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The following story contains some entirely fictional names, places, events and emotions. However, some of these are 100% authentic and therefore the author wishes to bring no harm to the families of those involved.
Two Brothers: A Story of Football Legend
It was once written that a man lived. Though this man himself was not special, he would be the founding father of a legacy that was to be spoken about for years to come. The tale was to become one of heartbreak and the breaking of emotional ties.. and as with all other great tales, it had a lot to do with football.
Timothy Howarth gre up leading a very normal life. His father moved around as part of the forestry commission and so he transported his nuclear family from place to place, school to school, house to house. As Timothy grew older, he inevitably left home to go to boarding school, followed by University and a chance to go out into the workplace. You're reading this and thinking: "So what! My Uncle Jasper did all that - granted his father wasn't in the forestry commission but that's no biggie is it?". I'd like to say the grounding of this tale comes from the forestry commission, really I would. I love what they do! But this was a matter of chance - nothing caused it, and there will never be an entirely fullproof justification for how it happened.
Timothy got married at the age of 30. He wanted a family of his own, one that was more likely to settle in the one place and grow so Timothy rooted himself in the south - in a town called Maidenhead. Maidenhead is a nice place, it has a train station and I'm sure it has a lot of very nice people. The first person I met in Maidenhead was thoroughly boring and opinions seemed to be rather scarce, even for your average fencesitter. But I digress..
Timothy's wife bore him two sons, two years apart: one in 1987, one in 1989. Now one of Timothy's greatest passions was football and he'd never quite been the player that he'd wanted to be, always being picked last at school and ending up between the sticks conceding 20+ goals in the back and forth conundrum of the lunchtime kickaround. He also wanted for himself to be special, to be envied by people who had never met him. He didn't reach that either. One night - whilst very, very drunk and having just finished watching University Challenge, Timothy staggered up the stairs into the baby boys' room. Asleep like little angels they lay, Tchaikovsky playing on repeat on the automatic lullaby machine. In his drunken state, Timothy was pretty much up for anything and whispered up to a higher being, which I might note is incredibly considerate for a drunk person. Timothy made a noble request, that in the place of his desire to be a great footballer and world famous - his too sons accomplish both. Together, they would be the best fraternal partnership the sport had ever seen. They would lead the footballer lifestyle, have glamorous wives, fast cars and hot secretaries.
Well..somehow, his call was heard, by someone somewhere. The religious among you might put it down to divine intervention. The sceptics among you might say that they were born to be the greatest anyway - but from the moment the two of them kicked a ball... actually wait no, their first kick was awful. It rolled, like, half a metre before coming to a stop.. but I guess what did you expect. But pretty soon after that, when they started learning stepovers and stuff - it was clear these boys were the future so Timothy signed them up for the local boys league where they went down a storm.
Spotted by local talent scouts they were picked up, not by the top leagues but by the local Isthmian Premier club, Maidenhead United. Maidenhead, having finished 12 last season had finished suitably high to merit a placing in a new league created, the English Conference South which was effectively a feeder league for the English Conference National, the highest level of non-league football. Would Timothy's wish come true - would these two boys one day be gracing the covers of Shoot Monthly or providing expert punditry on ITV sports broadcasts with Gabby Logan (I know .. expert punditry on ITV, this story gets more and more farfetched!)
Now when you heard that these two sons of Timothy (who will now be called Tim) were to be the greatest footballers of all time, not many of you would have said "Ah hah! They'll be fullbacks". A few people might question the originality of this story since arguably Gary and Phil Neville are the best full backs that the world will ever see and this if anything is just a sequel. To you people especially, the legacy of the Howarth brothers will live on far past the Neville brothers, far past the Charlton brothers better than any brotherly combination ever before. It's not even certain that they'll stay as a combination - one day you might see them battling each other on the wings in an England Vs Scotland World Cup Final since each is perfectly eligible to play for both nations. Either team ever getting to a World Cup final in the near future as well is probably a bit too unrealistic outside of la-la land.
We pick up their football career in July 2004, within the first month of their tenure at Maidenhead United football club. Francis is 17, on a basic weekof £10 a week with a written in clause that he will get a 25% wage rise each year that he stays on at the club for the duration of his contract. Though favouring a right-back berth, he can also move into the centre and is by no means lost in there. Gordon, the younger at 15 is not old enough to sign a professional contract yet and as such the club might risk the chance of losing him should a scout from a higher club realise the potential. The plus side is that Gordon is too young to play in the league and so no-one will really see him play all that often, as the Maidenhead Reserves and Youth team don't have a regular fixture schedule of any note. Although younger, he somehow managed to negotiate a £15 per week wage which is an extra 50% higher than his elder brother. He also has the built in temptation of a yearly wage rise for every year that he stays on.
