Darren Currie’s side go into the game off the back of a 2-1 victory over 10-men Eastleigh at the end of last month.
Jack McKnight cancelled out Jack Taylor’s opener on 69 minutes before Shaq Coulthirst popped up to net the winner deep into stoppage time.
The Opposition
Sitting fourth in the standings after 10 games, Maidenhead United are enjoying a fantastic season so far.
The Magpies were promoted to the fifth tier for the first time in 2017 and have since gone on to maintain their National League status.
Their first campaign in the division saw them finish 12th before they clinched 19th place last time around.
With a top half finish firmly in their sights this season, they couldn’t have hoped for a better start.
However, the Magpies travel to The Hive London off the back of a 1-0 defeat at home to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday, their third loss of the season.
They’ll still be full of confidence though as they’ve been almost perfect on the road this season, winning on four occasions before drawing 2-2 at Wrexham just over a week ago.
The Magpies have also conceded the same amount as Barnet this season with nine to their name, the joint-second best defensive record in the league behind Woking.
Manager: Alan Devonshire
After sitting in the Maidenhead dugout throughout some of the best days in the club’s history, it’s no surprise that Alan Devonshire is a legend at York Road.
The 62-year-old first took charge of the Magpies back in 1996 in a spell which stretched to seven years. During that time, his side put to bed a 27-year silverware drought, winning the Isthmian League Full Members Cup and four Berks & Bucks Senior Cups. His most impressive achievement during his first stab at managing Maidenhead was clinching promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Devonshire left in 2003 but fast forward 12 years and the former midfielder was back in the Magpies’ dugout. He then went on to guide his side to National League South triumph in 2017, recording an impressive 98 points in their title-winning campaign whilst claiming the Manager of the Season award.
Aside from the Magpies, Devonshire also took charge of Hampton & Richmond where he managed to take them from the Isthmian League to the brink of the Conference. He also took charge of Osterley, Brentford Women and Braintree Town during a managerial career that stems back to 1995.
Devonshire is one of the most well-known managers in the division after an impressive playing career. After starting off in the Crystal Palace youth set-up, he went on to play for non-league outfit Southall after failing to break into the Eagles’ first team. The form he showed at the club attracted interest from big names, with one being West Ham United who became the next team to snap up his signature.
He spent 14 years at the Hammers, making himself a legend at the club. The Maidenhead boss made over 400 appearances for the London outfit and was even part of their triumphant FA Cup side of 1980. His time at West Ham also prompted England to give him the nod and he went on to make eight caps for his country. Devonshire also won the Second Division and became a League Cup runner-up in 1981.
He then moved to Watford in 1990, a team where he would go on to spend two years with. However, in 1992, he decided to drop out of league football to take up the role of a player-coach at non-league side Chippenham Sports.
Last Time Out:
The last time the Bees faced Maidenhead was at York Road back in April with Currie’s side coming out on top, winning 1-0 courtesy of a 44th minute Medy Elito winner.
Top Scorer: Danny Whitehall
With four goals to his name, summer signing Danny Whitehall is currently the Magpies’ top scorer.
The centre-forward, who began his career at Rochdale and Southport, returned to England in the summer after a spell in America.
Whitehall netted his first and second goal against Chorley before adding to his tally away at Yeovil a week later. He then bagged his fourth in four games during the Magpies’ 3-0 victory away at Sutton two weeks ago.
Without a goal in his last two, Maidenhead’s number 14 will be hoping to return to the scoresheet this afternoon.
Connections:
Maidenhead forward Bernard Mensah joined the Bees in 2014 in a short loan spell from Watford where he netted once in eight appearances.
