Boz's Fruit & Veg

Second half Cards masterclass destroys Maidenhead

Haydn Cobb
10:54pm, Sat 16th Jan 2016
Woking 6 Maidenhead United 1
FA Trophy 2nd Round
16th January 2016

Woking produced a second half blitz to come back from a goal down and hammer Maidenhead United to bury cup football demons and progress to the third round of the FA Trophy.

Drawn against the same team which, according to Woking manager Garry Hill, embarrassed them in the FA Cup earlier in the season, the Cards recovered from a sluggish first half to roar back with six unanswered goals in a very impressive second period.

Man-of-the-match Giuseppe Sole (pictured) opened the home side’s account after latching on to a rebound before a quick-fire double from Keiran Murtagh gave Woking a cushion to make the visitors pay for previous reversals they had suffered against the lower league outfit.

An own goal bounced in off Maidenhead United’s captain Alan Massey and was quickly followed by Joe Quigley getting himself a much deserved goal for his efforts throughout the ninety minutes. Chris Arthur then added a final layer of gloss to the score with a thunderbolt strike to give Woking their biggest win of the season, beating last month’s 5-1 away league win against Gateshead.

The victory also continued Woking’s fine run of form by making it eight wins in the last ten games in all competitions and sets up an exciting final third of the season with the Cards into the last 16 of the FA Trophy and one point off the play-offs in the Vanarama National League.

The Woking boss made a number of changes to his starting line-up. Arthur came in for Jake Caprice while captain Mark Ricketts dropped into defence in place of the unwell Joey Jones, alłowing Matt Robinson, who returned to Kingfield on loan from Luton Town until the end of the season, slotted into central midfield alongside the fit-again Murtagh.

Looking to banish bad memories suffered at the hands of their opponents in the FA Cup, Woking started brightly without creating too many opportunities, while Sole was judged by referee Derek Eaton to go down too softly under the challenge of Dean Inman.

Some clever trickery from Andrade saw the winger make space to clip in a cross to the far post but Woking’s top scorer Goddard was crowded out. To the credit of the lower league team, Maidenhead United rarely let Woking settle in possession and began to pose their own questions with counter-attacking football.

In the 20th minute Sole had a good opportunity from a free kick which was pushed away by ex-Cards goalkeeper Carl Pentney. Sole, whose last minute free kick won Woking’s FA Trophy first round tie against Boreham Wood a few weeks earlier, produced a dipping effort which looked destined for the bottom right corner but the United stopper got down to turn it away for a corner.

Despite looking the better team, Woking went behind on the half-hour mark. Dave Tarpey attacked down the right flank for the visitors and after a strong challenge by Brian Saah the ball rebounded off Jake Reid to fall kindly for Tarpey and the winger gave Jake Cole in the Woking goal no chance.

Fearing a repeat of the FA Cup tie, Woking brightened up and narrowly missed out on equalising instantly through Quigley. The Woking forward received the ball on the edge of the box and cut back on to his right foot but his curling effort whistled past the far post.

A late flurry of chances for both sides could have seen goals at either end, with Quigley’s cross nipped off the toes of Goddard while Maidenhead United also went close as Reid failed to convert James Mulley’s pass.

Half-time: Woking 0 Maidenhead United 1

With Garry Hill’s words of wisdom no doubt ringing in their ears Woking started the second half perfectly with a timely equaliser from Sole. Andrade’s service from the right gave Quigley a chance to leap above his marker and his strong header was palmed out by Pentney, allowing Sole to latch on to the loose ball to score.

Not content to rest on their laurels Woking continued to push forward, with Robinson attempting a 30-yard blast which drifted over the bar. As the crowd stirred, the home side applied the pressure and they grabbed a second just after the hour mark. After Quigley saw an effort deflected for a corner, the home side loaded the box and with a superior physical presence, Murtagh rose highest to nod home at the back post. The Cards now had their opponents on the ropes and looked to make the game safe.

Sure enough, a third goal arrived five minutes later. Goddard carved his way down the left flank and smartly picked out the late-arriving Murtagh who slammed the ball past the Maidenhead goalkeeper for his second goal of the game.

A shell-shocked away side was reshuffled by manager Alan Devonshire but it failed to stop the Woking charge as the home fans were treated to an attacking masterclass. Chris Arthur twisted Maidenhead United’s defence inside out and his cross was parried by Pentney only to bounce off Alan Massey who failed to prevent the ball trickling in for the fourth Woking goal.

With the Cards' progress into the third round now looking assured it was a chance for the Cards to turn on the style. Smart work by Andrade gave him space to pick out a delightful cross for Quigley to volley in for a fifth.

The second-half demolition job was completed in stoppage time by Arthur who produced the goal of the game with a 30-yard thunderbolt to well and truly bury the demons from the FA Cup tie in November.

Woking are next in action on Tuesday night when they travel to near-neighbours Westfield in the Surrey Senior Cup, before they return to league action at home against FC Halifax Town on Saturday 23rd January.

Woking: Jake Cole, Chris Arthur, Brain Saah, Mark Ricketts (c), Cameron Norman, John Goddard, Matt Robinson (Godfrey Poku 83), Keiran Murtagh, Bruno Andrade (Jake Caprice 75), Joe Quigley, Giuseppe Sole (Gary Abisogun 86)

Unused subs: Nick Hamann, Alex Smith

Goals: Sole (47), Murtagh (61, 66), OG Massey (82), Quigley (86), Arthur (90+2)

Yellow card: Ricketts (71)

Maidenhead United: Carl Pentney, Ryan Gorman, Dean Inman, Alan Massey, Ryan Peters (Josh Huggins 67), Harry Pritchard, James Mulley, Ryan Upwood (Kyren Wiltshire 67), Dave Tarpey, Jake Reid, Sam Barrett (Ben Wright 82)

Unused subs: Mark Nisbet, Christian Smith

Goal: Tarpey (31)

Sponsors’ MOTM: Giuseppe Sole – a thorn in Maidenhead United’s side all game and opened the scoring for Woking’s onslaught in the second half

Attendance: 1,006

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