Of course the Maidenhead manager never knew about the wish that Tim made, nor that these two boys were anything more than the undisputed best players at the club at such a young age. Neither had an overinflated ego and since they had been playing all of their life at a much lower standard of football, it was no real surprise that they had escaped the eyes of talent scouts. When the bids came in though, the players' agent was the same person - their father. And with Tim's plans for the boys to become huge, any bid from any team who might offer the lads a chance to progress was bound to be sniffed at by their agent.
It wouldn't be long before one big gun came a searching for a star for the future...
Pre-Season
Every season is preluded by a series of friendlies which most teams take part in. The summer break, particularly for the lower league teams isn't about focusing on September and the next campaign - it's about getting a summer job to keep the pennies rolling in whilst the regular job has its vacation time. Maidenhead United had six games lined up to warm them up for the season, steadily increasing in difficulty until the final match where they could take on league opposition in Mansfield Town.
The results are as follows: Staines 0 Maidenhead 1
Goalscorer: Richard Harris(25)
The better Howarth: Francis
Bromsgrove 1 Maidenhead 2
Goalscorers: Richard Harris(30), Richard O'Connor(39)
The better Howarth: Francis
Worthing 0 Maidenhead 1
Goalscorer: Robert Saunders(19)
The better Howarth: Gordon
Cirencester 4 Maidenhead 0
The better Howarth: Francis as Gordon found himself backchatting the referee all the way back to the showers for one minor incident.
Maidenhead 2 Hyde 1
Goalscorer: Mark Nicholls(1)(90)
The better Howarth: Gordon
Maidenhead 4 Mansfield 1
Goalscorers: Richard Harris(15)(25)(43), Andy Jennings(39)
The better Howarth: Francis
On the whole, it was a successful pre-season and the Maidenhead manager had confidently narrowed down his perfect formation to a 4-3-3 utilising attacking wide forward men as well as an anchorman in the middle behind the other two. Gordon had been used for the friendlies but it was only after this that Maidenhead were informed he was not allowed to play in Conference South competition because he was too young to sign a full-professional contract.
On the field, Maidenhead had been looking to spend some money in securing a few players to fill in the gaps and hopefully add a bit more weight to the task of a mid-table finish in the league. Andrew Wright, a 19-year old anchor midfielder was brought in as a promising youngster but was likely to start with few other options of any class for that role. A few loan targets were identified and Marc Goodfellow was signed on a free transfer from Bristol City as an attacking wing option.
Contracts were renewed for many players in the first team fold: Stafford Palmer, Andy Jennings, Jamie Cook, Andrew Wright, Nick Hart, Andy Dugdale and Freddie Okyere were all happy to extend their contracts while others were left out of talks for the time being just in case wage-bill cutting measures had to be brought in urgently.
On the 10th August, an enquiry came for young right-back Francis Howarth. The management and chairman contemplated this offer which had come from Premiership side Chelsea. The offer had no cash proposal made for the youngster - Maidenhead were invited to name their price, no doubt Roman Abramovic would have been able to match it whatever the cost was. In the end, it was rejected without agent consultation. But the first move had already come in - and it could be a sign of things to come!
14th August 2004 English Conference South: Redbridge Vs Maidenhead
Fresh on their heels from their win against Mansfield at home stadium York Road, the Maidenhead boys travelled to Redbridge in the hope of getting the season off to a good start. A good team move starting from an Andy Jennings tackle resulted in a slotted in finish from Richard O'Connor for the first goal after 18 minutes. Francis Howarth made a key clearance in the 36th minute to avert any danger. Howarth later found himself with the ball and passed to goalkeeper Nick Hart who hoofed up the pitch. The ball found its way to Robert Saunders who played off Jamie Cook coming in from the left and scored from the return pass right in first-half stoppage time.
