Rested and Ready: Devonshire eyes six on the spin for in-form Maidenhead United

Matt Robinson. Photo: Darren Woolley

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Alan Devonshire hopes his Maidenhead United side will be well rested and ‘raring to go’ for the visit of Worthing to York Road on Saturday as the hosts look to secure their sixth straight win in the National League South.

The Magpies should be reasonably refreshed, having sat out last weekend’s football due to their surprise exit from the FA Cup at the hands of lower league Faversham Town, however, it’s given them a few more days to get some bodies back off the treatment table and available for selection.

For manager Alan Devonshire, there are pluses and minuses to not playing in the cup on Saturday, however, he hopes to see his side respond well to the break and attack one of last season’s title contenders.

Worthing come into this clash sitting 11th in the table, however, last season they were one of five or six teams vying for the National League South title on the final day of the season. They eventually finished fourth, just a point behind winners Truro City and then missed out on promotion via the play-offs as well.

Their start to this campaign has been a little more mixed than the Magpies with three wins, draws and defeats, however, they stunned Dagenham & Redbridge 5-2 away from home in early September so clearly have no reason not to take the match to the Magpies on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Devonshire said: “They finished second in the league last season and only lost in the play-offs, so we know it’s going to be a difficult game.

“But we’re looking forward to it and even more so because we’ve missed a week. We should be raring to go.

“There are going to be twists and turns, there are 46 games to play, and we’ve only played nine at the minute, so there’s a long way to go. But we’re okay, we’re in a position I’m quite happy with and now we’ll look to push on and try and get as many points on the board as possible.”

On the possible benefits and negatives of resting up while others played last weekend, Devonshire added: “It’s given a couple of the boys a chance to get over their knocks.

“We’ve had a good week so far and a good training session today, so we’ll see how we go.

“We’ve had a few players out, but that’s normal at this time of the year. I just hope the break hasn’t disrupted our momentum.”

United may have had that recent blip in the cup but their league form has been magnificent over the past few weeks. Five straight wins have lifted them into the play-off places and to within seven points of leaders Hornchurch with a game in hand.

They’ve won some of those matches brilliantly, such as their impressive 4-0 win away at Bath City, while other victories have been ground out, like their most recent 1-0 away win over Maidstone United.

 Midfielder Matt Robinson scored the only goal in that match shortly before half-time and Devonshire is delighted to see one of his midfielders chipping in with goals. He knows his side will need scorers from all areas - not just the strikers - if they’re to maintain their promotion challenge.

“Listen, you’re playing on an artificial surface it’s always an advantage to the home team,” said Devonshire.

“Whenever you win away from home on those pitches it’s a good result.

“There are nine in the league with 3G. It’s something we’ll have to get used to, but it’s not something I agree with.

“We’ve had defenders and forwards and wingers and now midfielders scoring,” said Devonshire.

“If you’re going to do well, you’re going to need to do that and get goals from all areas.

“It’s going to be tough (to stay in the title/promotion race) but we’ve done it before, so we know what it takes.

“It’s going to be difficult. I think there are 10 full time teams in the league now. But we’ve settled in the squad, and we have a squad that I’m happy with.”