfer window but couldn’t seal the deals they wanted to move away from York Road.

“The defending for the Ebbsfleet game and the defending for this game have been atrocious. Individually and collectively. We know we’ll score goals but unfortunately, at this moment in time, it looks like we’ve got to score four or five to win a game.

“That’s going to have to change quickly. Behind the scenes we’re working to get some individuals in. Potentially the window (transfer window) with boys trying to get elsewhere, didn’t help, but I’m finding excuses now. Essentially, it’s still the same team and we need to be better at the moment and we’re not.

“At this time, I couldn’t care less about our style when we’re conceding goals in the way we are. We should be 4-0 up at half-time. Although there’s an element of wanting my strikers to take their chances, when you’re 2-0 just after half-time at home, that should be more than enough to win the game.”

He added: “We had two chances after they made it 2-2 as well. We broke from their corner and slide it through to JP, but it goes wide. We’ve had opportunities to score, but it’s ifs, buts and maybes.

“We’ll now look to pick ourselves up for Tuesday. I’m not interested in us playing for 60 minutes, it’s a 90-minute game and therefore we need a performance for 90 minutes.”

Saturday’s result leaves the Magpies 11th in the table, seven points outside the play-off places with a game in hand over most of the teams above them. Tomorrow (Tuesday) evening they visit 17th place Tonbridge Angels who weren’t in action on Saturday but held Maidstone United to a 1-1 draw at home in their last outing.