The second half produced more of a swing towards Redbridge after some substitutions made at the break. But in the 75th minute, Richard Harris broke free and scored a cool shot. Howarth set up O'Connor in the next minute but the chance was narrowly missed. However, when the same pass was made in the 82nd minute, O'Connor found a way through to Richard Harris who scored his second and minuted later Harris completed his second hat-trick of the season so far (his first one in competitive competition) to make the score 5-0 with a very lucky goal. The final whistle blew and Maidenhead had done enough to go second in the table below Havant & Waterlooville who had won their game 6-0. Impressive debuts were experienced by Mark Nicholls, Richard Harris and Jamie Cook and Nick Hart, Francis Howarth and Andrew Wright showed their composure by playing very well in their first ever league matches.
Thanks for the feedback so far! The two youngsters have been created as new players on the editor with a few attributes already predetermined and a high potential ability. The rest is thanks to the game engine interpreting their current skill due to age, playing status and similar data. In order to make you a bit more familiar with the team, there now follows a short team report.
Goalkeepers:
Nick Hart (GK)
The first choice goalkeeper in the team. Since Maidenhead were lacking in an experienced keeper, the choice as to who went between the sticks as first choice was largely based on the form in friendlies. Hart impressed more, and so will play when available.
Michael Watkins (GK)
Second choice, but if Hart gets injured he may have the chance to impress.
Defenders:
Francis Howarth (D RC)
Many believe that this boy will have the footballing world at his feet in merely a few years time. For the time being, he is still young and learning the game - a definite asset to Maidenhead.
Ben Townsend (D R)
Experienced player with first-team experience at Wycombe Wanderers, like many other of the stalwarts of Maidenhead football club. Provides an option on the right should Francis move into the centre or be missing.
Gordon Howarth (D/DM L)
Too young to be allowed to play in the clubs league season but will definitely feature in a few seasons time - if he hasn't grown impatient and left by then.
Barrie Matthews (D/DM L)
First choice left-back but may give way if the club are successful in securing a loan deal for another full-back.
Rob Paris (D C)
The rock in defence and club captain - one of the first names down on the teamsheet if fit for selection and uses his strength of presence to direct the rest of a rather young backline.
Andy Jennings (D C)
One of two or three possibles to partner Rob Paris- definitely useful for attacking set pieces as an extra head in the penalty box to score 5+ goals a season.
Andy Dugdale (D C)
The other possibility, who will start as backup to Jennings ready to capitalise if bad form hits. A very technically sound player for this division - might struggle at a higher level though.
Midfielders:
Richard O'Connor (AM RC)
One of the stars of the side who has premiership experience at Wimbledon. Definite forerunner for the club and league player of the season if he hits form. Scores the odd goal as well from the right of midfield.
Marc Goodfellow (AM RLC)
Signed during late summer to provide an attacking option probably from the bench late in games if looking to secure a victory or gain a point. His versatility is definitely an asset for a small club like Maidenhead.
Jamie Cook (AM/F L)
Former Oxford United left-sided attacker who links perfectly with O'Connor in a formidable partnership. Is lucky enough really to not have too much competition to his starting place.
Stafford Palmer (AM L)
Backup player and unlikely to challenge. But cheaper to keep on the books than to look for someone else.
Andrew Wright (DM C)
At 19 years of age, some would say very unexperienced at this level and so maybe a risk to be the basis of the whole team in the gap between defence and midfield. But proved himself in pre-season sufficiently.
Mark Nicholls (AM/F C)
Very attack-minded midfielder and is expected to score a lot of goals to compensate for only having a lone central striker. Another with Premiership experience at Chelsea.
Robert Saunders (M RC)
Wasn't expected to figure too well but was the surprise of preseason playing out of his skin. At the moment, holding a place in the first team.
Freddie Okyere (M C)
Young and as a result has plenty of time to learn. May be released should the club get promoted since the higher the club gets; the more out of his depth Freddie might find himself.
Strikers:
Phil Gray (S C)
As well as playing, Phil Gray is the club's assistant manager. Was expected to be in the first team but hasn't scored as many fantastic hat-tricks as his opposition.
Richard Harris (S C)
Former Wycombe man who has become a dead cert in the first team if available. Phil Gray will push him if form drops though. Between the two of them, they can score lots.
Back to the story...
News of the bid for Howarth Snr didn't leak, much to the pleasure of the Maidenhead board. Chelsea failed to make a further move before the end of the transfer window so it would be up to a non-top flight team if Francis was to go anywhere before Christmas. The rest of August, on the pitch wasn't quite as impressive as the first game but the club finished the month in 4th place..
Results Maidenhead 1 Margate 1
Richard Harris scored from an O'Connor cross after 13 minutes but Maidenhead couldn't extend the lead and Margate piled on the pressure until the 80th minute where they pulled equal to gain a point. Freddie Okyere was brought in for Saunders in his full league debut.
Eastbourne Boro 1 Maidenhead 1
In the four days between matches, nothing seemed to have been learnt about how to conserve a thin lead or to extend it. Robert Saunders, back in the team, scored in the 5th but Eastbourne scored shortly after the break and nothing could be done to reclaim the two lost points for Maidenhead.
Maidenhead 2 Cambridge City 1
Mark Nicholls was making his 50th career league experience and received a bottle of champagne before the match. His performance suggested at times that he didn't wait until post match to celebrate with it but the rest of the team were able to score two first half goals either side of a Cambridge City goal. Andrew Wright from the penalty spot and Richard O'Connor were the goalscorers.
Thanks Haze.13. Hopefully they'll still be my boys for a good while yet...
Before the next match, a few changes in personnel were made. Defenders Brian Connor and Brendan Gallen who had no role in the immediate future of the team were offloaded to non-league Stamford and Northwood respectively. In return, winger Stuart Harte signed from Staines for 1k for what was likely to be a rotational role as a defensive option for close matches and Jordan Fowler joined on loan from Premiership club Arsenal as competition for Andrew Wright at the heart of midfield.
With the team playing reasonably well, neither of the two new signings would find themselves in the team immediately. The first match of September was a trip to promotion chasers Havant & Waterlooville.
Havant & W 3 Vs Maidenhead 2
Richard Harris had to be rested after picking up an injury. In his place came Mark Nicholls, promoted to the forward line as a better chance of goals than any other option. And as a result, the first half ended with Maidenhead 2-1 up thanks to Nicholls goals in the 13th and 33rd minute. Late on in the game, Havant & W threw everything at Maidenhead and fluked two very lucky goals in another performance of Maidenhead being able to close out a game.
Maidenhead 3 Grays 0
A foul on Andy Jennings in the opposition penalty area gave Richard O'Connor the opportunity to score from the spot in the 29th minute. The scoreline remained 1-0 with little trouble from Grays until Mark Nicholls, still playing up front scored a brace in the 67th and 82nd minutes. Marc Goodfellow was playing on the right side of midfield in his Maidenhead debut.
St Albans 1 Maidenhead 3
Richard Harris came back onto the bench for this game but failed to achieve any action as an unchanged side played the whole match away at St. Albans. Nicholls goal in the 9th minute was cancelled out by Miguel De Souza in the 14th. Nicholls hit another on 40 minutes to take Maidenhead into the dressing room as the happier side and in a quieter second half, Mark Nicholls slotted a calm shot into the net with 10 minutes remaining to complete his hat-trick and the victory.
Maidenhead 1 Welling 1
Two wins in a row this season propelled Maidenhead to 2nd in the table with Welling the only team above them. This match won't affect where the title will go at the end of the season. Mark Nicholls continued his great form by scoring just before half time but the Welling manager had the more inspirational team talk and Welling were able to equalise on 52 minutes. The scores didn't change after that .. and neither did either side's position.
THE FA CUP
The draw for the second qualifying round of the FA Cup was made a few weeks ago with Maidenhead being drawn at home against a load of bobbies. Yes, the Metropolitan police have a football team and gained entry into the FA Cup. The bookies had Maidenhead as 1-8 favourites which would return you 13p on a £1 bet if they were to win (definitely worth a tipple if you ask me. It's a whole Chupa Chup lollipop in some good retailers.)
Gordon Howarth, being ineligible for the league was unluckily enough ineligible for the FA Cup as well. Francis Howarth however was selectable and so would start out on the right in an unchanged side from the Welling fixture.
Mark Nicholls scored his first goal from outside the box after 16 seconds. A breakaway led by Robert Saunders almost brought another goal for Nicholls at 4 minutes but there were enough defenders to put him off. In the 11th minute, Barrie Matthews fired in a cross but no-one was able to get a clear header in on goal and the moment subsided.
A searching pass from Matthews found Goodfellow on 27 minutes and Goodfellow was then able to find Mark Nicholls who tucked away his and Maidenhead's second of the day. It was in fact Nicholls' 10th goal of the season. O'Connor was faced with a similar opportunity six minutes later but without the same magic couldn't get his shot on target. In the 37th minute, a Met Police corner somehow managed to cause a few troubles for Nick Hart but Andrew Wright intervened and put it out for a further corner which led to nothing. On 40 minutes, Mark Nicholls picked up a loose ball on the halfway line and took it to the 18-yard line before putting wide.
At half time, reserve player Udo Onwere came on to replace the shaky Robert Saunders. Onwere was then part of a move which couldn't be capitalised upon by Richard O'Connor. An interception however by Francis Howarth after 52 minutes set loose Mark Nicholls and this time he wouldn't miss, scoring yet another hat-trick.
Maidenhead shots started getting very audacious with Jamie Cook missing a volley on his wrong foot from the byline. A great save from Met Police keeper PC Collins kept out Richard O'Connor from point blank on 66 minutes. Nick Hart followed up with a save of his own at the other end shortly afterward. Hart then booted the ball upfield where Nicholls latched onto it and struck his fourth of the afternoon. After a barren spell, Onwere narrowly missed on 89 minutes and that was the last real action of the game as Maidenhead progressed 4-0.
In the absence of a hectic league format at this time in the season, the next round of qualifying for the FA Cup proper was the next match on the schedule. Maidenhead were drawn away at non-non-league Banstead on the 16th October. And the big win over the Met Police was just a precursor for what would go down between these two teams:
Banstead 1 Maidenhead 7
Banstead I'd imagine are in a league at some level. If anyone knows what league that is I'd be very grateful to find out but I'd say their chances of being a league side in the near future are low on the basis of this performance. Unofficial club bets were made on how long it might take Mark Nicholls to score and so anyone who wagered five minutes would have been very happy. Marc Goodfellow scored one of the best goals he will ever score after a run from inside his own half taking on 4 Banstead players to make it 2-0 and Nicholls scored a peach on 26 minutes to make it three.
After the break, Cook crossed in to Nicholls who completed his third hat-trick in four matches on 48 minutes. Two minutes later, Andy Jennings up for a freekick powered one in from inside the box to make the score a rather dizzy 5-0. However, a further two minutes passed and Francis Howarth was having to concede a corner which Banstead captain Stephen James scored from for a consolation goal. It was hardly effective consolation though as Richard O'Connor scored one and Mark Nicholls grabbed a fourth before the final whistle.
Maidenhead 3 Sutton Utd 0
After a couple of matches against much inferior opposition that Maidenhead would definitely be expected to beat, it was back to the league and a match at York Road against Sutton Utd. There were no goals for Nicholls this time around but the performance didn't suffer with O'Connor getting one before half time and Saunders having the 5 minutes of his life by taking two goals shortly after the interval.
The game was followed by a media article in a local paper praising the Maidenhead team for their great start to the season as Maidenhead lay fourth in the table. The article quoted an "indian summer" atop the table which was certainly pleasing the fans. Tim Howarth was starting to hope this sort of publicity would get his boys noticed as there was one picture of Francis and Mark Nicholls celebrating on pitch. But the phone didn't ring...
Carshalton 1 Maidenhead 0
There was once a saying used that all publicity is good publicity. Well not this time - the compliments of the newspaper must have gone to the players heads and made them feel like they didn't have to play against respectable opposition. Carshalton scored early and then set up a blockade that lasted for the remaining 87 minutes despite.. well actually nothing all too special was being thrown at them. Defeat - for the first time in seven matches.
Yet more FA Cup.. Maidenhead 3 Croydon 0
Winning this fixture would put Maidenhead in the first round where Leagues 1 and 2 entered the competition. A furious manager after the Carshalton game got the players moving and two good team moves provided Nicholls with goals number 17 and 18 of the competitive season. Croydon from that point didn't seem like they wanted much of a game and so O'Connor who was probably very bored at the time thought he'd extend the scoreline in the 88th minute by drowning the Croydon kitten and helping Maidenhead progress.
Into November
1st Nov - The draw for the FA Cup first round came through. And jubilation arrived as Maidenhead were pulled out directly after Tranmere Rovers for a very tricky away tie on the 13th November (not a Friday), but the one that a lot of people had wanted. Veteran player John Dreyer (apologies for the poor rhyme!) had also become linked with the vacant Sutton Utd position after their former manager was sacked, thanks in part to their poor performance against Maidenhead last month.
3rd Nov - Maidenhead travelled to Hornchurch with a selection problem on their hands. Jamie Cook was out through too many yellow cards and Stafford Palmer his backup was injured. Marc Goodfellow was brought across to play on the left wing and O'Connor moved to the right allowing Udo Onwere a chance to play.
In the 14th minute, Hornchurch were away after Shaun Carey was left open from a seemingly undangerous freekick. The rest of the half passed by very evenly with little coming from the left in Jamie Cook's absence. Luckily in the opening minutes of the second half, there was nothing wrong on the right side and O'Connor levelled the match. Francis Howarth had to be withdrawn soon afterwards with a bit of a niggle and Stuart Harte came on to replace him. Shots from Goodfellow, Onwere and O'Connor all missed and so the scores stayed at 1-1 after another disappointing performance.
6th Nov - With Francis so young, it was bound to happen some time and today he picked up his first training injury, a broken wrist that would put him out for three whole weeks that would make him unavailable for the Tranmere game.
FA Trophy: Yeading Vs Maidenhead
Ben Townsend came in on the right side of defence (as opposed to the wrong side) and Jamie Cook returned for a match in the cup that Maidenhead might have a better chance of winning. With the side Howarth-less for the first time this season, Yeading's Ryan Gray sneaked through and scored to make it 1-0 after 29 minutes. Not long after, Maidenhead won a free kick and Mark Nicholls managed to convert via around 14 deflections to equalise. Richard O'Connor's attempt at goal was saved by keeper Delboy Preddie in the 41st minute but the parry fell at the feet of Robert Saunders who made it 2-1 and that was his fifth of the season.
An offside decision in the 75th minute against Ryan Gray launched an attack from Maidenhead and the Yeading players were still discussing the offside when Mark Nicholls rounded their keeper and made it 3-1. Telemaque pulled one back for Yeading in the 79th minute to quieten the fans a bit but it wasn't enough as Barrie Matthews stopped one last ditch Yeading attack with an excellent slide tackle on Errol Telemaque to let Maidenhead progress to face either Windsor & Eton or Kendal. Yeading 2 Maidenhead 3
13th Nov: FA Cup 1st Round: Tranmere Vs Maidenhead
The first real action of the game was Russell Howarth, Tranmere goalkeeper having to pull off an excellent save from an onrushing Marc Goodfellow in the 9th minute. Quincy Abeyie however was cooler in front of goal for Tranmere and struck the opener with only 16 minutes gone and the lead remained until half time.
Haworth passed to Howarth passed to Haworth who passed to Paul Brown who made it 2-0 in a game that seemed to be stressing to Maidenhead the importance of having someone called Howarth (however spelt) on your team. The match got very, very boring after that and Tranmere closed out the victory to shatter the dreams of Maidenhead.
Thanks Taylor7. Their potential ability is all the way up at the dizzy level of 200.. I do own FM Scout so in a little aside I might let you know how they're progressing in terms of their journey towards that in current ability terms as part of a little stats update at the end of a season sometime.
The Rest of 2004
It was at about this point that things seemed to go rather indifferently for the brothers at Maidenhead. Gordon was just turning up week in and week out at training to gain experience from the old players whilst getting no match practice. He would have to wait for the summer again and hope he could still merit a position in the first team with Barrie Matthews playing so well in his position. Francis Howarth was out on the injury list for a section of it and was frustrated about not being able to play, having gotten so used to the thrill of league action.
The team themselves were out of the FA Cup and were hovering around the lower verges of the playoff places. But if promotion was their aim, they really wanted to put a championship challenge together since getting to the conference from the playoffs is the case of being the best of eight very good teams. They also had the inevitable problem of injuries and tiredness later in the season which always affect small squads that have to rely on similar 11 players starting each week.
The first match to be covered hopefully wouldn't be too much of a problem:
Maidenhead 2 Basingstoke 0
Basingstoke, a relatively local rival (aren't they all in this division) had gone 11 games without a win and if they didn't manage the three points from this game then it would become a conference record of 12. Ben Townsend started his first league match for Maidenhead as stand-in for the injured Howarth whilst Udo Onwere came in for Robert Saunders who was fatigued. It was to prove an inspired team selection as Townsend setup Onwere for the first goal in the 18th minute and Jamie Cook confirmed the result in the second half by connecting with a Marc Goodfellow cross.
Maidenhead 0 Lewes 1
This by all accounts was a winnable game and Maidenhead will be disappointed with the performance. The Lewes goal came on 54 minutes and was the result of a bit of a defensive mixup of responsibilities. This was the third game that Mark Nicholls hadn't scored in, but Richard Harris's sub appearances haven't yet been impressive enough to merit a replacement.
Between this game and the next, John Dreyer, Maidenhead's veteran centre-back and former player-manager received an approach from Sutton Utd as a player but not as manager. Dreyer snubbed it however in favour of a role at Hemel Hempstead as he looked toward the end of his career playing at a lower standard.
FA Trophy 2nd Round: Windsor & Eton 0 Maidenhead 0
Boring. Move along, not much to see here. Just an exhibition of how not to make a shot on target from both sides and from about 70 minutes on it looked like both sides were preparing for the replay. The replay, luckily enough was rearranged before any other match.
FA Trophy 2nd Round Replay: Maidenhead 1 Windsor & Eton 0
Francis Howarth made his return after three weeks out through injury. His presence didn't exactly inspire Maidenhead to play well but in the end class shone through and in the 87th minute, Mark Nicholls was brought down in the area. Young loanee Jordan Fowler from Arsenal tucked in the penalty to send Maidenhead through to the next round.
Bognor Regis 0 Maidenhead 2
With Jordan Fowler impressing and a replacement needed for suspended Andrew Wright, the sensible option was to bring in Fowler. He played a part in the sending off of two Bognor Regis players in the 14th and 18th minutes and after that it should have been very easy for Maidenhead. Mark Nicholls still hadn't worked out how to score again and so the goals were required from the wingers Jamie Cook and Richard O'Connor.
Maidenhead 5 Hayes 0
After such a period of pretty poor results compared to the rest of the season, it was nice to see another rout for all Maidenhead fans. Mark Nicholls dispelled all of the doubters when scoring an individual effort in the third minute and Andrew Wright managed to score from the penalty spot in the 26th minute - Maidenhead are yet to miss a penalty this season! In the second half, Mark Nicholls got another notch on the scoresheet in the 50th minute and then the whole team switched to a lower gear - except Marc Goodfellow who must have felt he had something to prove as he put two in close to the end.
Weymouth 2 Maidenhead 0
This match was to become the start of a very bad run. Maidenhead were totally outclassed in this match and the scoreline showed it.
Weston-super-Mare 3 Maidenhead 1
After 11 minutes, this tie was standing at 3-0 and effectively the match was over. Goodfellow managed to pull one back just before the break, but had Mark Nicholls been on any form at all he would have scored enough to win this match. A striker problem might be emerging..
Maidenhead 2 Thurrock 2
This match could have gone either way and an own-goal for either side before half-time made sure there were a few laughs for both sets of supporters. Ben Townsend was the unlucky one to score Thurrock's and a player of theirs called Heffer levelled the tie. When Marc Goodfellow scored a goal in the 74th minute it looked promising but Thurrock player Tresor Kandol broke past the offside trap and levelled it soon after to earn a point for Thurrock. In the post-match physio report, it was seen that Francis Howarth would be out for a few days with a bruised rib, but it wouldn't be enough to keep him out for the must-win tie at Dorchester.
Maidenhead 2 Dorchester 0
Well this match might be remembered by the Howarth family for a while to come, especially as a moment of nostalgia should the brothers ever get to the top. Howarth had been playing at centre-back on a few occasions this season to fill in for either Rob Paris or Andy Jennings. As one of the two big men at the back, he would go up for set pieces and it was at one of these where he headed in his first pro-goal in the 44th minute. The crowd went wild and the whole Maidenhead team got involved in the moment - mobbing Howarth in congratulations for a great goal. Dorchester hadn't won for 9 games and it was made 10 when Richard O'Connor completed the victory with a goal on 57 minutes. Yet again, however, no goal for Nicholls...
Newport Co 1 Maidenhead 0
Before the match, the press were playing up Newport County as surprise promotion candidates after being predicted for a tough season. The Welsh side were in second pre-match and it soon became clear that they were a better side. However, their 20th minute strike from Moralee was all that they had to show for the victory.
Midweek, the services for Stuart Harte and Marc Goodfellow had been confirmed for a few more seasons as they both signed extensions to their contracts. The new year came, and on New Year's Day, Maidenhead had the tough prospect of Bishop's Stortford which ended up at 0-0 without much happening. Peter Holmes, a signing from Luton came in to make his debut for the injured Richard O'Connor but didn't make enough of an impression to swing the game in any direction.
Two Brothers 
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